Expert Commentary

“If correct, the statistics that are being quoted are very worrying indeed.  It means that over the course of a year, women are effectively working for free for 8 weeks, compared to their male counterparts carrying out the same job.

It is common knowledge that more low-paying jobs, such as cleaning, caring or non-skilled administrative jobs, are performed by women than men.  I think raising the minimum wage is therefore likely to benefit more women and help plug the gap. However, the trend seems to continue and actually get worse higher up the pay scale.

Employers need to be very careful that their pay policies are not discriminatory. Women should not be overlooked for promotion or offered a lower salary simply because they have family or care commitments.  

In my experience, employers do make innocent mistakes, but mistakes nonetheless. For example, a male candidate at interview may be more willing to negotiate a higher salary than a female.  However, an employer needs to consider the fact that women are under more pressure to accept a lower wage because they feel they are not given a fair chance and the statistics seem to support this.”

This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.