Now women hit peak wages in 40s not 30s

WOMEN are reaching peak earning power in their forties for the first time on record, official figures revealed yesterday.

Traditionally, women’s wages would start to tail off after they turn 40, with many forced to accept lower salaries when they return to work after having children.

But a report by the Office for National Statistics shows wages for both men and women in fulltime work have peaked between the ages of 40 and 49 for the first time since records began in 1997.

Average earnings for women in their forties rose to £601 a week, or £31,252 a year, from £589 a week, or £30,628 yearly, in their thirties.

By contrast, in 2014 average weekly earnings fell from £537 for women in their thirties to £507 in their forties.

But despite the progress, the report found the overall gender pay gap for full-time workers in the UK has risen for the first time in six years.

The ONS found men in full-time jobs earn 8.9 per cent more than women as of April this year – compared with 8.6 per cent last year – despite new legislation spurring firms into action by forcing them to disclose their gender pay gap.

And men in their forties are still paid 11.4 per cent more than women in the same age group – though that gap has more than halved from 24 per cent in 1997. Last night experts hailed the shift as evidence of ‘ progress’ for women in the workplace – but said more needs to be done to close the sizeable pay gap between men and women in their forties.

Campaigner Baroness Altmann, a former pensions minister, said: ‘This is well overdue. Women should not end up losing out because they have had a family.

‘ But while it’s great to see progress, women’s peak earnings are still lower than men’s. There is no question women still get penalised in terms of their earning power for their biological role.’

Jane Gratton, of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: ‘It’s right that more women in senior roles are being fairly rewarded, but we need more action to ensure women of all ages receive fair and equal pay at every level.’

And Sam Smethers, of campaign group the Fawcett Society, added: ‘Progress to close the pay gap is dismally slow and at this rate it will take 60 years to eradicate.’

The peak earnings shift comes as women have been leading the way in Britain’s booming jobs market.

In August, the ONS revealed a record 15.55million women were in work – and they accounted for three in four new workers.

Around 1.11million women work in professional, scientific and technical jobs – up by 311,000 over the past nine years.

The report also showed the number of stay-at-home mothers had fallen to an all-time low at just 1.78million.