Women earn less money in many UK companies

In many companies, women still earn less than men, according to a UK study.

Despite efforts for gender equality, the pay gap between men and women in mid-level jobs has remained the same since 2017-2018, at 9.4 percent, according to the latest BBC research.

In the UK it is illegal to pay women less for the same work. By law, companies with 250 or more employees, charities and the public sector are required to publish gender pay gap figures on the Gender Pay Gap Service website. This is forcing companies to be more transparent about salaries.

Romi Savova, chief executive of UK pension company PensionBee, calls this data “bad news”. Savova points out on the BBC Today program that the reason for this difference is that large companies do not prioritize taking women to positions of responsibility.

In the banking and finance industry, women earn on average 22 percent less than their male counterparts. Compared to five years ago, the gap narrowed by just 0.5 percent. In the construction sector, the gap narrowed by 2.7 percent. Yet the average working woman earns only 78 percent of what a man does.

On the other hand, the gender wage gap continued to widen for many sectors. For example, it increased 0.9 points in education.

Jemima Olchawski, executive director of the women’s rights organization the Fawcett Society, said all employers should create an action plan outlining how to promote gender equality in the workplace.