More than half of female professionals based in the West Midlands feel underpaid at work – 10% more than male professionals in the region, and 8% more than female professionals based in London.
Almost a quarter of women in the region have reported receiving no pay increase in the past year, despite having negotiated for higher pay – compared with less than a fifth of men.
The new findings were part of a recent survey into diversity and inclusion in the workplace by recruitment company Robert Walters.
The survey highlights how female professionals in white-collar jobs – especially those based in the West Midlands, as well as the north and east of England – are bearing the brunt of tightening company purses and inflation-related cuts.
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The research highlighted the West Midlands in particular because last month, Birmingham City Council was forced to issue a Section 114 notice – effectively declaring itself bankrupt – primarily triggered by the £760m cost of unpaid equal pay claims.
The council has subsequently reached a crucial agreement with unions over how jobs are graded, moving a step closer to settling its equal pay claims.
According to Robert Walters research, only 7% of female managers with five years’ experience based in the West Midlands earn above £55,000 – yet 52% of male managers in London and 24% of male managers in the West Midlands (with the same amount of experience behind them) earn more than this amount.
The findings also revealed that almost a quarter of West Midlands-based female professionals had not received a raise in the last 12 months – 10% more than male professionals in the region.
In the past year, 44% of women in the region – comprising Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton – stated they had negotiated for higher pay amid the rising cost of living. However, 22% did not receive any form of pay rise post-negotiation.
Habiba Khatoon, director of Robert Walters West Midlands, said: “We are all too aware of the regional pay gap between the regions and London, but our research attests to the fact that there is a gendered regional pay gap.
“Even when taking matters into their own hands and attempting to negotiate for a higher salary, less than a fifth of women in the West Midlands seem to be receiving the pay rise that they believe they deserve. This is even more worrying considering less than half are negotiating in the first place – so those who are actually receiving a rise are a minority of a minority. There is a real concern that female workers in the West Midlands could be falling behind in terms of pay.”
Out of the West Midlands-based professionals who negotiated for a higher salary – 10% more male (26%) than female (16%) professionals received the full amount that they had negotiated for.
Female professionals based in north-west England had an even greater level of dissatisfaction with pay (58%) than those in the West Midlands (55%). In London, the figure was 42%, while in south-west England it was 45%. The East Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber regions also saw a wide gap between women and men’s dissatisfaction levels of about 10% in each case.
Habiba said the discrepancy in pay satisfaction was clear: “Women in all of the above regions have an at least 10% gap in pay satisfaction compared with their male counterparts. It is clear the regional pay gap is disproportionally affecting women.”
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