On current trends, it'll take 217 years to close the global gender pay gap. That’s a statistic to remember the next time someone tells you things are better than they used to be. 

The latest research by the World Economic Forum finds that the economic divide is widening in many regions, and even where it’s closing, progress is too slow. 

In the UK, new rules oblige larger companies to calculate their gender pay gap and publish it on a government website. The revelations have focused attention on the gender pay gap, particularly in high-profile areas such as the TV news. A BBC editor resigned in protest at being paid less than her male colleagues. Meanwhile, a well-known presenter Jon Snow recently took a voluntary 25% “gender pay cut” to help close the gap. 

If you want to tackle the gender pay gap in your business, start by measuring it. A minimum requirement is that you pay men and women the same amount for doing the same job, but also look at how many women are in senior positions, eligible for bonuses, etc.