The Ministry for Equality has announced that this year, for the first time, a Gender Pay Gap Survey will accompany the Employment Survey.

The Employment Survey is currently being delivered to all employers in the private sector, and, in its current format, shows that a gender overall earnings gap exists in Gibraltar.

The Ministry have explained that the way in which data is collected has been changed so as to ascertain figures in greater detail.

Employers with 20 employees or more are asked to complete the Gender Pay Gap survey. This is essential in order to establish the local gender pay gap and in order to develop strategies to reduce it.

The Gender Pay Gap survey, which is a key part of the Ministry for Equality's Gender Equality Strategy, aims to ensure that women have access to the same opportunities in the workplace and that women’s overall lifetime earnings do not lag behind their male counterparts’ earnings.

Minister for Equality, the Hon. Samantha Sacramento, MP, said, “The Gender Pay Gap survey is an important innovation and a major and necessary step forward in establishing baseline data with regard to women’s earnings. It will also elucidate the current role and experience of women in the local workforce highlighting areas of vertical and horizontal segregation. The existence of a gender pay gap means that women will earn less than men in their lifetime due to lack of opportunity as opposed to lack of ability and this needs to be addressed”