Shared parental leave is a step in the right direction, but pay inequality remains a major obstacle to women achieving equality in the workforce, says the Law Society.
Responding to the government's announcement that parents will be allowed to share up to a year's leave after the birth of a child, the Law Society said the move is a useful step forward and will help many couples to share responsibility in the early stages of a child's development, but without a change to working culture, the introduction of shared parental leave will not achieve the benefit the government hopes for.
'Organisational resistance to contemporary management practices such as flexible working mean that despite the introduction of shared parental leave, many women will still face barriers to advancing their career' said Law Society president Lucy Scott Moncrieff.
The Law Society points to pay inequality as one of the most significant obstacles to women achieving equality in the workforce.
'The reality is that for many couples, a disparity in pay between the father and mother will make it difficult for couples to share parental leave', explains Law Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff.
'Families will simply not be able to afford to live off the mother's salary if it is significantly lower than the father's.'
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill gives employment tribunals the power to order employers to conduct a pay audit when they have been found to discriminate over pay. However, this is unlikely to address gender pay inequality unless there is more work done to help employers adapt to reflect the diversity of the workforce and parents' expectations of a work/life balance.
Scott-Moncrieff says, 'Businesses of all sizes need support and guidance to achieve the change the government envisages for equal pay, flexible working and shared parental leave.'
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Notes to Editors:
The Law Society is the independent professional body, established for solicitors in 1825, that works globally to support and represent its members, promoting the highest professional standards and the rule of law.
Contact:
Catherine Reed, The Law Society
+44 (0)20 7320 5902