6 myths about equal pay - and the comebacks you need to shoot them down

Every time there is media coverage of the gender pay gap or unequal pay, we hear some of the same myths repeated. The row at the BBC, in the wake of China editor Carrie Gracie's resignation, is just the latest example, and has seen fierce debates over equal pay spring up all over Britain - and the tired old arguments trotted out.

So we have put these myths in one place - with all the facts you need to shoot them down...

1. Unequal pay and the gender pay gap are the same 

Let's be clear: paying men and women differently for doing the same, or equivalent, jobs is illegal. Having a gap between average pay for men and women, however, is not.

The BBC has cleverly turned allegations of unequal pay into a conversation about its pay gap to deflect from the very serious claims made by Gracie and others that they are being paid less for doing the same job as their male colleagues.

2. A pay gap is not a sign of discrimination

Because the pay gap shows an average, companies can make the case that women choose to be in lower paid, insecure or part-time roles - and there is nothing they can do about it.

But the pay gap is a flag for discrimination. If companies are consistently recruiting women to junior roles and promoting men to senior ones, then it could mean that their parental leave policies are inadequate, for example, or there is bias in their recruitment process.

This is why, the Women’s Equality Party is calling for legislation to be updated, so firms with a gap above a certain threshold have to report further data on their pay bands, parental policies and recruitment and promotion demographics data at each stage. These should be broken down by measures including gender, ethnicity and disability, which have a multiplying effect on the pay gap. And if organisations release inaccurate or incomplete data, or fail to take action to close the gap, they should face sanctions.

3. It’s not really THAT bad

Many people's first response to reports of the pay gap is to try and unpick the data. Last year, the average national pay gap was 18.4 per cent, which includes both full- and part-time workers. However, it was widely reported as 9.1 per cent - the statistic for full-timers only.

To exclude part-time workers omits part of the picture. More women work part-time (mainly because they do more of the unpaid caring responsibilities that result from the lack of affordable care) and there's a shortage of opportunities for part-time workers. If you’re still not convinced, consider that in London alone men earned £70 billion more than women in 2016. That number is harder to argue with.

4. But women choose junior roles

This one has been put forward recently by a number of companies, when their pay gap data was published. Retailer Phase Eight, which has one of the largest pay gaps at 65 per cent, put out a statement describing the problem rather than accepting responsibility: “The staff in our stores are overwhelmingly female.”

Long-term, we need to address gender stereotyping from an early age (girls being directed towards caring and service roles, and boys towards building and problem-solving). We also need to invest properly in our social infrastructure and value the kind of work that women predominantly do.

But in the short-term, companies like Phase Eight, with its unacceptably high pay gap should be forced to publish their pay bands to check for unequal pay, and to review their recruitment and promotion practices.

5. Women having children is a lifestyle choice

The national pay gap widens as women reach the age of having and raising children, and there is no doubt that doing so influences their earnings. We also know that women are discriminated against for having children. According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, discrimination against pregnant women and new mothers in the workplace could affect as many as 54,000 women a year - pushing some women into lesser roles with less chance of promotion, and others losing their jobs entirely.

The UK has the most expensive childcare in the world, so many women are also forced to work part-time because of finances rather than choice.

6. But women just need to ask for more money!

Women earn less than men because they just aren’t as assertive when negotiating salaries, numerous men explained last summer when the BBC figures were published.

But studies have shown that when women do negotiate, whatever tone they take, it can have a negative impact on their chances of being hired for the job. Carrie Gracie has demonstrated that even when a woman outright asks for the same salary as the men, and is told she will get it, it still doesn’t happen. That's one myth is time to kill for good.