There are many theories as to why the pay gap exists and we can get really deep and talk about how the patriarchy or patriarchal structure is the main cause of the gender pay gap, but to keep it simple we'll look at it from two perspectives: What you can do an employee and what you can do as an employer.

1. The employee has a role to play and the employer has a role to play - and often we are either the employee, the employer or both so we can always do something to close the gap. 

2. As an employee, whether new to the role or you've been in the role for a while, you should research what you are worth and feel confident to request the highest amount when applying for a job or when the opportunity for appraisal arises. It has been argued that men are more confident at negotiating their wage and so that is how men end up doing the same job as women at a higher wage. However, "Paying one person more than another at the same level can be justified if the individual has a skillset of genuinely unique value to an organisation, but the process can result in the bravest candidates getting the biggest packages. “Previous research has shown women tend to be more moderate on what they ask for, which can have a medium and long-term effect,” says Charles Cotton, the CIPD’s senior performance and reward adviser."

3. This brings us to our next point. It has also been argued tha women DO request for the full worth in wage, but it is the gatekeepers - often men or policies set by men - that stop them from being paid the higher wage. This is where employers can play a role by doing an audit on the wage gap in their organisation and reviewing policies that hold inherit biases. For example, putting the responsability of reviewing whether the wage correlates to skills and expereince on the company, rather than waiting for the bravest candidates to set their wage. Companies with over 250 employees now have to publish their annual gender pay data, by law.

CASE STUDY

EasyJet is one organisation that has articulated both its problem and its proposed solution. In its 2016 annual report, the airline explained that pilots are predominantly male and cabin crew are mostly female. Irrespective of gender, pilots are paid similar wages at easyJet, and the same is true for cabin crew. 

To bridge the gap this causes, the airline introduced a scheme to encourage more women to become pilots. It set itself incremental goals, one of which was to double its female pilot intake within two years. It succeeded in just 12 months: the figures went from under 6 per cent in 2015 to 12 per cent in 2016. It is just one small step but, when it comes to gender pay gaps, being able to show you are confronting the problem is immeasurably important.

4. Skills and skill development. When we dd the gender pay gap campaign last year we met with some social work students who immiediately identified the imbalance of skill development on placement. For example, while on placement, the men asked her (the woman) to go and prepare the tea and sandwiches while they tended to the paperwork. She recognised that she was 'innocently' being asked to attend to the soft duties required in the job and as a result losing out on the opportunity to develop the skills to do the paperwork. Makes sure you're not being asked to do the more domestic duties where the analytical duties are being given to men. This is a responsability on both men and women to self analyse their actions in the world and to adapt them to be more inclusive.

5. Children. One of the theories that there is a pay gap, and an 18% pay gap more specifically in the UK, is becaus that at the hight of the career where men will usually progress, that is when women traditionally get married and have children - which means that when they return to work, men have had more expereince and opportunity under their belts. It has been argued that "12 years after giving birth to their first child, women are likely to receive 33% less pay than men. By the time that child is 20, women’s employment rates still have not caught up again with men’s." It is also said that women tend to work less hours (in the office, as they'll be working more hours of unpaid labour if they have domestic duties on top of their official office hours.)