13 NOV 2023

Women’s Earnings Pause Compared to Men

Equal Pay Day 2023: The Fawcett Society, a UK gender equality charity, marks 22nd November as Equal Pay Day. This date symbolises when women effectively stop earning compared to men, owing to a 10.7% gender pay gap.

Glassdoor Survey: A survey by Glassdoor of 2,000 UK employees indicates that a lack of salary transparency is disadvantaging women, contributing to a gender pay gap of 14.3% as of November 2023.

Negotiation Anxiety: Research by Syndio shows that 69% of women feel anxious about negotiating salaries, with 20% fearing career damage from asking for a raise.

Root Causes of the Gender Pay Gap:

The Motherhood Penalty: Professional setbacks for women post-motherhood due to perceived priority shifts.

Historical Roles & Stereotypes: Traditional roles casting men as breadwinners and women as caregivers.

Occupational Segregation: Different professions for men and women, often based on societal norms.

Limited Access to Senior Roles: Women's underrepresentation in high-paying senior positions.

Negotiation Dynamics: Women are less likely to negotiate salaries than men.

Part-Time Work: Higher prevalence of women in part-time roles, often with slower wage growth.

Lack of Transparency: Organisational pay secrecy, obscuring disparities.

Unequal Access to Education: In some regions, women's limited educational opportunities restrict career growth.

The FE News article emphasises the necessity of continuous efforts to bridge the gender pay gap and achieve workplace gender equality. Legal experts at Weightmans also contribute to the discourse by examining ways to address this disparity.