A week ago this site highlighted the fact that despite previous guidance from Sir Michael Scholar from the UK Statistical Authority to the Government that using the gender pay gap figure of 23% was wrong, the Women and Work Commission went ahead anyway.
Even though the media cover the story when Sir Michael originally queried it, the media, who do not fact check or connect things up, they still unquestioningly used the 23% figure again.
Now the row has blown up again with another letter(see 7th August) sent by Sir Michael, this time to Baroness Prosser.
The whole episode is covered by Mark Easton at the BBC.
One question remains though, does Sir Michael read this blog, so picking up on the issue that was previously raised on this site about the Women and Work Commission!
It's Mark Easton, not Eaton.
btw my comment on that blog about Harman has been referred to the moderators already :)
Posted by: John Kimble | Monday, 10 August 2009 at 01:36
It has always interested me that the old EOC commissioned a whole series of research reports on this. They all concluded that very little of any gaps were about discrimination. Factors were logical things to do with job preferences,time away from employment and flexibility (in terms of travelling and longer hours). The obverse of this is that men choose longer hours,not to have time off,travel much further to work and worker longer over the life course. Interestingly the smallest pay gaps in Europe are in economies with short (or no) maternity leave and very little part time work(Italy,and Poland among the big nations and tiny Malta is most equal of all!)
Posted by: Groan | Monday, 10 August 2009 at 12:45