Research reveals women in UK more likely to be in lower-paid jobs

LONDON — Women are more likely to be in low-paying jobs in the United Kingdom than men, according to new research.

A total of 22 percent of working women are in lowpay jobs, compared to 14 percent of men, the report Low Pay Britain from the Londonbased think tank the Resolution Foundation revealed.

Women are less likely to get out of low pay, are more likely to switch into other low-paying jobs when they do find other work.

“In the bottom half of the pay league men earn more, and in low-paid occupations, for example workers in shops, women are still paid less even when people are doing roughly the same jobs,” said Conor D’Arcy, senior research analyst at Resolution Foundation.

The report’s findings of less money for women doing the same jobs as men in lowerpaid work matches the headline-grabbing news reports in the British media recently which have highlighted a difference in pay based on gender in high-profile and highly paid work, for example television newsreaders.

Women who have lower pay have less chance to escape their jobs for better work, and a lot of the better-paying roles even in low-paying sectors are often full-time, which is a challenge that can be insurmountable for women with childcare duties, said D’Arcy, the report’s author.

“Firms should think when designing these jobs, do these jobs need to be full-time. Perhaps they should be more flexible or part-time to make the most of all the talent in the office and give women an equal shot,” he said.

Big rises planned

In 2016, the government’s decision to increase the legal minimum wage considerably above inflation had improved the situation of many millions of workers, regardless of their gender, said D’Arcy.

The report found that the low-paid group, earning less than 8.50 pounds ($11.46) an hour last year, accounted for 18 percent of the workforce, its lowest level since 1982.

There are further big rises planned in the minimum wage, said D’Arcy, which will lower the numbers in this lowest-paid group to 15 percent of the workforce by 2020.

Farming fish in the desert might sound counterintuitive but Algeria hopes to tap the huge aquifers beneath the Sahara — that covers about 80 percent of the country — as it seeks new ways to feed its growing population and diversify its oil based economy.

Algeria’s population is forecast by the United Nations to rise 25 percent to nearly 50 million people by 2030, increasing demand for food and jobs in the North African nation, one of many countries battling water scarcity and population growth.

For several years the government has been promoting agriculture in southern Algeria, offering cheap loans and concessions to farmers willing to take up the Sahara challenge.

Taha Hammouche, director-general for fisheries at Algeria’s agriculture ministry, said about 13,000 farmers have expressed interest in aquaculture projects, enthused after the Sahara yielded its first harvest of farmed desert shrimp two years ago.

The government is providing training on raising fish and using the waste water on plants instead of chemical fertilizers.

Hammouche said Algeria hopes aquaculture in the Sahara will help to nearly double the nation’s annual fish production by 2022 from current levels of about 100,000 tons a year.

Currently, Algeria’s fish come mostly from along its 1,280 km of Mediterranean coastline which experts fear is in danger from pollution, climate change and overfishing.

Valerio Crespi from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said integrating agriculture and aquaculture could provide protein to rural and isolated desert communities globally but cautioned about overuse of underground water.