Gender pay gap has grown to its widest in a decade

WOMEN in our region earned an average of £335.60 a week in 2018 compared to £527.00 for men, analysis of figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows.

That means men earned £191.40 more than women.

The gap has risen from £188.00 in the previous year.

It is the biggest disparity since at least 2009, when it was £182.00.

It isn’t just the East Midlands which is seeing the pay gap widen.

In the UK as a whole, men earned an average of £555,00 a week in 2018.

That fell to £369.90 for women.

The gap - of £185.10 per week - is also the widest since at least 2009.

The Fawcett Society - a charity campaigning for equality and women’s rights - identifies four main causes of the gender pay gap. Discrimination is one of them - along with unequal caring responsibilities, a divided labour market, and men being in more senior roles.

Pregnancy and maternity leave is the most common area of discrimination, with 54,000 women forced to leave their job every year after becoming a mother.

Because women are more likely to be responsible for caring for children, sick or elderly relatives, more women work part time.

These jobs are typically lower paid with fewer progression opportunities.

Women are still more likely to be in low paid and low skilled jobs, leading to labour market segregation.

Eight out of ten of those working in the low paid care and leisure sector are women, compared to only one out of ten of those in the better paid skilled trades.

Furthermore, men make up the majority of those in the highest paid and most senior roles. For example, there are just seven female chief executives in the FTSE 100 - the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalisation.