UK gender pay gap statistics – the numbers that can’t be ignored

Every year, the UK’s biggest companies are legally required to report on the gender pay gap. In 2023, the figures painted a sobering picture: a 9% disparity between what men and women take home. But this headline number masks a more complex reality.

Companies aren’t overtly offering men a 10p bonus for every pound earned by their female colleagues. That would be pay discrimination, which has been illegal since 1970. To truly grasp the reasons behind this persistent pay gap, we need to delve deeper. 

We’ve trawled through the latest official figures to expose the root causes of the gender pay gap, understand why it varies across industries and regions, and quantify the real-world impact on women in the workplace.

Overview of the gender pay gap

Under the Equality Act 2010, large employers are legally required to report how much they pay employees. Specifically, how earnings for men and women employees differ. These regulations were first imposed in 2017 to combat the gender pay gap.

• The latest report shows that the median gender pay gap is 9.1%. However, Office for National Statistics (ONS) data — covered in the section below — suggests this is only part of the picture.
• The 9.1% figure is based on data from April 2024, in which 10,380 organisations filed payroll software information. 78.4% of firms that reported data paid men more than women.
• The public sector pay gap is widest at 14.4%. Private firms are at least outperforming the government when it comes to closing the gap. 87.6% of public organisations pay men more than women; 9.2% more than the average overall.
• The gender pay gap has fallen by 23% over the last decade. Officially, that means the pay gap is at its smallest ever number. That said, firms should hold their applause.
• Based on the most recent report, if the same rate of progress seen between 2011 and 2023 continues, the gender pay gap will take 29 years to close. That means even women employees who haven’t yet been born can expect to be paid less than their future colleagues.

The part-time pay gap

The gender pay gap looks different if we compare average pay across the entire UK workforce, not just the data from large employers. 

In its November 2023 earnings survey for the wider UK population, the ONS found that the median hourly pay gap for all full-time workers is 7.1%, which is a slight drop from the figure given in gender pay gap reporting this year.

When comparing pay data across all employees, however, this figure rises to 14.3%. This is due to the fact that women are more likely to work part-time, which reduces their earnings.

On average, take home pay for a part-time UK employee was £241 per week in April 2023, compared to £682 for those in full-time employment.

ONS data shows that women are most likely to cut work hours and, with them, their pay packets. 38% of women in employment work part-time, compared to 14% of men. 

This may not be by choice. The propensity of female employees to work part-time is strongly linked to the motherhood penalty, which describes how women suffer wage and hiring disadvantages in the workplace because they take on more childcare responsibilities. 

In a 2023 employment survey by Timewise, male and female part-time employees gave their main reasons for working fewer hours. According to the findings:

• 32% of women work part-time for childcare duties, compared to 13% of men
• Among older workers, this figure rises to 45% of women 
• 25% of men work part-time to better manage their health, versus 20% of women
• 20% of men work part-time to pursue hobbies 

The pay gap in different industries compared

Certain industries stand out for their above-average pay discrepancies between men and women employees. The ONS data highlights some common business professions where men will outearn women by more than a fifth, on average:

The link between the above professions is that they are all dominated by men, which could explain why male workers are more likely to outearn women overall.

This is also notable in the airline industry. Two big UK companies that are failing at the gender pay gap are easyJet and British Airways (BA). Here, the hourly gender pay gap is 48.9% and 37%, respectively, and both firms blame this on a shortage of female pilots. 

That theory does not entirely track, as the pay gap still persists in many female-dominated sectors. In education, where 68% of the workforce are women, roles still exhibit huge pay gulfs. For example, male headteachers earn 11.5% more than women, on average.

In light of these findings, it seems the pay discrepancy can be more accurately attributed to women being locked out of the C-suite. It’s easy to blame a lack of female pilots. Harder to defend is the fact that women make up just 36% of the board at easyJet and 9% at BA.

The reverse gender pay gap

ONS statistics also show there are some jobs (approximately 16%) where women outearn men. Four common jobs with a “reverse pay gap”, according to the ONS data, are:

The highest-paid role with a reverse pay gap is as a general practitioner or GP. In this job, women earn £28.46 per hour, on average, which is 5.8% more than men. 

Women became the majority of the GP workforce in 2018. Their dominance in the field is likely because GPs work fewer hours than in-hospital roles like consultants (where men outearn women by 5.5%). From what we know about the impact of the motherhood penalty, fixed hours could be making GP work more appealing to working mothers.

There are also occupations with no gender pay gap, where there is no difference in the median wage for male and female staff. These include:

• Chefs 
• Senior care workers 
• Data analysts 
• Retail cashiers 
• Waiters and waitresses

It is notable that four out of five of these roles are based in low-income industries like hospitality and retail. Likely, for several of these roles, the lack of a gender pay gap is a reflection of these workers being paid the minimum National Living Wage.

What do the stats tell us about gender pay?

The UK gender pay gap is shrinking. In 2024, it was the smallest it has ever been. But while there is a temptation for business leaders to now shake hands and break for lunch, the above data also reveals some less savoury facts. Crucially:

• The gap will take decades to close at the current rate
• Women continue to be burdened by childcare duties
• Leadership teams are still dominated by men
• Experienced women workers are most likely to lose out
• London’s gender pay gap has shrunk by 3.2% in 27 years

In a previous Startups survey, 71% of UK businesses told us they would be able to raise wages in 2024 to meet employee demands and boost recruitment efforts. But addressing the challenge of gender pay is not as simple as adding a ‘0’ onto women employees’ paychecks.

As the data shows, today’s gender pay gap is a consequence of a wider, systemic gender inequality in the UK. In this context, 29 years starts to look like a realistic timeframe given the scale of the issues at hand, such as poor childcare provision, underrepresentation in top positions, and our ingrained devaluing of ‘feminised’ skills. 

To properly address these challenges, and close the wage gap, companies must forget the fallacy of a “quick fix”, and instead begin the arduous, but firmer, path towards pay parity.