PAY DATA
New research on career opportunities and pay for women
Women aged between 35 and 44 years who work in the private sector are likely to experience the greatest pay inequality, according to a large-scale survey of UK employees across the public and private sectors.
These results are based on survey responses to PayWizard, an online survey of pay and conditions, processing almost 10,000 responses from UK workers between September 2006 and September 2007. The analysis was published by the research organisation Incomes Data Services, in a recent issue of IDS Pay Report.
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The survey also found that both men and women tend to be paid less per hour when they work in an environment where the majority of staff are female, compared to the hourly wage paid in male-dominated workplaces:
The average hourly wage for men is £8.85 when working mainly with women and £9.24 when working mainly with men.
For women, these figures are £7.86 and £8.72 respectively.
“These differences illustrate the social value placed on different types of roles, with male-dominated jobs, for example jobs in finance and engineering, generally being valued higher than female-dominated work like caring,” the report says.
Key survey results
The survey also finds:
Women earn on average 15% per hour less than men.
Women who have over ten years’ work experience are the most dissatisfied with their career progression opportunities.
Women working in education, public administration, health and social work feel most strongly that there is no room for progression in their role.
Women managers tend to supervise fewer employees overall than male managers.
Both men and women tend to be paid less per hour when they work in a workplace where women are the majority.
Pay inequality greatest in private sector
The PayWizard results show that pay inequality between men and women is greater in the private sector and widest for employees aged between 35 and 44 years old. This is partly due to the fact that these are key childbearing years, and employers’ policies frequently mean that women who take time out of the labour market to give birth and rear children may miss out on progression or promotion opportunities.
Pay between the sexes is more equal for the age group 16-24 years, as this cohort is likely to have more equal work experience and opportunity to acquire qualifications.
Career progression
The survey also shows that women are more likely than men to be dissatisfied with the progression opportunities in their workplace. The sectors in which people most often feel that there is no room for progression in their job role are education, public administration and health and social work. These are sectors where women form the majority.
In the finance sector, women, more often than men, find that they have reached the ceiling for progression early in their careers. This is most likely because women dominate back office functions while men dominate managerial roles.
In sectors dominated by men - business services, construction and mining and quarrying - people are least likely to feel that they have reached the ceiling for progression, the few women in these sectors are likely to have little expectation of progression in these sectors. However, there are also sectors in which men are more likely than women to report that they cannot progress any further within their current role, such as manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and transport and communication.
A final word
“Women’s labour market participation is greater than ever. But women don’t appear to get the same chances to progress in their jobs as their male colleagues. While pay gaps are greater in the private sector, it seems that the public sector still has ground to make up when it comes to offering women equal progression opportunities.” - Ken Mulkearn, Editor of IDS Pay Report.
“More women have an equal footing when they start out at work, but these opportunities are not available throughout their careers. Women working in the private sector, where pay is often shrouded in secrecy and union membership is lowest, are suffering an even greater pay penalty. Employers must do more to prevent this damaging waste of women’s skills.” - Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary.
Want to know more?
PayWizard is a joint initiative of the WageIndicator Foundation, Incomes Data Services and the TUC. It is an internet-based salary survey through which people can compare their pay to that for people with similar jobs. The concept is used in over 20 countries, such as the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Russia, Mexico and South Africa.
The www.paywizard.co.uk processed 9,954 completed surveys over the period between September 2006 and September 2007. The results of the completed surveys are automatically entered into a database.
Incomes Data Services is the “leading UK information and research service” on employment issues, providing a range of publications for employers, trade unions, government departments and other agencies. To find out more visit www.incomesdata.co.uk.