The new analysis of official statistics shows that women earn less than men annually at every stage in their careers. However the gender pay gap is at its widest when a woman hits 50. She will earn £85,040 less over the course of this decade than a full-time man.
Young women
The gender pay gap begins as soon as women start their careers – an 18-year-old woman working full-time earns on average £1,395 a year less than her male peers.
This increases steadily through her 20s, when a woman earns on average £1,944 less a year than men of a similar age, and 30s, when the annual pay gap hits £3,034 – meaning a 30-year-old woman loses £30,340 over the next decade.
Women in their 40s
The gap in annual earnings more than doubles when women enter their 40s, leaping up from £3,034 to £7,234 a year – or £72,340 over the decade of her 40s.
The TUC believes this reflects the different impact of parenthood on women’s and men’s earnings. TUC research published earlier this year found that at age 42 (the midpoint of a typical working life) the pay gap between mums and dads in full-time work was 42%. For childless men and women in their early 40s, it was 12%.
The mothers who were least likely to experience a motherhood pay penalty were those who had children later in life when they were more senior and returned to full-time work soon after having children.
Women aged 50+
The pay gap widens further for women in their 50s, hitting £8,504 a year, or £85,040 through the decade, as caring responsibilities – including for older relatives – continue to have an impact.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Women suffer a huge pay penalty over the course of their careers, which peaks in their 50s. At current rates of progress it will take decades for women to achieve pay parity with men.
“Having children has starkly different effects on men’s and women’s pay, with women earning less after having kids, and men earning more. Far more needs to be done to help mums get back into decent, well-paid jobs after they have kids – and to encourage dads to take on their share of caring responsibilities.
"Workplaces with union coverage are more likely to have family friendly policies. So a good first step for women worried about their pay is to join a union.”
Progress on closing the full-time gender pay gap has slowed over the last few years. The TUC has calculated that at its current rate it will take nearly half a century to achieve pay parity between women and men.
The TUC wants to see the following action to help close the gender pay gap:
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- Gross median annual earnings for full-time employees from ASHE 2015
Age |
Full-time male employees median gross annual earnings (£) |
Full-time female employees median gross annual earnings (£) |
Gender gap £ |
Gender gap % |
18-21 |
15,268 |
13,873 |
-1,395 |
-9.1% |
22-29 |
22,781 |
20,837 |
-1,944 |
-8.5% |
30-39 |
30,273 |
27,239 |
-3,034 |
-10.0% |
40-49 |
34,059 |
26,825 |
-7,234 |
-21.2% |
50-59 |
32,773 |
24,269 |
-8,504 |
-25.9% |
60+ |
27,693 |
21,372 |
-6,321 |
-22.8% |
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ashe/annual-survey-of-hours-and-earnings/2015-provisional-results/index.html
- The 2015 ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings revealed the pay gap is falling by just 0.2 percentage points a year. If it continues at this rate it will take 47 years to achieve pay parity between men and women.
- The TUC’s research on the Motherhood Pay Penalty, published in March, is available at www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/MotherhoodPayPenalty.pdf
- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @The_TUC and follow the TUC press team @tucnews
Want to hear about our latest news and blogs?
Sign up now to get it straight to your inbox
To access the admin area, you will need to setup two-factor authentication (TFA).