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Women should ask male colleagues how much they earn to see if they are receiving equal pay, says women's minister
British reluctance to talk money 'holds women back', Jo Swinson said Women and Equalities Minister said talking about pay is uncomfortable, but that it could be the 'catalyst' for pay rises for females Speaking to Elle Magazine, Ms Swinson added firms may have to reveal gender pay gap, unless current voluntary measures succeed Added that people should be proud to call themselves feminists
By Gerri Peev PUBLISHED: 15:45 GMT, 4 October 2013 | UPDATED: 08:18 GMT, 5 October 2013

114 View comments

Openness: Jo Swinson has urged women to talk to their male colleagues about their salaries in an attempt to close the gender pay gap

Women workers should ask their male colleagues how much they earn as ammunition in their fight for pay parity, the Equalities Minister has urged. Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson said the only way to close the 17.4 per cent gender pay gap was to ditch the very British reluctance to discuss money. Many women do not realise they are being paid less than their male counterparts, Miss Swinson said. I think sometimes theres something very British in our culture where we dont talk about money, and I think that holds women back. If they realised they were earning significantly less than male colleagues at a similar level, that might be the catalyst they need to ask for a pay rise, she told Elle magazine, which is running a campaign on womens pay. Ms Swinson added that the Government could implement legislation requiring large firms to reveal the pay gap between the genders unless voluntary measures are successful. She backed the Elle and Feminist Times campaign that encourages women to ask male colleagues about their salaries. Ms Swinson added: 'Its not like everyones going to be comfortable about that, but trying to create a culture where people are open about these things can only help. 'One of the things that I think is brilliant about the Elle campaign is encouraging people to open up about their pay. Its definitely something we should be encouraging women to feel confident about.' There is currently legislation in place which could force companies to report their gender pay gap. However, the Government has not enacted it - preferring its voluntary Think, Act, Report scheme encouraging companies to publish as much information as possible. But Ms Swinson said: 'I would agree that while the pay gap is reducing a bit, its not reducing enough, given that were 40 years on from the initial legislation to say that men and women ought to be paid equally.

'I think we need to recognise that the Government does have the power to impose equal pay audits, and it may well be that if we do not see success through Think, Act, Report, that might be the only way to make this happen.'

Fair: The Minister said that large firms may be made to reveal the pay gap between the genders if voluntary schemes - such as the Think, Act, Report initiative - fail to succeed (library image)

The Government did not enact plans, inherited from Labour, to make the pay audits mandatory, but it has given employment tribunals the power to force those who break equal pay laws to carry out the reviews. The minister added that people should be encouraged to describe themselves as feminists. 'We should be encouraging people to be happy to declare themselves as feminists. And I think in some sections of the media there is a tendency to associate feminism with bra-burning extremism. But its about very mainstream views about womens role in society. 'We need to be very clear about claiming that word as something positive and I think that the new momentum behind a lot of feminist campaigns is exciting and is showing that there are still a lot of issues where we havent solved it. 'Its not about hating men, this is about creating a society where men and women working together can achieve more, rather than being pitted against each other in stereotypical archaic roles.'

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Comments (114)
Share what you think Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all Report comment Count Moriaty, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 11 minutes ago You can certainly ask. But I'm not telling.

0 0 Click to rate Report comment Ishkandar, London, 19 minutes ago Equal pay means equal payment per day worked and this should account for maternity leave not worked !!!

0 2 Click to rate Report comment keith, beijing, China, 24 minutes ago I sick of people looking for issues that dont exist anymore. This is not the 1970's. Women are equal and can do as well as a man. Anyone will do well - mail or femail - if they work hard. However, people that go around moaning and looking for sexism that does not exist will fail.

1 2 Click to rate Report comment robdude, London, United Kingdom, 29 minutes ago In the private sector places I've worked my contract stated it was a disciplinary offence to discuss pay with colleagues - it's certainly divisive.

0 2 Click to rate Report comment tuguybear, newcastle, 34 minutes ago Woman do like to change the goal posts.Example: school dinner ladies are paid the same as refuse collectors because they

claim it is work of "equal value".Which is easier?.Being out in the freezing cold dealing with stinking rubbish in heavy bins around dangerous machinery, or standing in a nice warm kitchen emptying canned food into pots to put on the cooker?.

0 5 Click to rate Report comment expat, auckland, 36 minutes ago She said they should be proud to be feminist .Is that why they can't stand to be called actresses and authoress ,and want to take the male name. Actors and authors. So much for wanting to be feminine.

0 1 Click to rate Report comment My brain hurts, Peterborough, 1 hour ago Does that include female wimbledon contestants who get the same money for 3/5 of the work ?.

2 13 Click to rate Report comment My brain hurts, Peterborough, 1 hour ago Does that include female wimbledon contestants who get the same money for 3/5 of the work ?.

2 6 Click to rate Report comment mecmac, dunedin, 1 hour ago And of course they are going to tell anybody else what they earn Ms Swinson. Is it not about time this young woman was back at 6th form college rather than continuing to pretend she is a grown up?

1 18 Click to rate Report comment jwwinst, Derby, United Kingdom, 1 hour ago Wow - male DM readers aren't a pleasant lot are they, judging by the comments on here.

13 4 Report comment Soy Sauce, Midlands, United Kingdom, 42 minutes ago We're lovely! :-P 0 1

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