Gender Payment Imbalance in the UK Workplaces

Around 95%  of local bodies across the UK are held by men, and just over a third of local councillors in the UK are women. Also, according to the surveys, women in the management positions of financial companies in the UK receive 66% less salary than their male counterparts. In 2020, men earned an average of 15.5% more than women in England, compared to 17.4% in 2019, according to official data. The present article attempts to answer this critical question why there is gender inequality in UK workplaces.

Lack of gender equality in British local councils

Analysis by the Fawcett Society and Democracy Club ahead of May’s local elections shows that only 18 out of 382 councils have minimum gender parity. This information also indicates that at the regional level, no commission has gender equality. London Council is the best, with 45% female representatives, and Northern Ireland is the worst, with 26% female representatives.

The low number of female representatives in British local councils 

Statistics showed that the proportion of female representatives in British local councils in 2022 was only 2% higher than in 2018. Labour, the Greens and the Scottish National Party have the highest number of female local councillors, with 47, 43 and 41%, respectively. The Conservative Party, the Social Democratic Party and Labour, the Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Unionist Party with 29, 29% respectively, 21 and 20% have the least female members of the local council.

The reason for the low number of women in local government

According to previous Fast research, the low number of women in local government can be partly attributed to gender inequality and harassment, which are unfortunately widespread in British local councils. The underrepresentation of women in local politics is a topic that has been discussed previously. In 2021, concerns were raised after data revealed that only one-third of candidates in the English council elections were women.

Free English women work at work.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) announced that due to gender inequality in the workplace, women in England work for free for two months a year. According to a study by the TUC, the Guardian newspaper wrote that working women lose 15% of their wages after having a child. According to this report, working women in the UK have an average annual income of £29,684 and £35,260 among working men. The report also says working women in the UK work for 54 days without being paid by employers.

Women’s wage discrimination increases with age.

According to the Guardian, the TUC, based on the Office for National Statistics data, announced that wage discrimination among older women is more significant, such that working women aged 50 to 59 for the same jobs as men of this age, 20. They are paid 8 per cent less. In other words, working women of this age in the UK work 76 days a year for free.

+6Insufficient income of British women compared to men

Working women in the UK are paid 8.9% less than British men, compared to 8.6% in 2018. The overall pay gap between men and women, which includes part-time workers, is nearly double the gap for full-time work. The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced that the pay gap between men and women working full-time in the UK has widened.

The reason for the decline in British women’s income with age

Full-time working women earn 8.9 per cent less than men, compared to 8.6 per cent in 2018; This difference is more significant among men and women over 50 years old; There is a considerable salary difference of 15%. According to the Office for National Statistics, the difference in older age groups is partly due to the underrepresentation of women in high-paid management positions and possibly part-time work.

Increasing the overall gap between men’s and women’s rights

The overall pay gap between men and women, which includes part-time workers, is nearly double the gap for full-time work; This amount has increased from 17.3% last year to 17.8%; The Office for National Statistics emphasized that the data compares the average earnings of male and female workers in all occupations and does not show differences in pay between men and women in the same fields.

The slow process of reducing the gender rights gap

Progress in closing the gender rights gap has been slow; at this rate, it will take decades to eradicate it. Many women are stuck in low-paid part-time jobs or out of non-traditional sectors, while others experience pay or pregnancy discrimination.

The lower income of female managers compared to their male counterparts

The research results in the UK showed that despite the increase in the number of women on the board of directors of companies in recent years, female directors in the largest financial services companies in the UK earn an average of 66% less than their male counterparts! According to new research, female board members earned an average of £247,100 ($349,720) per year in 2020, while their male counterparts earned £722,300.

The continuation of the income gap between English women and men

The study was conducted by the law firm Fox & Partners, which examines the salary gap in British financial companies; This Company has published its results by reviewing 350 financial companies in the UK. According to Hampton-Alexander Review, an independent institution that examines gender diversity in companies, in the last five years, the number of women on the boards of directors of these 350 companies has increased by 50% and reached 1,026 in 2020. However, the difference in the income between British women and men is still significant.

Decade gap to fill salary gap

Shocking statistics prove the UK’s gender pay gap is widening; no women are in leading roles, and those who do are often paid less than men. Closing the gender pay gap at the current rate will take decades. The government should do more; It is clear that advertising the pay gap alone is inadequate, and companies should be legally required to explain how to fill it.