GENDER PAY GAP IN ‘DARK AGES’
FIGURES released last week showing a gender pay gap in football came as no surprise to Carolyn Radford.
Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal were all shown to pay their average female employee more than their average male staff member – but they are in a minority of clubs who do so.
And the FA released figures last month showing that the average hourly pay for a man was 23.2 per cent higher than for a woman.
Radford said: “It isn’t a shock as football is still a real old boys’ network regardless of the position you work in.
“It has changed for the better in many ways in recent years but, with regard to the gender pay gap, it is atrocious that the industry still operates in this way.
“It’s like a throwback to the ’70s but it’s something that must change.
“I have brought lots of female staff into Mansfield and they are paid according to the job, not according to which sex they are.
“I tried to get on to the FA Council to play an active part in making changes like this, but unfortunately I didn’t make it.
“Sexism isn’t acceptable in any walk of life anymore, so how can it possibly stay that way when it comes to salaries in football?
“It’s infuriating that a woman can work as hard as anyone else and still be paid less than a man – it’s quite archaic. The FA needs more women involved at higher levels to make more members of the old boys’ network see sense.
“Whoever is responsible for letting this pay gap continue must be stuck in the Dark Ages and they need to be pulled, very quickly into 2018.”
Speaking last month, FA chairman Greg Clarke said: “The number of men applying for jobs at the FA is significantly higher than the number of women.
“We are working hard to improve the pipeline in the early stages of recruitment to increase the possibility of hiring a more balanced workforce.”