Ms Sonya Lennon:

I thank Ms Smith. I am the founder of WorkEqual. First, I would like to share relevant market research we commissioned on public attitudes towards gender equality, conducted by Behaviour & Attitudes Limited last October. We found that 74% of people believe that closing the gender pay gap is important and should be a priority for Government and employers. The other, and bigger, piece of the research was the impact of caring duties on career progression. Some 35% of people said family caring duties impacted on their careers, with 45% of women feeling that they were impacted, compared to only 25% of men. The finding that 33% of women with teenage children said their careers had been impacted, compared to 0% of men, was particularly striking. In summary, the research we commissioned showed that, while there is strong support for Government and employers to tackle the gender pay gap, the wider public do not fully understand the root causes or diverse factors that feed into the pay gap. We also found that 85% of people did not really understand what the gender pay gap was and thought it was more to do with equal pay. There is a big piece of work to do there.

On career progression, the associated factors such as job security and earning power are hampered by caring duties and this impacts much more on women than men. Public sentiment and changing behaviour are two very different things and, backed by our research, we believe that a public awareness campaign is needed to build understanding of the causes of the pay gap and the importance of addressing it. Building wider public understanding will ensure full buy-in and long-term support for the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, which was initially brought forward by Deputy Bacik.

In addition to the public awareness campaign and based on our ongoing collaboration with relevant groups in Iceland, we recommend the establishment of a State-driven, consumer-facing quality assurance mark for organisations that meaningfully commit to gender equality and follow a prescribed framework to promote and achieve equality in their workplaces. A similar mark has been introduced successfully in Iceland, where it has become the norm for companies to secure that quality mark and adhere to its principles in the same way that companies adhere to health and safety and best practice regarding sustainability. It is a consumer-facing mark on products and services.

In conclusion, we must grant cultural permission for everyone to advocate for equitable cultures in work and life. Proactive and holistic communication is key to changing the narrative, normalising new behaviours and embedding real change.