Gender pay gap at a record low
Despite the fact that UK government figures suggest that the gender pay gap between men and women is at an all-time low of 12.2%, compared to 12.6% last year, there are still concerns about the significant difference. The data from the Office for National Statistics shows that the median hourly rate for men is £12.97 while the comparable rate for women is £11.39 - for those in fulltime employment.
Interestingly the situation regarding part-time work is the exact opposite with women earning around 2% more than men with an hourly rate of £7.86 compared to the male equivalent of £7.71. This figure has fallen from 3.7% a year ago and does show that men are not getting it all their own way!
Quite why there should be a gender pay gap at all has confused many people in the past because ultimately like-for-like jobs have different hourly rates because of the gender of the employee. However, this is probably a historic trend which has been ingrained in the UK economy for decades and is taking some time to turn around. It has to be said that the Labour government has done more than any other government in living history to reduce the gap even though it has attracted significant criticism in the process.
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