the business ladder

Though there still remains a significant gender pay gap in the UK, latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that it has narrowed by 2% to 10.2%.

This effectively means that women overall received larger pay increases than men in 2010, despite the trend of the year being employee pay freezes as a ‘knock-on’ effect of the recession.

As of April there were 12.7 million men and 12.3 million women in the UK workforce, but while most of the men (88%) worked full-time, just over half of the women (58%) were employed in full-time roles.

Median earnings for full-time male employees grew 1.3% to £538 per week, whilst median earnings for female employees working full-time grew by 3.1% to £439 in the year to April 2010.

A difference in pay of 10% is considered a very large gap between the sexes, and though it has dropped from 17% in 1997 when records began, this reflects a slow rate of progress.

Gender pay inequality has been linked to child poverty and the government target to eradicate it by 2020, therefore the gender pay gap is a serious factor that needs to be addressed in their strategy.  

<--- return to news section

For additional information and to request a quote, please register with us by clicking here.