It will take 63 years for the UK’s median gender pay gap to close completely if the rate of progress up until now were to continue, according to business advisory firm BDO.
Its analysis of the gender pay gap reports from organisations that have reported every year in the six years since the reporting legislation was introduced found that the median hourly pay gap has barely shifted since 2017, the first reporting snapshot date. In 2017 the median hourly gender pay gap was 13.21% and in 2022 it was 12.07%.
During the same timeframe, the mean hourly gap between male and female pay reduced from 15.07% to 12.97%. At this rate of progress, it would take 37 years for the mean pay gap to reach 0%.
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However, there were notable increases in female representation in the upper pay quartile, rising from 38.8% to 40.69% overall in the six-year timeframe, and in the upper middle quartile, from 44.95% to 45.86%.
Two-thirds of the 5,300 organisations in the study managed to narrow their pay gap, although the biggest reductions were in industries with relatively lower pay gaps, such as the public sector and manufacturing.
David Ellis, head of strategic reward advisory, said: “While there has always been a lively debate over the usefulness of the gender pay gap reporting statistics in terms of measuring progress, they do serve an important purpose in keeping attention focused on this very important issue.
“While progress in reducing gender pay gaps may seem somewhat glacial, we are nevertheless now beginning to see some important emerging trends, notably the increase in female representation at the higher pay scale levels. This is undoubtedly an encouraging development and arguably more positive than the modest changes we’ve seen in the headline gender pay gap figures themselves.”
BDO’s analysis also found that:
- The mean bonus gap has varied over the period by has ultimately widened from 16.8% to 18.5% in favour of men. The median bonus gap has remained fairly consistent since 2020, at 6%
- 83% of companies reported a positive mean hourly gender pay gap in the most recent reporting year
- The financial services, construction, technology, mining and quarrying, education and professional, scientific and technical sectors continue to have the widest gender pay gaps.
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