Gender pay gap widens for full-time staff in UK

by XPRESS, 29 October 2019

A new report published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), found that this year the gender pay gap for full-time staff widened from 8.6% to 8.9%. The ONS claim that such a small increase isn’t statistically significant. However, it does showcase that full-time women in the workforce are enduring another hit.

The pay gap for part-time staff closed a little from -4.9% to -3.1%. This means that women are still earning more than men for part-time work.

Altogether, the gender pay gap lessened from 17.8% to 17.3%, so it’s not all bad news.

The gender pay gap steadily decreased from 1997 to 2012, however since then has been static.

The ONS suggests that the cause of the pay gap is largely down to women having to leave their work (generally to take care of children), then re-enter the workforce at a lower level. Women returning to work after taking time off are very likely to start from a lower salary, which may contribute to the overall average being lowered.

In addition to this, the three career categories that seen the largest increase in women in full-time positions were sales and customer service, elementary occupations, and plant and machine operatives. All of these roles have a below average hourly rate, which again could contribute to the overall average being lowered.

Emma Richardson