The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee is to question organisations on what actions they are taking to address the gender pay gap.
The select committee was appointed by the House of Commons to examine the administration, expenditure and policy of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
This particular meeting is part of the 'corporate governance: delivering on fair pay' inquiry, which is examining issues surrounding organisations' compliance with reporting requirements on the gender pay gap.
The first panel, which will take place on 15 May 2018, will feature witnesses from traditionally male-dominated industries. The second will centre on issues around gender pay gap reporting, and will include witnesses from law firm Slaughter and May, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In advance of the meeting, the committee has 21 published written evidence submissions on gender pay. These were received from various groups, businesses and campaigning organisations, including British Airways, the Association of Accounting technicians and Close the Gap.
Rachel Reeves MP, chair of the BEIS committee, said: "Excessive executive pay and the gender pay gap are at root an issue of fairness. It is unacceptable that in 2018 jobs reward men and women so differently. Some sectors of the economy, such as construction, manufacturing and aviation, may point to longstanding challenges in recruiting female staff, especially at senior levels. But what are [organisations] in these sectors, and across the rest of the economy, doing to confront and actively tackle these issues and ensure they hire the best possible talent?
Transparency on gender pay gaps must only be the beginning. We want to examine the actions necessary to close the gender pay gap and ensure women have a genuine opportunity to get the top jobs."
