Gender pay gap narrows
Article Date: Nov 14 2005
The median average pay gap between male and female employees narrowed to a record low of 13.2 per cent during the year to April 2005 – according to latest research from the UK’s Office of National Statistics.
Women in the East Midlands and the South-East suffer from the greatest disparity of earnings, taking home an average 15.8 per cent less than their male peers. In Northern Ireland, by way of contrast, the gender pay gap stood at just 4.2 per cent.
Also encouraging was the finding that the median hourly rate for women increased by 4.7 per cent to £9.82 during the period, a larger percentage point increase than the 3.2 per cent rise (to £11.31) enjoyed by men. Similar trends were noted among the lowest wage earners (3.6 per cent for women, three per cent for men) and the highest-paid individuals (5.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively).
But while the gender pay gap continues to reduce steadily – the median disparity has decreased from 17.5 per cent in 1998 to 13.2 per cent today – many worrying trends remain.
At £370, the median weekly earnings for full-time female employees in the UK, for instance, still stands some 21.5 per cent below the male average (£472). According to the Office of National Statistics, this trend, in part, represents the fact that women work fewer hours per week on average.
Moreover – as Jenny Watson, acting chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) – points out that although ‘progress has been made in reducing the full-time pay gap, the part-time pay gap remains stuck at around 40 per cent. An EOC investigation found that 5.6 million part-time workers today are working below their potential – stuck in badly paid, low-level jobs, with little hope of career progression.’
