The UK’s Treasury Committee is calling for evidence from the female working population in London to better understand the extent of sexism in the workplace. The aim being to ‘abolish alpha-male cultures’.
The Founder of the BE LADS campaign, Poppy Murray, said this is something that is very much needed in Guernsey too.
In a LinkedIn post she said: “Finance is Guernsey’s biggest industry, and the pay gap in Guernsey remains one of the biggest in the world at 16% (PWC Index 2023).
“Sexism, misogyny and sexual harassment in the workplace can impact anyone, but there is no doubt women are disproportionately affected (Trade Union Congress 2023 poll showed 2 in 3 women have been sexually harassed at work, with 2 in 5 women experiencing at least three incidents).
“The States of Guernsey should undertake its own call for evidence, not just for finance, but across all sectors.”
Deputy response
Miss Murray raised the issue directly through social media to several deputies, some of who responded to Express’ query on the topic.
“I do think the answers [to the UK inquiry] will be interesting and likely to be of some use to us here,” said Deputy Heidi Soulsby, “particularly as [finance] is our largest employer.”
“Whilst there are now far more women in senior positions in the finance industry here than there were when I began in it 30 years ago, participation rates are falling, which, as the major employer here and biggest contributor to the economy, is of real concern.”
Pictured: Deputy Soulsby said, “we are told we need a minimum net migration of 300 every year to ensure economic growth but we need to do far more to reduce the barriers to those already living here to become economically active and reach their potential”.
“Clearly the costs and availability of childcare are a significant issue, as well as the need to support elderly and frail relatives,” continued Deputy Soulsby.
“However, we do need to understand far more why there are growing numbers of women not participating in the workplace. and what we, not just industry and government, but the wider community, can do about it.”
“The numbers are stark”
Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez lamented the island’s high pay gap.
“The numbers are stark: Guernsey has one of the worst gender pay gaps in the OECD index, currently at 16%, even though we’ve got the lowest (i.e. best) rate of female unemployment,” she said.
“In every salary banding over £30k, men earn on average more than women. Women still shoulder a far higher proportion of unpaid work compared with men. Guernsey has the highest cost of childcare compared with anywhere else in the OECD – a reflection of the fact our government offers the lowest levels of financial support/subsidy for childcare and parental leave.”
Pictured: Deputy de Sausmarez said the growing rate of female unemployment is worrying.
PwC published its report on the gender paygap in 2021 and has since held several events focused on closing the gap and identifying the reasons for it.
“I was grateful to be invited by PwC and the Chamber of Commerce to participate in some round table discussions that specifically looked at this issue in Guernsey,” said Deputy de Sausmarez.
“From those discussions I believe we need to tackle two key barriers to economic participation: a lack of flexibility offered by employers, and the cost and availability of childcare.
“With respect to the latter, it is typically the level of subsidy that is offered by governments that makes the biggest difference – and there are a couple of great case studies that show that such government support more than pays off.”
She also advocated for an effective shared parental leave policy.
