Gender pay gap broadly unchanged since 2009 - report from the EHRC

[WrongKindOfFeminist]

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-the-gender-pay-gap-in-the-uk/understanding-the-gender-pay-gap-in-the-uk-drivers-and-barriers-evidence-from-uklhs-2009-to-2023

2009 to 2023

'We estimate the GPG among all employees to be around 16% in recent years. The UK GPG is slightly above the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average and lower than that observed in countries such as Germany and Canada.

We find little evidence of a reduction of the GPG in recent years. Over the last 10 years the GPG has remained broadly stable. It declined slightly between 2009 and 2016 and then levelled off thereafter.

Around 30% of the GPG is explained by differences in occupations and industry. Women are disproportionally employed in low-pay industries (such as hospitality), and occupations (such as care and administration). Men are more likely to be employed in managerial and professional roles.

A further 20% of the GPG is explained by differences in work history. On average, across our entire sample, women employees have 1 to 2 fewer years of accumulated work than men. Women are more likely to take time out of paid work and to work part-time, mainly because of caring responsibilities. These factors reduce opportunities for career progression and pay growth.

Around 50% of the GPG remains unexplained by the factors included in our model.[footnote 1] This implies that even if occupational and industrial allocation, and caring responsibilities were equalised between men and women, a substantial pay gap would remain. The unexplained component may reflect factors such as differences between men and women in which fields they choose to study, workplace practices, social norms, and institutional arrangements that negatively affect women’s position in labour markets.'

'The GPG is largest among moderately and highly paid workers. We find that, for the top 30% of earners, the gap is less strongly associated with occupation or work experience and more strongly associated with factors that are not directly observed in the data. This pattern is commonly described as a “glass ceiling” effect, referring to invisible barriers that limit women’s progression into the highest-paid roles. These barriers may include informal workplace practices and discrimination. '

'Early UK decomposition analyses by Olsen and others (2004) estimate that around 38% of the pay gap reflects direct discrimination and preference related differences, embedded within occupational segregation and gendered patterns of human capital acquisition such as employment type, and educational choices. Similarly, Lauer and others (2000) find that about 60% of the pay gap is due to women’s skills and qualifications being valued less than men’s. This “penalty” is much larger in some occupations than others, showing that discrimination affects different job types in different ways.'

'Evidence from both UK and international studies shows that women are often paid less than men for similar roles, even after controlling for experience, education, and working hours (Olsen and others, 2018).'

'ONS data show that gaps among high-earning employees (90th percentile) are substantially larger than at the median, consistent with discrimination having a stronger effect at higher levels of the wage distribution where subjective wage-setting and promotion decisions play a larger role (ONS, 2025). This pattern aligns with research finding that discrimination and differential access to career progression account for larger unexplained gaps in senior roles relative to lower-paid jobs.'

From the conclusion:

'Differences in occupation are the single most important factor explaining the GPG. The occupational distribution by sex has changed very little over the last 15 years, despite women now achieving higher levels of education than men. This raises important questions about why women are more likely to enter jobs in low pay occupations and industries, and why higher educational attainments do not translate into higher paid jobs. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms driving occupational choice.'

But how do they work it out
my male friend and his business partner both directors only have one other employee who comes in for 12 hours for admin
the company only has 3 employees 2 which are directors (male) and 1 part time admin
so there pay gap is enormous
but completely justified
us this how it’s worked out

'The UKHLS data include approximately 38,000 individual observations per year. We restrict our analysis to individuals of working age (16 to 64 years old) who are employed, thus excluding the self-employed. After applying these restrictions, the sample consists of about 17,000 individuals per year.'

'We measure pay by calculating gross hourly wages in respondents’ main job. Hourly pay is calculated from reported monthly earnings and usual weekly working hours. Extreme or implausible values are excluded to reduce measurement error. Weights are used for all estimations and charts in the report (see Appendix A.1.2. for detailed understanding of the survey weights used). '

There is a section on data and methodology, and an Appendix with detailed info.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-the-gender-pay-gap-in-the-uk/understanding-the-gender-pay-gap-in-the-uk-drivers-and-barriers-evidence-from-uklhs-2009-to-2023#data-and-methodology

In the example you cite, this is relevant:

'A substantial share of the observed pay difference between men and women reflects differences in characteristics. For example, women are more likely to work part-time, and to be employed in occupations such as education and care, which tend to be lower paid. For this reason, it is important to estimate the conditional GPG, which measures the pay difference between men and women after controlling for observable characteristics'

Just adding this here as it's relevant:

https://www.isbe.org.uk/menopause-is-costing-women-their-careers/

'A survey of working age women in the UK conducted by Censuswide and commissioned by Bupa Health Clinics indicated that as many as 900,000 people may have left their jobs due to the menopause.
“Women who have taken long-term absence from work because of menopause, take an average of 32 weeks’, to accommodate their symptoms which range from depression, anxiety, hot flashes, and mood swings,” the study reported.'