Kate Andrews's comments on the gender pay gap feature in The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Caller

Head of Communications Kate Andrews’s comments on the Prime Minister’s pay gap pledge have featured in The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Caller. From The Daily Telegraph:

Of course, there are many variables at play in determining any individual’s pay. Kate Andrews from The Adam Smith Institute has called the pay gap “a myth”, adding: “Education, previous experiences, negotiating tactics and unique abilities all contribute to one’s salary, none of which can be known by comparing John and Jane’s annual take-home pay on a spreadsheet.”

Read the full article here.

From The Daily Caller:

Since Hillary’s speech Monday, analysts have warned of the potential unintended consequences of using policy tools to hike the female labor participation rate. “Once again, we find examples of government overreach into wages and labor markets backfiring on the very people it is trying to protect,” Adam Smith Institute Research Associate Kate Andrews told TheDCNF.

“The gender pay gap has been debunked for the myth that it is; women are not earning less than their male counterparts on the whole because of employer discrimination, but rather because many women make different lifestyle choices that do not value a high salary above all else,” she added.

Read the full article here. 

Why the gender pay gap is a myth - Kate Andrews writes for Spectator Coffee House

Head of Communications explains why the gender pay gap is based more on political agenda than truth on the Spectator's Coffee House blog.

Today the Prime Minister has set out to ‘end the gender pay gap in a generation’. It would be an ambitious goal, if a wage gap actually existed. According to the latest ONS figures, women between the ages of 22 – 29 earn 1.1 per cent more on average than their male counterparts and women between the ages of 30-39 are also earning more.

And it doesn’t stop there. There’s evidence that when men and women follow the same career path in the UK, women tend to out-earn and out-perform men. There is growing evidence that if you control for similar backgrounds, women actually tend to get more aggressively promoted than men by their employers.

This alleged gap that the Prime Minister refers to is actually indicative of personal lifestyle decisions, not employer discrimination. While women who choose to stay on rigorous career paths usually find themselves rewarded, many women choose to take more flexible jobs and/or years out of work to focus on different – but equally important – parts of life, like raising a family. Naturally a drastic change in working hours, work-place responsibilities and shift of focus will have an impact on one’s salary.

Read the full article here.

Will disclosed gender pay data help women in the workplace? Kate Andrews argues NO in City AM

Head of Communications Kate Andrews argued that Cameron's plan to make large businesses disclose their gender pay gaps will not help women in the workplace in the City AM debate forum:

Kate Andrews, head of communications at the Adam Smith Institute, says No

Gender pay gap stats are already manipulated to suggest that women are the targets of sexist employers throughout the UK. But the facts simply don’t support this. Women aged 22-39 working more than 30 hours a week are paid more hourly than their male counterparts.

There’s also evidence that women who stay on their career path are more likely to be promoted by their employers. Furthermore, if women truly earned less for “being women”, employers would surely drop their male staff to increase their profits. The truth behind the pay gap is not gender discrimination, but rather different choices down the line that lead some women to value other things in life more than their salary.

If large businesses are forced to publish their alleged pay gaps, we will be left with more meaningless, inaccurate numbers that will only perpetuate the myth. The numerous and complex factors that go into determining salary cannot simply be explained by a number on a spreadsheet.

Read the full debate here.

Kate Andrews debates the gender pay gap on BBC Daily Politics

Head of Communications Kate Andrews debated David Cameron's pledge to close the gender pay gap by making large businesses publish their pay gap figures on BBC Daily Politics.

Kate Andrews debates Cameron's gender pay gap pledge on Sky News

Head of Communications Kate Andrews debated Cameron's pledge to make large businesses publish their wage gap figures on Sky News.

Kate Andrews's comments on Cameron's pay gap pledge feature in the Guardian and Daily Mail

Head of Communications Kate Andrews's comments on the Prime Minister's pay gap pledge have featured in the Guardian and Daily Mail. From the Guardian (page 1):

Kate Andrews, its head of communications, said: “According to the ONS, women between the ages of 22–39 working more than 30 hours a week earn, on average, more than their male counterparts.

“Forcing businesses with more than 250 employees to publish their ‘pay gaps’ will only promote more myths and confusion. There is no such thing as an ‘average salary’; education, previous experiences, negotiating tactics, and unique abilities all contribute to one’s salary, none of which can be known by comparing John and Jane’s annual take-home pay on a spreadsheet.

“Furthermore, men and women often choose to make different career decisions – usually based on flexibility and rigour – so they can embrace other, equally meaningful parts of their life; this, naturally, can be reflected in their pay.”

Read the full article here.

From The Daily Mail (page 4):

Kate Andrews, from the Adam Smith Institute, said: 'There is no such thing as an "average salary". Education, previous experiences, negotiating tactics and unique abilities all contribute to one's salary, none of which can be known by comparing John and Jane's annual take-home pay on a spreadsheet."

Also, from the Mail Online:

Kate Andrews at the free-market think tank the Adam Smith Institute said: ‘Men and women often choose to make different career decisions, so they can embrace other, equally meaningful parts of their life. This, naturally, can be reflected in their pay.’

Read the full article here.

Kate Andrews's comments on the gender pay gap feature in City AM, Huffington Post and IBTimes

Head of Communications Kate Andrew’s comments on the Prime Minister’s pay gap pledge have featured in City AM, the Huffington Post UK and the International Business Times UK. From City AM:

“It’s a sad state of affairs when even the Prime Minister is promoting the gender pay gap myth. According to the Office for National Statistics, women between the ages of 22-39 working more than 30 hours a week earn, on average, more than their male counterparts,” said Kate Andrews from free-market think tank the Adam Smith Institute.

“Education, previous experiences, negotiating tactics, and unique abilities all contribute to one’s salary, none of which can be known by comparing John and Jane’s annual take-home pay on a spreadsheet.”

Read the full article here.

From the Huffington Post:

Commenting on Cameron's announcement, Kate Andrews of the Adam Smith Institute said it is a “sad state of affairs when even the Prime Minister is promoting the gender pay gap myth.” Andrews noted that according to the ONS, women between the ages of 22 – 39 working more than 30 hours a week "earn, on average, more than their male counterparts.”

"Forcing business with more than 250 employees to publish their ‘pay gaps’ will only promote more myths and confusion,” she said. “There is no such thing as an ‘average salary’; education, previous experiences, negotiating tactics, and unique abilities all contribute to one’s salary, none of which can be known by comparing John and Jane’s annual take-home pay on a spread sheet.”

"FTSE 100 companies have met the proposed target for 25% female board members not because the government told them to, but because women, through their own abilities and determination, are thriving in the work place more than ever before. But leave it to the government to try to usurp their achievements," she said.

Read the full article here.

From the International Business Times UK:

The Adam Smith Institute, a free market right-leaning thinktank also opposes the move, saying that it was a "sad state of affairs when even the prime minister is promoting the gender pay gap myth."

The institute's head of communications, Kate Andrews said that forcing businesses to publish their pay gaps will only promote more myths and confusion. "There is no such thing as an 'average salary''; education, previous experiences, negotiating tactics, and unique abilities all contribute to one's salary, none of which can be known by comparing John and Jane's annual take-home pay on a spreadsheet."

She said men and women also make different career decisions to allow them to embrace other parts of their life and this, naturally can be reflected in their pay, according to the Guardian.

Read the full article here.

Ben Southwood discusses Cameron's pay gap pledge on BBC 5 Live

Ben Southwood discusses the gender wage gap on BBC 5 Live. Listen here (Starts 11:40).

ASI spokespeople discuss the gender wage gap on BBC Radio Kent and BBC Radio Merseyside

Head of Research Ben Southwood discussed Cameron's pledge to close the pay gap on BBC Radio Kent: Listen here (Starts 1:06:29)

Head of Communications Kate Andrews also discussed Cameron's pledge on BBC Radio Merseyside:

Listen here. (Starts 22:47)

Press Release: The gender pay gap is a myth

For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact Kate Andrews, Head of Communications, at kate@adamsmith.org | 07584 778207. Commenting on David Cameron's announcement to make businesses with 250+ employees publish their pay gap figures, Head of Communications at the Adam Smith Institute Kate Andrews said:

It’s a sad state of affairs when even the Prime Minister is promoting the gender pay gap myth. According to the ONS, women between the ages of 22 – 39 working more than 30 hours a week earn, on average, more than their male counterparts.

Forcing business with more than 250 employees to publish their ‘pay gaps’ will only promote more myths and confusion. There is no such thing as an ‘average salary’; education, previous experiences, negotiating tactics, and unique abilities all contribute to one’s salary, none of which can be known by comparing John and Jane’s annual take-home pay on a spreadsheet.

Furthermore, men and women often choose to make difference career decisions – usually based on flexibility and rigor – so they can embrace other, equally meaningful parts of their life; this, naturally, can be reflected in their pay.

The Prime Minster’s claim that the implementation of the National Living Wage will primarily help women in lower paid jobs is a weak justification for another recent policy faux pas. It is women, particularly who are less-skilled or less-educated, who are most likely to be part of the 60,000 who are estimated by the OBR to be cut by their employers when they are unable to afford this wage increase.

FTSE 100 companies have met the proposed target for 25% female board members not because the government told them to, but because women, through their own abilities and determination, are thriving in the work place more than ever before. But leave it to the government to try to usurp their achievements.

Notes to editors:

For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact Kate Andrews, Head of Communications, at kate@adamsmith.org | 07584 778207.

The Adam Smith Institute is a free market, libertarian think tank based in London. It advocates classically liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.