Gender pay gap is wiped out among workers aged under 40
THE gender pay gap among workers under the age of 40 has been effectively eliminated, official data show.
Figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the difference in pay between male and female workers aged between 18 and 39 has fallen to below 2 per cent for the first time.
Small differences of one or two per cent are generally considered as statistically insignificant by data experts because a “perfect pay gap” of zero is virtually impossible to achieve consistently.
In 1997, women aged 30 to 39 years old earned, on average, 11 per cent less than men the same age, while 22- to 29-year-old women earned 5.8 per cent less, data showed.
However, progress on reducing the pay gap for women over 40 has stalled, remaining high at about 15 per cent.
Experts largely agree that the pay gap in older women still exists due to issues with mothers returning to work after having children.
The overall gender pay gap for fulltime workers has fallen to a record low of 8.6 per cent.
The new figure compares with 9.1 per cent last year and is the lowest since records began in 1997, when it stood at 17.4 per cent.
As well as this, average weekly pay for full-time workers is increasing at its fastest since the financial crisis, especially among lower-paid occupations.
Roger Smith, an ONS statistician, said: “However, after taking account of inflation, earnings are still only where they were in 2011, and have not yet returned to pre-downturn levels.”
Frances O’grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: “Working women won’t be celebrating this negligible decrease in the gender pay gap.
“At this rate, another generation of women will spend their whole working lives waiting to be paid the same as men.
“The Government needs to crank up the pressure on employers. Companies shouldn’t just be made to publish their gender pay gaps, they should be legally required to explain how they’ll close them, and bosses who flout the law should be fined.”