Inquiry into City bonus fairness

BONUSES

Inquiry into City bonus fairness

The leader of the Commons has asked the Equality Commission to examine City bonuses and rule whether they discriminate against women.

According to a report on the BBC web site, Harriet Harman told a Labour regional conference in Sheffield on 7 February 2009 that men working in the finance sector are paid over 40% more than women.

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In her speech, Harman described the bonus system as a "licence for unfairness and discrimination". She believes action must go beyond existing bans on board-level payouts.

A final word

"We don't have to choose between a strong economy and fairness - we must have both. And that includes fairness in the financial services sector. There is something rotten in the remuneration system of the banks and finance companies. Men paying themselves millions of pounds of bonuses each - and then saying that they didn't know what was going on." - Harriet Harman, leader of the Commons.

Want to know more?

Read the full BBC report online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7876183.stm.