Clare Bates, partner at Carson McDowell, has said firms in Northern Ireland should consider using International Women’s Day 2016 as an opportunity to consider steps towards pay transparency.

Ms Bates, speaking at an event organised by Ernst Young in Belfast today, highlighted forthcoming mandatory pay gap reporting regulations in England and Wales.

She said: “The World Economic Forum in its Global Gender Gap Report 2014 estimated that it will take until 2095 to achieve global gender parity in the workplace, with current estimates suggesting the gap will not close completely until 2133.

“Carson McDowell has long recognised that promoting gender equality is business critical. Figures show that there are more women entering the legal profession than men. Without women in senior roles, it would not possible for Carson McDowell to attract and retain the best lawyers. Indeed we have an equal representation of men and women at partnership level.

“Mandatory pay gap reporting will shortly be introduced in England and Wales for organisations with more than 250 employees who ordinarily work in Great Britain and whose contracts are governed by UK legislation. Employers will be required to report the overall mean and median gender pay gap across their work force, using an hourly pay rate for each relevant employee. The pay gap information must then be published on a searchable UK website and uploaded to a government website which will monitor compliance.

“Although there are currently no confirmed dates to implement similar regulations in Northern Ireland, employers and their advisers may wish to use International Women’s Day as an opportunity to consider the steps which they can take towards pay transparency, as it is likely that in due course Northern Ireland will follow the gender pay gap reporting requirements in England and Wales.”