Firms could be outed over low pay for women

COMPANIES face being shamed into closing the pay gap between men and women.

Ministers are being urged to introduce legislation to force firms to publish details of the number of their employees - by sex - in different pay bands.

The measure is being pushed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Solicitor General, Vera Baird, is said to be sympathetic to it.

Full-time male workers are paid 17.1 per cent more than similarly qualified women, according to government figures, with the pay gap doubling for part-time staff.

Lady Prosser, deputy chairwoman of the commission, believes publishing pay band league tables would speed up the drive for equality. She said: "It's enough to give a good picture of which firms are lagging behind when it comes to equality."

John Wright, head of the Federation of Small Businesses, added: "We hope there will be some thought given to the impact on small employers of any mandatory audit of pay scales."