The Gender Pay Divide

In 2012, in an age of so-called equality, isn’t it astonishing that there still remains a wide pay gap between a male’s salary and their female counterparts?

Although the gender pay divide is lower in central Europe than in any other part of the world, the Gender Pay Gap (GPG) still sits at nearly 20% in the UK. (Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings).

We constantly read examples in the media of how wide the gender pay divide  is in various sectors and companies.  Only last month, the Guardian newspaper reported that in the TV production sector there was clear evidence of gender pay gaps of nearly a third.

And Network Rail also recently received some negative press after a union survey revealed a gender pay divide of up to £10,000 and an average pay gap of £4,500.

Equal pay for equal work has been part of EU legislation since 1976.  Despite this, the reality is that there has always been a gender pay divide in the UK.

As recently as 2010, the last Labour government introduced measures which stipulated that by 2013 those companies larger than 250 employees would have to file gender pay reports.

However, when the Conservative-led coalition government came into office, they removed the compulsory nature of this requirement stating that it would have an adverse effect on small businesses.

So, what’s now happening to the male-female pay divide?  How does this vary within the different sectors?

For more details, download our full eGuide by filling in the form below, which takes you through the sectors where the divide is most prevalent and in which area of the UK the gender pay divide is at it’s widest.

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