Gender pay gap highlights part-time pay penalty

Commenting on the latest annual pay statistics published today (Wednesday) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – which show that the full-time median gender pay gap reduced to 9.4 per cent in 2014 (from 10 per cent the year before) – TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“It’s good to see the gender pay gap narrowing again. But after last year’s widening we’re only back to where we were in 2012.

“Part-time women’s pay still lags some way behind that of their full-time colleagues. Nearly six million women work part-time and they earn £5.15 less per hour than full-time men. Two in five of part-time women earn less than the living wage.  

“We need better paid, flexible, part-time work opportunities, and better paid leave for fathers to encourage more equal parenting.

“The full-time gender pay gap may have closed for younger women but it widens dramatically for women in their 40s and 50s. Far too many women still find they have to take a step down to access flexible or reduced hours once they become mothers, and their earnings never recover even when they return to full-time work.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- On the ONS preferred measure the full-time gender pay gap fell from 10 per cent to 9.4 per cent in 2014. In 2012, it was 9.5 per cent. This measure compares the full-time median hourly earnings (excluding overtime) for men and women.

- On the mean measure of the gender pay gap, the gap is now 14.2 per cent, down from 15.7 per cent in 2013. In 2012, it was 14.8 per cent.

- The UK living wage is £7.85, rising to £9.15 in London

- The ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings is available at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ashe/annual-survey-of-hours-and-earnings/2014-provisional-results/index.html

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
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