date: 10 March 2008
embargo: 00.01hrs Tuesday 11 March 2008
Women in their 30s are hit hardest by gender pay gap
The gender pay gap more than trebles when women reach their 30s, according to a new TUC report out today (Tuesday).
The report Closing the Gender Pay Gap, published on the eve of the 2008 TUC Women's Conference (starting Wednesday 12 March), says that adult women in all age groups earn less than men of the same age. The sharpest increase in the gender pay gap occurs when women reach their 30s. The difference between men's and women's full-time earnings rises from 3.3 per cent for women aged 22-29 to 11.2 per cent for women aged 30-39.
Several causes are cited for the gender pay gap, including the concentration of women in low-paid jobs such as childcare and cleaning, the undervaluing of women's skills and the employment penalty for mothers. This 'motherhood penalty' partly explains why the gender pay gap increases so rapidly for women in their 30s.
The report also says that women are twice as likely to be poor as men. Over one in four women (27 per cent) are classified as poor, by being in the lowest earning bracket, compared to just 13 per cent of men. The average weekly disposable income for women is £127, £85 less than men.
A lack of quality, well-paid work is cited as one of the main causes of women's poverty, as nearly half of all part-time jobs are low paid. Women working part-time earn nearly 40 per cent less per hour than men working full-time. With 7.5 million part-time workers, Britain has one of the highest proportions of this type of work in Europe, and more than three-quarters are female.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'We all expect our wages to increase as our careers progress. But women's wages start to stagnate as early as their 30s and many are paying an unacceptable penalty simply for having children. Despite girls outperforming boys at school and at university, too many employers are still failing to make use of women's skills. This waste of talent isn't just hurting their take home pay, it's harming the UK economy too.
'When women earn poverty wages, the whole family suffers. If the Government is serious about ending child poverty, it must raise family income by creating better paid, quality part-time work Britain's 7.5 million part-time workers.'
Minister for Women Harriet Harman said: 'I just don't believe women are less committed, less hard-working or less able than men. So they shouldn't be paid less. The gender pay gap has fallen from 17% to 12% in the last ten years, and there will be some tough measures in the new Equality Bill which will come out later this year, to cut it even further.'
Campaigns officer at the Fawcett Society Kat Banyard said: 'The gender pay gap is a national scandal. At every level in UK workplaces women are being paid less than men. The paucity of senior flexible roles and long working hours culture shuts women out of the boardroom and forces then into lower paid, lower status jobs when they have children.
'This Government has an historic opportunity to end pay discrimination with preventative and remedial measures in the Single Equality Act. As a basic first step to rooting out inequality, all companies should be required to conduct pay audits. UK women cannot afford to wait any longer. We need action from Government now.'
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Mean Gender Pay Gaps for different age groups
|
Age |
Full-time pay for men |
Full-time pay for women |
Part-time pay for women |
Full-time gender pay gap |
Part-time gender pay gap |
|
16-17 |
£4.75 |
£5.21 |
£5.14 |
-9.7% |
-8.2% |
|
18-21 |
£7.28 |
£6.96 |
£6.96 |
4.4% |
11.54% |
|
22-29 |
£11.08 |
£10.72 |
£8.49 |
3.3% |
23.4% |
|
30-39 |
£15.64 |
£13.89 |
£10.70 |
11.2% |
31.6% |
|
40-49 |
£17.35 |
£13.39 |
£10.21 |
22.8% |
41.2% |
|
50-59 |
£16.22 |
£12.88 |
£9.89 |
20.6% |
39.0% |
|
60+ |
£13.36 |
£11.45 |
£8.90 |
14.3% |
33.4% |
Percentage distribution of women and men in the total individual income quintiles
|
Bottom quintile |
Second quintile |
Third quintile |
Fourth quintile |
Top quintile |
Population (thousands) |
|
|
Women |
27 |
25 |
21 |
16 |
11 |
23003 |
|
Men |
13 |
14 |
19 |
24 |
30 |
21524 |
|
All adults |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
44528 |
- The 2008 TUC Women's Conference is taking place between Wednesday 12 March and Friday 14 March at the Winter Gardens, Eastbourne. Harriet Harman will address the Conference on Thursday 13 March.
- The TUC report 'Closing the Gender Pay Gap: An update report for TUC Women's Conference 2008' can be accessed at www.tuc.org.uk/genderpaygap
- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Register for the TUC's press extranet: a service exclusive to journalists wanting to access pre-embargo releases and reports from the TUC. Visit www.tuc.org.uk/pressextranet
Contacts:
Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Brenchley T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07900 910624 E: ebrenchley@tuc.org.uk
Press release (900 words) issued 11 Mar 2008
