Majority of women still feel affected by gender pay gap

New research explores attitudes towards wages one year on from gender pay gap legislation

New research from independent job board CV-Library reveals that a staggering 84.6 per cent of women still feel affected by the gender pay gap – and that’s despite legislation coming in 12 months ago to tackle the issue.

The study of 1,200 UK workers found that nearly four in 10 (37 per cent) workers don’t think anything has changed since the legislation came in, rising to 40.7 per cent amongst women.

In addition, one third (34.4 per cent) of women think their male colleagues are paid more, compared to 64.7 per cent of men who believe that women are paid the same.

The biggest divide was seen in the IT industry, where 83.3 per cent of women believe they’re paid less than men in similar roles.

Alongside this, 71.4 per cent of women in recruitment, 66.7 per cent of women in property and 57.1 per cent of women in finance also feel their male co-workers earn more, despite being in a similar role.

“There was certainly never going to be huge changes overnight, however, it’s worrying that Brits feel no progress has been made,” says Lee Biggins, managing director of CV-Library.

“Employers must ensure they’re offering fair salaries to all staff, which are reflective of the requirements of their role.”

When asked what could be done to tackle the issue, 52.8 per cent said there should be set salaries for each industry/role, a 6.8 per cent rise on the same findings from April 2017.

Alongside this, 20.8 per cent say there needs to be more support for working parents, while one in 10 (11.9 per cent) say women need to feel more confident about asking for more money.

The study did find that 83.6 per cent of Brits think that continued awareness around the issue will eventually help to bridge the gap.

“Salaries are a key consideration for people when they’re looking for work,” says Biggins.

“Combined with employee benefits, they’re often the deciding factor in whether someone accepts a job offer or not, particularly for those that seek an effective worklife balance.

“Rather than plucking a number out of thin air, or getting caught up in a negotiation battle, try to benchmark your salaries against industry averages and existing employee packages to ensure your offering is fair.”

“There was certainly never going to be huge changes overnight, but it’s worrying that Brits feel no progress has been made”

Lee Biggins CV-Library