Law firms with more than 250 employees were due to submit their gender pay gap reports this week.
Failure to meet the deadline could lead to an Equality and Human Rights Commission discrimination investigation and a court order. The annual report became a legal obligation in 2017.
According to employment law firm GQ|Littler, law and accountancy firms have deployed a range of tactics to help close the gap. They include: enforcing gender-balanced shortlists in the recruitment process, including 50:50 targets for senior positions; six-month paid senior internships to help senior professionals return to work following a break, for example, to care for children; agile working and flexible hours; financial assistance for childcare; increased parental leave; unconscious bias training; and mentoring and coaching.
Hannah Mahon, partner at GQ|Littler, said: ‘These action plans are evidence that employers are now actively engaging with the stubborn gender pay gap problem in the UK.’
