An analysis of Office for National Statistics’ data shows that the majority of jobs with a female dominant workforce have a pay gap in favour of men.
According to a study by the HR and payroll software company Ciphr, this is true for 70% of occupations where women are primarily responsible.
In a study of more than 50,000 part- and full-time employees, it was found that 27% of the jobs with a majority of women had sexist pay gaps this year. Only 3% of these jobs were free of such gaps.
Office managers, lawyers, and marketing and commercial managers are among the positions with the largest number of employees, and also those with the median gender pay gap of at least 10%. Around 380,700 men and 206,800 women hold these roles, with a gender pay gap ranging from 13,4% to 18,4% in favour of men.
Care managers, business owners and other educators are also occupations that have significant pay gaps. The average gender pay gap among these workers is 14.8%.
Additionally, there’s even a 4.7% gender pay gap among office administrators and clerical/administrative assistants – the third most-common role filled by women who make up 78% of the workforce.
Ciphr has highlighted that the hourly wage disparity between men and women is 13.1%. This can have a negative impact on the pensions of women over their working life.
In 2024, the research shows that there will be a pay gap between men and women in around three quarters of all positions. This number rises to 82% for jobs that are dominated by men.
Claire Williams, Chief People and Operations Officer at Ciphr said: “The UK’s stubbornly large, double-digit gender pay gap (13.1%) reflects systemic problems that cannot be overlooked. It is not only a question of fairness, but also of engagement, trust, and equity in the workplace. “Employers must do more to identify and eliminate the root causes of disparities in recruitment, career advancement and salary review processes.
She believes that organisations who are not legally required to report their gender pay gaps should still conduct annual reports on the gender pay gap, diversity, equity and inclusion, and belonging.
This will help them to understand any gaps in their understanding and where to concentrate efforts to close those gaps. Employers can close the gender gap by taking concrete and measurable steps.
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