North East mams face bigger gender pay gap
It's claimed women are afraid to challenge the pay gap, as figures show it’s a growing problem for working mams.
Women face a much bigger pay gap with their male counterparts once they start a family, according to new research.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that while the overall “gender wage gap” had narrowed over the past two decades, women with children were falling behind.
The study, carried out for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, found that on average, hourly pay rates for women are currently around 18% lower than for men. That compares with a gap of 23% in 2003 and 28% in 1993.
However once women started a family, gap widened consistently year by year so that by the time their first child had reached the age of 12, their hourly pay was 33% down on men.
The report suggested the difference may be down to women working fewer hours once they have children and, as a consequence, missing out on promotions - or simply accumulating less labour market experience - while their male colleagues pull further and further ahead.
It also found the closing of the overall wage gap was down to improvements in the pay rates of less well-qualified women, who did not have A-levels or other higher qualifications, while for better-educated women the gap had remained unchanged for 20 years.
Joyce McAndrew, Regional Support Official for UCU Northern Region, said:
“In terms of experience, I would have thought that women who are able to hold down and look after children that is a huge skill in itself, that should be recognised but I don’t think it always is.
“If women are on fixed terms contracts for example, they still have the same sorts of pay progression as everyone else. So, it’s looking at what interventions can be put in place to prevent it.”
IFS director Robert Joyce, a co-author of the report, said:
“Women in jobs involving fewer hours of work have particularly low hourly wages, and this is because of poor pay progression, not because they take an immediate pay cut when switching away from full-time work.
“Understanding that lack of progression is going to be crucial to making progress in reducing the gender wage gap.”
To find out the gender pay gap where you live, view here: