Women in their twenties earn more than men as gap narrows
Friday, 25 November 2011 10:54
New figures published by the Office for National Statistics have shown that the gender pay gap may be starting to close in the UK.
According to its latest release, women in their 20s now earn 3.6 per cent more than their male counterparts
As a whole, the disparity between male and female median full-time hourly earnings decreased from 10.1 per cent in April 2010 to 9.1 per cent in the same month this year, the first time the figure has gone below ten per cent.
Median gross annual earnings for men were up 1.2 per cent at £28,400, while for women they rose 1.9 per cent to £22,900.
In the public sector, the pay gap has shrunk to 9.2 per cent, while it was recorded at 18.4 per cent in the private sector.
However, while things may be improving for younger women in the workplace, this changes once they reach their 40s. Indeed, by this age, men are earning £15.14 an hour at the same time as their female counterparts take home £12.77 an hour.
This was blamed on more women than men doing part-time jobs as they took time out to raise families, with 42 per cent of females on reduced hours in the workplace as a whole compared to 12 per cent of males.
In August 2010, a report from the Chartered Management Institute suggested that women may face unequal pay for another 57 years.
The Fawcett Society is campaigning for the government to do more to "tackle the scandal".
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