Law may force firms to show gender pay gap

The Government will unveil plans to close the gender pay gap by introducing legislation forcing companies to reveal whether women are paid the same as their male colleagues.

Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, also proposes to name and shame firms which fail to set out their pay policies in annual reports. The moves form part of the Government's response to a report by its equal pay adviser, Denise Kingsmill. The Kingsmill inquiry was set up in April after the discovery that, on average, women earn 18 per cent less than men for doing exactly the same job.

The report is also expected to recommend that companies undertake and publish annual salary surveys showing whether employees are paid differently according to their sex.