Question to Brian Gibbons- gender pay gap

Bethan Jenkins: It is well documented that women earn an average of 80p for every £1 earned by men. That figure is made substantially worse when you take account of part-time workers. Given that women, in many instances, try to juggle childcare and part-time work, what are your thoughts on this, and what work are you doing to try to address this discrepancy in the system?

Brian Gibbons: I am glad to say that the figure of 80p is a UK-wide figure; the gap between men’s and women’s pay in Wales is significantly narrower. We have worked with the trades union movement on many of the problems to help to increase its capacity to campaign on this issue. The first phase of the Close the Pay Gap campaign was directed specifically at the private sector. The problems of the inequality of women’s pay are based on the principle of equality, but there are also deep structural problems in how women are segregated in different occupations, and the fact that they have more domestic responsibilities than men which have the consequence of limiting how far they can travel to work.

All these structural issues need thoroughgoing responses, and they will not be readily available by just a simple initiative; we really do need a root-and-branch approach to tackle this totally unacceptable practice.


Bethan Jenkins: Mae’n dra hysbys bod menywod yn ennill 80c ar gyfartaledd am bob £1 y mae dynion yn ei hennill. Mae’r ffigur hwnnw’n waeth o lawer os ystyrir gweithwyr rhan amser. Gan fod menywod, mewn llawer achos, yn ceisio ymdopi â gofal plant a gwaith rhan amser, beth yw’ch meddyliau ynghylch hynny, a pha waith yr ydych yn ei wneud i geisio delio â’r anghysondeb hwn sydd yn y system?

Brian Gibbons: Yr wyf yn falch o ddweud bod y ffigur o 80c yn un ar gyfer y DU gyfan; mae’r bwlch rhwng cyflogau dynion a menywod yng Nghymru’n llai o lawer. Yr ydym wedi gweithio gyda mudiad yr undebau llafur ar lawer o’r problemau i geisio rhoi mwy o allu iddo ymgyrchu ar y mater hwn. Yr oedd rhan gyntaf yr ymgyrch Cau’r Bwlch Cyflog wedi’i chyfeirio’n benodol at y sector preifat. Mae problemau cyflog anghyfartal i fenywod wedi’u seilio ar egwyddor cydraddoldeb, ond mae problemau adeileddol sylfaenol hefyd o ran y modd y mae menywod wedi’u neilltuo i wahanol alwedigaethau, a’r ffaith bod ganddynt fwy o gyfrifoldebau yn y cartref na dynion a bod hynny’n cyfyngu’r pellter y gallant ei deithio i fynd i’r gwaith.

Mae angen ymatebion trwyadl i’r holl faterion adeileddol hyn, ac ni fyddant ar gael yn rhwydd drwy gynllun syml yn unig; mae gwir angen inni ddelio â’r arfer gwbl annerbyniol hon brig, gwraidd a bôn.