NEW DATA from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that the gender pay gap in the UK has shown minimal improvement in the past year.
The figures indicate that among full-time workers, the gender pay gap has inched up from 7.6 per cent in 2022 to 7.7 per cent in 2023. However, this remains lower than the pre-pandemic level of 9 per cent in 2019.
When considering all employees, the gender pay gap decreased slightly from 14.4 per cent in 2022 to 14.3 per cent in 2023, still below the 2019 figure of 17.4 per cent.
The ONS has reported a slow, gradual decline in the gender pay gap over the last decade, amounting to a 25 per cent reduction among full-time employees.
A significant difference persists in the gender pay gap between employees aged 40 and older and those under 40. Furthermore, the gap is more pronounced in every English region compared to Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
ONS head of earnings statistics Nicola J. White said: “Our detailed annual survey shows that, in the year to April 2023, employees saw their pay growing at its fastest in cash terms since comparable records began, but, once inflation is taken into account, people’s pay fell again in real terms.
“Thanks partly to increases in the National Minimum Wage, lower-paid groups saw faster earnings growth over the year than those higher up the pay scale.
“The full-time gender pay gap was very little changed on the year, but has fallen by about a quarter over the last decade and remains smaller than it was before the coronavirus pandemic.”
The ONS also reported an increase in median weekly earnings for full-time employees, reaching £682 in April 2023, which is a 6.2 per cent rise from the previous year (£642).
This is the most significant growth since records began in 1997. However, when adjusted for inflation, median weekly earnings for full-time employees dropped by 1.5 per cent year-on-year.
The growth in earnings was particularly prominent in lower-paying occupations, with roles in caring, leisure, and other service sectors experiencing a 9.4 per cent increase and sales and customer service occupations seeing a 9.2 per cent rise compared to the previous year.
Trades Union Congress (TUC) general secretary Paul Nowak expressed: “At this rate it will take decades to close the gender pay gap. Companies must be legally required to explain how they’ll close their gender pay gaps – and should face fines if they don’t comply with the law.”
*XpertHR: Online HR resource in the UK
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