HR Dilemma: Is bad publicity a bigger operational issue than a gender pay gap?

The gender pay gap currently stands at 13.9%, according to the Fawcett Society, but is it the biggest issue facing firms?

The deadline for gender pay gap reporting looms large, as well as the possibility of being ‘named and shamed’ for unequal pay policies which will, inevitably, lead to bad publicity. Research by NGA Human Resources found that 40% of respondents thought bad publicity was something to be concerned about.  

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Bad publicity lingers long in the mind of customers, and can take years to quash. Executives need to act quickly if they’re to stop situations escalating. Take the Chief Executive of Lloyds Banking Group, Antonio Horta-Osorio, as an example. He personally emailed 75,000 staff apologising for his actions after allegations surrounding his personal life emerged in the papers. The memo was then given to Sky News. Disaster was averted.

The gender pay gap is a much more wide-ranging issue, but is it for that very reason that it’s seen as less of a problem? The Horta-Osorio incident made him, and the bank, personally liable. Whereas the inequality that blights industries has no real centre point of blame, leaving no one responsible but affecting millions.