The gender pay gap in the UK has increased this year to 11.9% from 10.6% last year, according to the national Equal Pay Day campaigner.
Equal Pay Day, which falls today on 18th November this year, is a national campaign led by the Fawcett Society; the UK’s leading membership charity campaigning for gender equality and women’s rights at work, at home and in public life. It marks the day in the year where women effectively, on average, stop earning relative to men because of the gender pay gap. It comes eight days after women living in the European Union effectively begin working for free, according to the EU commission. It also means that Equal Pay Day has moved two days earlier in the year, compared to 20th November in 2020.
The gender pay gap is the difference between the average pay of men and women within a particular group or population. Fawcett uses the mean, full-time, hourly gender pay gap for the UK to calculate the gender pay gap for Equal Pay Day, which has increased this year by 1.3%. An increase in the gender pay gap can be seen for women in this year’s data, from the ONS Gender Pay Gap in the UK 2021; with younger women facing a rising gender pay gap.
COVID IMPACT ON GENDER PAY GAP
“The Covid pandemic has made collecting the gender pay gap data difficult and is likely to have had an impact on inequality in the labour market itself. We will need to wait until furlough, data collection and other issues have ended before we can be certain of what has happened,” stated Felicia Willow, former Interim CEO of the Fawcett Society. “Our recent research has shown the severe impacts of the pandemic on younger women particularly, both on the sectors they work in and on their mental health. Today’s data suggest the pay gap for them may be rising; and that action is needed to stop this turning into a long-term increase in the gender pay gap.”
Whilst gender pay gap reporting has been effective in getting big employers to act, it needs to go much further. “We want to see Government requiring mandatory action plans from employers to tackle gender pay gap in the workforce, as well as sharing data,” added Willow. “The pandemic has had a tough and disproportionate impact on women, in particular women of colour, disabled women and mothers. And now in addition to this, a widening gender pay gap paints a worrying picture. The Government needs to take bold action, from improving childcare provision, making flexible working available to everyone, and tackling the rising cost of living.”
After a few years of consecutive progress towards closing the gap, this year’s set back reflects Covid-19’s disproportionate impact on women across all facets of their lives, as well as a lack of mandatory action plans from the government to tackle the gender pay gap head on.
REPORTING REQUIREMENT DELAY
“It’s no secret that the pandemic has disproportionately affected working women, with pre-existing inequalities exacerbated in a world impacted by job losses, financial strain, and home-schooling,” stated Skillsoft’s AVP EMEA Agata Nowakowska. “Yet, it is still disappointing to see that Equal Pay Day has shifted slightly earlier in this year’s calendar, calculated by the gender pay gap increase to 11.9% from 10.6% in 2020.”
Nowakowska believes that the decision to suspend and delay the reporting requirement has certainly had an impact on the final figures. “Indeed, a quarter fewer employers published their pay gap data this year. And while the effects of the pandemic all contribute to this year’s numbers, the bigger concern is that diversity and inclusion initiatives have taken a back seat. Now, more than ever, businesses must ensure equal pay initiatives are highlighted on the boardroom agenda,” she highlighted.
Employers “must ensure that every worker has the opportunity to expand their role toward higher-paying positions, which includes how they address unconscious bias and facilitate professional development and mentoring”, added Nowakowska. “Above all, it’s important for organisations to challenge themselves to contribute in eliminating inequity in the workplace. Only by recognising where obstacles lie can we make meaningful steps to implement change.”
Other gender equality experts and campaigners, such as Women on Boards UK and Spktral have also recently called for more accuracy and accountability to improve gender equality in the workplace, as reported.
Did you know that around half of staff don’t think their employer is dedicated to closing pay gaps? Click here to read more.
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