Women museum directors have welcomed minister Harriet Harman's plans to close the gender pay gap across the public sector.
Harman, secretary of state for equalities, presented her Equality Bill to parliament in June. The proposed bill, to be unveiled in the Queen's Speech later this year, will require all public sector employers to disclose any gender pay discrepancies.
The plans, which will be adopted in England, Wales and Scotland, will also allow organisations to give preferential treatment to female or ethnic minority job candidates on a "positive discrimination" basis.
Diane Lees, director designate of the Imperial War Museum and a member of the Women Leaders in Museums Network, said: "Anything that embeds equality should be encouraged, but not as quotas. Changes have to be based on recruiting the right skills for the job."
And she advised caution. "This could have a real impact on local authority museums if authorities have to rebalance the wage bill."
The National Pay Agreement 2004 forced local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to review pay and grading structures, in line with equal pay legislation.
In Birmingham, 45 per cent of council employees will see an increase in their salaries, with 41 per cent staying on the same level, following a pay review. These revisions are, however, "gender neutral", said a spokesman for Birmingham City Council.
"Single status [reviews] can improve the wages of museum workers, male and female, by trying to ensure that there is equal pay for equal work," said Wolverhampton City Council's head of Arts and Museums Corinne Miller.
However, she added: "I find it interesting that dinner ladies and cleaners by sheer force of numbers seem to have won equal pay claims, whereas museum workers with high-level skills have traditionally been low-paid but have not had this clout."
Museums Sheffield is planning a full salary review next year, Mark Hilton, director of finance and resources, confirmed. But with 41 male staff and 92 female employees, "we may find that men are at a disadvantage", he said.
Harman, secretary of state for equalities, presented her Equality Bill to parliament in June. The proposed bill, to be unveiled in the Queen's Speech later this year, will require all public sector employers to disclose any gender pay discrepancies.
The plans, which will be adopted in England, Wales and Scotland, will also allow organisations to give preferential treatment to female or ethnic minority job candidates on a "positive discrimination" basis.
Diane Lees, director designate of the Imperial War Museum and a member of the Women Leaders in Museums Network, said: "Anything that embeds equality should be encouraged, but not as quotas. Changes have to be based on recruiting the right skills for the job."
And she advised caution. "This could have a real impact on local authority museums if authorities have to rebalance the wage bill."
The National Pay Agreement 2004 forced local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to review pay and grading structures, in line with equal pay legislation.
In Birmingham, 45 per cent of council employees will see an increase in their salaries, with 41 per cent staying on the same level, following a pay review. These revisions are, however, "gender neutral", said a spokesman for Birmingham City Council.
"Single status [reviews] can improve the wages of museum workers, male and female, by trying to ensure that there is equal pay for equal work," said Wolverhampton City Council's head of Arts and Museums Corinne Miller.
However, she added: "I find it interesting that dinner ladies and cleaners by sheer force of numbers seem to have won equal pay claims, whereas museum workers with high-level skills have traditionally been low-paid but have not had this clout."
Museums Sheffield is planning a full salary review next year, Mark Hilton, director of finance and resources, confirmed. But with 41 male staff and 92 female employees, "we may find that men are at a disadvantage", he said.