Women: Like men, only cheaper

Hurray! It’s equal pay day! The day when men and women are finally paid the same… Oh, wait – no, it doesn’t mean that at all. Equal Pay Day actually refers to the day of the year when women stop earning, compared to men.


The current pay gap between men and women in the UK is 13.9%, which means that this year, Equal Pay day falls on November 10^th. This is an improvement on last year (November 9th), but is progress being made quickly enough? There are 51 days left of the year – if we only improve one day a year, most people reading this are more likely to see retirement before they see wage parity!


Women are increasingly well educated, so why isn’t this translating into higher pay? In the UK, the aggregate (full and part time) gender pay gap for graduates ten years after graduation is 23% [1] Why do you think this is?


The gender pay gap also varies by occupation and ranges from 3.9% for sales (a decrease) and customer service, to 25.1% (an increase) for skilled trade occupations in April 2015 [2] (such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, welders, technicians, engineers etc. - you know, those jobs we are trying to get more women into...).


Why, when the 1970 Equal Pay Act has been around for nearly 50 years is there still such discrepancy?


The Government is bringing in mandatory pay transparency rules, which mean that all companies with more than 250 employees will be required to disclose how much they are paying in salaries and bonuses to their male and female staff. There is a further plan for a league table to be produced which will rank the worst offenders. This league table is scheduled for 2018. Come on, Businesses! You’ve got 2 years to sort out these gaps before you are named and shamed!


In the meantime, if you are being paid less than a man and wish to dispute it, you are able to bring your employer to a tribunal – if, that is, you have £1,200 for the upfront fees (brought in by the 2013 Coalition government). Unfortunately, the introduction of upfront fees is likely to deter women from seeking justice over gender wage imbalances, as (being lower paid) they are less likely to have the money to afford the case! [3]


And spare a thought for those in other countries – the worst gender gaps around the world last year were found in South Korea (where women earn 36.6% less than men), Estonia and Japan (26.6%), Israel (21.8%), and the Netherlands (20.5%). The narrowest gap was found in New Zealand, where women earned 5.6% less than men. This was followed by Belgium (5.9%), Luxembourg (6.5%), Denmark (6.8%) and Norway (7%). [4]


Should we talk to our colleagues about how much we/they earn? Many people are taught that it is perhaps impolite to discuss money, but perhaps the not-knowing is compounding the problem? Has anyone here discussed salaries with their colleagues, and if so, did you find that there was a gap? How did you approach the subject?


Aside from mandatory wage lists, are there any other policies or conversations that could be had to reduce and (hopefully) eliminate the pay differences?

Previous UK Equal pay days:

• 2016:  10^th November

• 2015: 9^th November

• 2014: 4^th November

• 2013: 7^th November