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The Cabinet Office’s gender pay gap embarrassment

(Photo: iStock)

Today, Whitehall departments published their gender pay gaps, as part of a government commitment to ‘transparency’ and its drive to encourage equal pay among the sexes.

The gender pay gap scheme is run by the Government Equalities Office, a branch of the Civil Service which sits inside the Cabinet Office, and which is responsible for forcing private companies across the land to publish their own pay gaps every year.

Mr S wonders though if there might be some red faces in the Civil Service after this year’s release. Although the GEO did not release statistics about its own pay gap, its parent department, the Cabinet Office, did. And as its report on the gap sheepishly explains, it just so happens that this year the pay gap widened at the department:

Screenshot_2020-12-15_at_19.19.08.png

The Cabinet Office attempts to explain away the change by pointing out that individuals on ‘Government Commercial pay terms’ apparently skew the figures.

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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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