The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has condemned the use of mandatory pay audits, following the government’s plans for the Equalities Bill.

Harriet Harman, minister for women and equality, will put the bill forward in the autumn. It will require both private sector companies contracting with state, and public sector employers, to produce audits showing the gender pay gap as well as the proportion of their ethnic minority staff.

John Cridland, deputy director-general at the CBI, said: "The debate on equality often misses the point. Unlawful discrimination in the private sector is not the main reason why inequalities still exist. The issues are cultural, educational and occupational.

"So the CBI would never support unnecessary legislation which isn’t targeted on the real issues. Mandatory equal pay audits or mandatory disclosure of meaningless statistics should not be part of the government’s plans. This would be no more than gesture politics."