Research highlights a persistent gender pay gap in jobs dominated by women, favoring men.
- 70% of roles where women are the majority have a significant pay gap.
- 3% of these roles show no gender pay disparity, while a quarter favor women.
- Top affected roles include office managers and solicitors with gaps over 10%.
- Findings indicate systemic pay inequities impacting women’s lifelong earnings.
New research exposes an unsettling reality: two-thirds of UK jobs primarily held by women have gender pay discrepancies favoring men. This study, referencing data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), reveals that 70% of female-dominated occupations with over 50,000 employees experience a pay gap.
Remarkably, only 3% of these occupations lack a gender pay gap, whereas 27% show disparities favoring women. Professions such as office managers, solicitors, and lawyers, which are significantly occupied by women, reveal notable pay gaps ranging from 13.4% to 18.4%, disadvantaging women.
Specifically, roles like residential care managers and educational professionals also witness substantial pay gaps of 14.8% and 14.4% respectively. These figures illustrate a striking contrast in earnings between men and women in similar positions.
Even in roles heavily populated by women, such as office administration, there exists a 4.7% pay gap against women, despite them making up 78% of the workforce. This situation is especially concerning given the prevalence of similar pay gaps across most roles.
The broader implications are severe. Such disparities can accumulate over a woman’s career, leading to significant differences in lifetime earnings and pension savings. Despite hopes for improvement, 2024 data shows that three-quarters of all job roles continue to have gender pay gaps.
Claire Williams, Chief People and Operations Officer at Ciphr, comments on the pervasive issue, emphasizing the need for systemic change in recruitment and salary practices. Williams advocates for proactive organizational measures to identify and address these pay gaps.
The data underscores the persistence of pay inequality across various sectors, pointing to an urgent need for employers to reevaluate their pay structures and ensure equity in the workplace.
The entrenched gender pay gap in female-dominated professions requires immediate and meaningful action to achieve equity.
