A NEW report by the Fawcett Society reveals that women in the UK aged 40 and older will continue to face the gender pay gap until they reach state pension age.
The Equal Pay Day 2023 report, titled “Making flexible working the default,” exposes that, on average, working women earn £574 less per month than men, amounting to £6,888 annually.
The report attributes this disparity to a lack of flexible working opportunities in well-paid, high-quality jobs.
Women, in order to balance caregiving responsibilities, often settle for less fair and equal working arrangements.
The Fawcett Society stresses that progress in closing the gender pay gap has been slow, with this year’s Equal Pay Day falling on 22 November – the point when women, on average, stop being paid compared to men.
Highlighting the sluggish pace of change, the research suggests that the gender pay gap won’t close until 2051, if current trends persist.
Jemima Olchawski, chief executive, Fawcett Society, said: “Too many women take on less-desirable and less well-paid roles so they can access flexibility and this contributes to the gender pay gap. Flexible work must be made the default for everyone.
“Employees need a better understanding of the different forms of flexible work open to them across all career paths and employers need to embrace the benefits this will bring to their organisation.”
They argue that making flexible work the default is crucial for accelerating the closure of the pay gap.
The report, based on a Survation survey of 2,844 UK adults, reveals significant insights, including the fact that 40 per cent of unemployed women believe access to flexible work would enable them to take on paid employment, a sentiment echoed by almost a third of unemployed men.
Additionally, women are more likely to work part-time (27 per cent) compared to men (14 per cent), and 77 per cent of women express a preference for jobs with advertised flexible working options.
In response to these findings, the Fawcett Society is advocating for a mandatory ethnicity pay gap report.
Data from 2020 by the Office for National Statistics reveals substantial gaps, with Black African women earning 26 per cent less than men, Bangladeshi women 28 per cent, and Pakistani women 31 per cent.
*The Fawcett Society campaigns for gender equality and women’s rights.
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