TUC: Gender pay gap means women work first two months of the year unpaid

New TUC analysis reveals Women’s Pay Day – the day when the average woman stops working for free compared to the average man – is today (Wednesday)

In some industries and in some parts of the country where the gender pay gap is wider, women effectively work for free for even longer

Union body says Labour’s New Deal for Working People would be “huge boost” for working women, by introducing fair pay agreements in social care, banning zero-hours contracts and giving all workers a day one right to flexible work

New TUC analysis published today (Wednesday) reveals that the average woman effectively works for free for nearly two months of the year compared to the average man.

This is because the gender pay gap for all employees currently stands at 14.3%.

This pay gap means that working women must wait 52 days – nearly two months – before they stop working for free on Women’s Pay Day today (Wednesday).

And the analysis also shows that at current rates of progress, it will take 20 years – until 2044 – to close the gender pay gap.

Industrial gender pay gaps

Gender pay gap reporting was introduced back in 2017. However, the TUC analysis shows that – some seven years later – there are still big gender pay gaps in many industries.

And this gap persists even in jobs dominated by female workers like in education and care.

The union body says this is partly because women are more likely to work part-time, where working fewer hours means they earn less overall. And also, because women tend to be employed in lower-paid roles than men.

• In education the gender pay gap is 21.3%, so the average woman effectively works for free for nearly a fifth of the year (78 days) until St Patrick’s Day, 17 March 2024.
• In health care and social work, where the gender pay gap is 12.6%, the average woman works for free for 46 days until Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2024.

The longest wait for Women’s Pay Day comes in finance and insurance. The gender pay gap (27.9%) is the equivalent of a whopping 102 days, meaning women work for free until Wednesday 10 April 2024.

Gender pay gap by age

The TUC analysis shows that the gender pay gap affects women throughout their careers, from their first step on the ladder until they take retirement.

The gender pay gap is widest for middle aged and older women:

• Women aged 40 to 49 have a gender pay gap of 17%, so work 62 days for free until Tuesday 2 March 2024.
• Women aged between 50 and 59 have the highest pay gap (19.7%) and work the equivalent of 72 days for free, until Monday 11 March 2024.
• Women aged 60 and over have a gender pay gap of 18.1%. They work 66 days of the year for free before they stop working for free on Wednesday 6 March 2024.

The TUC says the gender pay gap widens as women get older, due to women being more likely to take on caring responsibilities. And that older women take a bigger financial hit for balancing work alongside caring for children, older relatives and/or grandchildren.

Regional gender pay gaps

The analysis shows that in some parts of the country gender pay gaps are even bigger, so their Women’s Pay Day is later in the year.

• The gender pay gap is largest in the South East of England (18.9%). Women in this region work 69 days for free and they work for free until Friday 8 March 2024.
• Women in the East of England (17.7% pay gap) and the East Midlands (17.4%) also work for free until next month (Monday 4 March and Sunday 3 March 2024).

The TUC explains that regional variations in the pay gap are likely to be caused by differences in the types of jobs and industries that are most common in that part of the country, and gender differences in who does these jobs.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:

“Everyone should be paid fairly for the job that they do.

“It’s shameful that working women don’t have pay parity in 2024. And at current rates of progress, it will take another two decades to close the gender pay gap.

“That's not right. We can’t consign yet another generation of women to pay inequality.

“It’s clear that just publishing gender pay gaps isn’t working. Companies must be required to publish and implement action plans to close their pay gaps. And bosses who don’t comply with the law should be fined.

“Labour’s New Deal for Working People would be a huge boost to working women.

“It would introduce a day one right to flexible working and fair pay agreements to boost pay and conditions in social care – which we know is a predominantly female workforce.

“It would also see mandatory action plans to close the gender pay gap and extending reporting to disability and ethnicity pay gaps.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:
- The gender pay gap: The overall gender pay gap is calculated using all median hourly pay, excluding overtime, for all male and female employees using the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data. The gender pay gap percentage (14.3% in the latest ASHE data) is then translated into days.
The latest ASHE data is available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2023
- Gender pay gap data is taken from ASHE, which does not provide a breakdown by ethnicity or disability status. Previous analysis by the TUC, based on Labour Force Survey data, has looked at the disability pay gap and how it intersects with the gender pay gap: https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/jobs-and-pay-monitor-disabled-workers-23

- Women’s pay day by industry, source ONS ASHE, 2023.

- Women’s pay day by age, source ONS ASHE, 2023.

- Women’s pay day by region, source ONS ASHE, 2023.

NB: Scotland and Northern Ireland have the same number of days worked for free, but different pay day dates. This is because of rounding.

- Amount of time to close the gender pay gap: Over the past five years, the gender pay gap has fallen by an average of just 0.7 percentage points a year. At this current rate of progress, it will take 20 years, until 2044, to achieve pay parity between men and women: https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/gender-pay-gap-will-take-decades-close-says-tuc#:~:text=%2D%20Gender%20pay%20gap%3A%20The%20gender,not%20be%20closed%20until%202044

- Women’s Pay Day 2023: Last year the gender pay gap for all employees was 14.9% so women’s pay day fell on Thursday 23 February 2023.
- Gender pay gap reporting:  From 1 April 2017, the government ruled that large companies must publish information about the difference between average male and female earnings. The TUC believes the government must go further and wants employers to be made to carry out equal pay audits, and to produce and implement action plans to close the pay gap in their workplace. The TUC also wants companies that fail to comply with the law to receive instant fines. 
- Labour’s New Deal for Working People: Labour has pledged to deliver new rights for working people in an employment bill in its first 100 days. The TUC says that Labour’s New Deal would be transformative for working people. Amongst other rights, it would:

• Introduce mandatory action plans for gender pay gap reporting – and extend reporting to disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting.
• Give all workers day one rights on the job. Labour will scrap qualifying time for basic rights, such as unfair dismissal, sick pay, and parental leave.
• Ban zero-hours contracts to help end the scourge of insecure work.
• Strengthen flexible working rights by introducing a day one right to work flexibly. Strengthen collective bargaining by introducing fair pay agreements to boost pay and conditions – starting in social care.

- The TUC’s gender pay gap: Information about the TUC’s pay gaps is available at: https://www.tuc.org.uk/tucs-ethnicity-and-gender-pay-gap-2022