UK Gender Gap Expands Again After Long Improvement - Building Gender Balanced Business

• The gender wage gap in Britain rose seven-tenths of a percentage point, to 22.6%, as of the first quarter of 2009 vs 2007, in contrast to the general decline over the past decade, the Women and Work Commission said in a published report.

• The data compare women’s median hourly pay (excluding overtime) as a percentage of
  men’s median hourly pay (excluding overtime). In full=time work, the gap is 12.8%, up from 12.5%, while in part-time work, which represents 41% of female workers, the gap is 39.9%.

• The report concluded that the gap “stubbornly persists despite monumental changes in women’s position in the workplace”.

• Thus, the cost of the wage disparity to the UK economy is growing from the at least 15 billion pounds estimated in 2006.

• The commission recommended 43 strategies to counter the gap.

• Particular emphasis went to keeping women from being pushed into “traditional” occupations. Among the recommendations for such efforts are:
1. Making sure schools stop gender-based stereotyping for careers, especially for careers advice
2. Providing apprenticeship targets for girls in fields that usually feature few female workers
3. Pairing girls in “buddying” programmes as they are placed in jobs in non-traditional sectors for women

• The commission also addressed work-life balance remedies, including:
1. The Government Equalities Office should lead in promoting flexible and part-time employment hours
2. Helping train middle-managers, including in small businesses, in understanding the need for and benefits of flexible working conditions

• In addition, the report called on the government to look into efforts to increase wages and professionalize the childcare sector, given that its ranks are mainly female.

A summary of the 43 recommendations

To download the 54-page report