According to the latest Women in Work report from PwC, female participation in the UK labor force is declining and the gender pay gap is growing, exacerbated by the childcare affordability crisis.
The female labor force participation rate in the UK declined by 0.4 percentage points between 2020 and 2021.
In 2021, men in the UK earned 14.3% more than women, an increase of 2.3 percentage points over 2020 – four times the average increase in the gender pay gap seen across other developed nations during the year.
The “motherhood penalty” – the loss in lifetime earnings experienced by women raising children -- is the most significant driver of the gender pay gap, according to an OECD study cited by PwC.
"Women are being hit even harder by the rising cost of living and cost of childcare. With this and the gap in free childcare provision between ages one and three, more women are being priced out of work. For many it is more affordable to leave work than remain in employment and pay for childcare, especially for families at lower income levels.”
The drop in women participating in the workforce, as well as the widening pay gap, caused the UK to drop to 14th in the PwC rankings of pay, participation, and unemployment among women in 33 developed countries, down from 9th place in 2020.
Read more via The Times (UK), PwC
England's very first Menopause Employment Champion was appointed last week. Helen Tomlinson will serve as the first ever Menopause Employment Champion. Experts say a quarter of women experiencing menopause either leave or consider leaving their jobs due to menopause-related symptoms. Tomlinson will “drive awareness of issues surrounding menopause and work while promoting the benefits for businesses and the economy when women are supported to stay in work and progress.” The new role is voluntary, and Tomlinson will serve while continuing her role as Head of Talent (UK & Ireland) at The Adecco Group.
“Less than a quarter of UK businesses currently have a menopause policy … I am determined that my generation of women in work will break the menopause taboo and have confidence that their health is valued.”
Read more via Gov.UK
Most women say they think they “can do their manager’s job better than them,” while fewer than half of men say the same when it comes to their manager, according to a Monster survey of more than 6,800 workers conducted last month. Monster says the survey “doesn’t necessarily reflect that women feel proficient in their jobs, but rather they feel undervalued and overlooked for management roles.”
64% of women say they “think they can do their manager’s job better than them.” That's compared to only 47% of men who believe the same.
66% of men “believe everyone at work gets the same access to opportunities.” Only 23% of women agree.
Women say a “lack of potential advancement is the biggest red flag that would lead them to turn down a job offer.”
“Women feel they can do their manager’s job, but the frustration is: Why aren’t they given the opportunity to do it?”
Read more via CNBC, Monster
New research by the UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) has revealed a 15% gender pay gap that widens as women progress in their careers.
According to the new analysis, UK women earn on average less than £30,000 a year, compared with over £35,000 a year earned by men.
The difference means that "women, on average, effectively work for free for 54 days” each year, according to the TUC.
The gender pay gap was “widest for older women,” with women ages 50 to 59 experiencing a pay gap over 20%.
The pay gap for younger women was much smaller, at just 0.6% for women ages 18 to 21, and 3.9% for women ages 22 to 29.
Read more via Guardian
Spain’s government announced it will “seek to pass a gender parity law making it mandatory for corporate boards to be composed of at least 40% women." If passed, the new law will apply to all publicly-traded companies by July 2024, and to companies with at least 250 employees and €50 million ($53 million) in annual revenues by the end of June 2026.
Read more via Bloomberg