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Partial progress in closing the gender pay gap
11th October 2010
A new report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission finds that only limited progress is being made in closing the gender pay gap in the British labour market. Some of the new figures are reported here on the BBC news site. The commission said that on average women earned 16% less than men, widening to 27% for women aged 40.
According to a press release from the Equality and Human Rights Commission
“The mean gender pay gap for women and men working full-time in 2009 was 16.4 per cent; and progress today appears to be grinding to a halt. Women aged 40 earn on average 27 per cent less than men of the same age. Women with degrees are estimated to face only a four per cent loss in lifetime earnings as a result of motherhood, while mothers with no qualifications face a 58 per cent loss”
Another article here from the BBC highlights Iceland - a country with the greatest equality in pay between men and women
A recent Sky news report on gender pay differentials
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.