What is the gender pay gap?
The Office for National Statistics defines the gender pay gap as follows; ‘The gender pay gap measures the difference between median hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of men and women, as a proportion of men's median hourly earnings (excluding overtime). It is a measure across all jobs in the UK, not of the difference in pay between men and women for doing the same job.’
The gender pay gap is different from the gender wage gap, which is where a woman is paid less than a man for the same role. Under the Equality Act 2010, this would be direct discrimination on the basis of sex, and is illegal.
Can the gender pay gap be explained by the different kinds of work that men or women do?
The gender pay gap isn’t about the difficulty, or the risk related to the job that men and women are applying for; the gender pay gap exists across industries where men hold the majority of positions, where women hold the majority of positions, and where men and women hold an equal number of positions.
The Office for National Statistics states that, ‘In April 2025, the gender pay gap was largest for skilled trades occupations (13.9%), associate professional and technical occupations (12.5%) and process plant and machine operatives (12.3%).’
This means that women working in skilled trades occupations, associate professional and technical occupations and process plant and machine operatives, made between 12.3% and 13.9% less than their male counterparts working in those industries.
Why does the gender pay gap exist?
The gender pay gap is a result of a number of factors, including systemic inequality (for example, the belief that women are naturally suited to certain roles, female-dominated sectors typically offering lower wages, and discriminatory or biased hiring practices), the higher amount of unpaid labour that women do (such as cooking, childcare and housework) which leaves less time and opportunity for training, career progression and jobs which don’t work around their care responsibilities.
The gender pay gap widens when you take into account additional aspects of identity and lived experience, such as ethnicity, faith and sexual orientation. According to Action Aid UK, ‘Women from almost every minority ethnic group experience a pay gap with White British men in the UK. Black African women earn on average 19.6% less than White British men.’
Sticky floor and glass ceilings
Women may also encounter ‘sticky floors’ and ‘glass ceilings’. Sticky floors is the phrase used to describe women finding themselves trapped or stuck in low paid or underpaid positions, and glass ceilings as the invisible barriers preventing them from progressing in their careers (which can be the result of unconscious bias and discrimination).
According to the King’s Fund, ‘Part of the issue is that male workers are disproportionately in higher-paid roles. For example, in NHS England in 2022, 42.2% of the highest earners were male, but the overall workforce was only 31.3% male. Similarly, in the social care sector in 2022/23, 31% of senior management were male but the overall workforce was only 19% male.’
‘The other issue is that even when female workers do progress to higher-paid roles, there is still a gender pay gap. For example, there is still a 9.9% gap for care service managers and care provider owners.’
The Office for National Statistics states that, ‘The gender pay gap is largest for employees aged 40 years and over. This pattern has been generally observed since 1997 and shows that the gender pay gap increases considerably around the age of 40 years, and may be a result of the impact of motherhood.’
The ‘motherhood penalty’ is the term used to describe women leaving the workforce to have children, and the resulting impact on their career progression, their pay and their pension. According to the Guardian, ‘three out of four working parents have had to take unpaid leave because of childcare responsibilities, with higher rates for women from non-white backgrounds and single mothers’.
What can businesses do to decrease their gender pay gap?
Gender pay gap reporting was introduced in 2017, which means that any business or organisation which employs more than 250 people must report on their gender pay gap. Since then, the gender pay gap has decreased dramatically, but there is still more than employers and organisations can do.
SMEs can prioritise unconscious bias training, to ensure that their directors, managers and supervisors are acknowledging their own biases, and challenging societal scripts and stereotypes about the kinds of people that they should hire and promote. Think Business, Think Equality is a free, anonymous tool that SMEs can use to assess their current employment practices, and offer advice and guidance to improve gender equality within the business.
Businesses can also consider their flexible working practices. Those with care responsibilities are disproportionately affected by policies which require them to work at an office, rather than remotely. Allowing remote working, and flexible work hours ensures that you are able to hire from a range of people that are qualified for the job, including those who need to fit work around their children and elderly relatives.
Want to find out if remote working could work for your business? Give us a call on 0191 482 0444.
