Britain's Gender Pay Gap Is Under the Spotlight

The pay gap between women and men is coming under the spotlight in the U.K. New rules require firms with 250 or more employees to calculate and report any disparity in wages between male and female workers by April 2018. As the first releases trickle in, there’s been a wave of controversy sparked by the nation’s public broadcaster, the BBC, which disclosed a wide gap among pay for presenters.

David Cameron, who served as prime minister from 2010 to 2016, made addressing the gender-pay "scandal" part of the Conservative Party’s agenda. By shedding light on the issue, the government hopes employers will consider ways to remedy the situation. Announcing the new disclosure rules in 2015, Cameron said they would “cast sunlight on the discrepancies and create the pressure we need for change, driving women’s wages up.” By the time the rules took effect this year, Cameron was out of office, replaced by the U.K.’s second female prime minister, Theresa May.