2021 must be the year to eliminate the Gender Pay Gap – Higgins

2021 must be the year to eliminate the Gender Pay Gap, a Fine Gael TD and former Chief of Staff of Global Operations at PayPal has said.

Deputy Emer Higgins, Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid-West, is encouraging the Government to press ahead with the Gender Pay Gap Bill as a matter of priority in 2021.

Deputy Higgins said: “The Government’s National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020, prioritises addressing the Gender Pay Gap. There is an urgent need for legislation in this area given that Ireland’s Gender Pay Gap currently stands at 14.4%. I want to see the Government press ahead with the Gender Pay Gap Bill early in 2021 so that this issue gets the priority it deserves.

“The legislation seeks to provide transparency on the gender pay gap by requiring companies to publish their salaries. It will work to incentivise employers to take measures to address the issue.

“Prior to my election to the Dáil I worked for PayPay and I was pleased to see their Global CEO Dan Schulman make positive moves in this area in recent years to bring about gender pay equality in salaries and bonuses.

“It makes sense for companies to take action on this. When they are in a position to report a low or non-existent gender pay gap, they will have an advantage in recruiting the brightest and the best.

“We have achieved so much in terms of women’s rights over recent decades, and the most recent report of the European Institute for Gender Equality scores Ireland 72.2 out of 100. In recent years Fine Gael in government has achieved much progress for women including: the introduction of gender quotas in politics; enhanced maternity leave; the introduction of paid paternity benefit and parental leave, to encourage the sharing of childcare responsibilities; and increased sexual and reproductive health rights, including the repeal of the 8^th Amendment to the Constitution.

“However the Gender Pay Gap endures as an inexcusable inequality. 2021 must be the year we eliminate it and I will continue working to ensure that the Government progresses the necessary legislation as quickly as possible”, Deputy Higgins concluded.

ENDS