Despite the introduction of mandatory gender pay gap reporting in 2017, the UK is still lagging behind in terms of equal pay for men and women. According to an analysis by the Financial Times, 79.5 percent of companies are still paying men more than women, compared to 77.2 percent in 2017. The gap is also widening, with men earning an hourly wage that is 12.2 percent more than women, versus 11.9 percent in 2017.
Despite the introduction of mandatory gender pay gap reporting in 2017, the UK is still lagging behind in terms of equal pay for men and women. According to an analysis by the Financial Times, 79.5 percent of companies are still paying men more than women, compared to 77.2 percent in 2017. The gap is also widening, with men earning an hourly wage that is 12.2 percent more than women, versus 11.9 percent in 2017.
The UK’s top 50 retailers are among those with the largest pay gaps. Next, the fashion company, has the largest pay gap at 8.1 percent, followed by Marks & Spencer and Primark at 6.5 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.
Transparency alone has not been enough to close the gender pay gap. Ann Francke, chief executive at Chartered Management Institute, told the FT: “Organisations think and say they’re doing the right thing to advance gender equality in the workplace — but when it comes to taking action on the gender pay gap, evidence suggests they are failing to deliver.”
A report published by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2020 showed the gender pay gap in the fashion industry was approximately 20 percent, which was higher than the national average. This meant that women in fashion earn about 80 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.
In April 2022, ASOS was named as one of the companies with the highest gender pay gaps in Britain, according to the Times, with a median gap of 44.8 percent compared to 41 percent in 2021. This went up to 45.5 percent in 2022. ASOS said its gender pay gap is driven by the larger proportion of men than women in higher paying senior roles, particularly in its Technology team, where salaries tend to be higher than in other parts of the business.
The gender pay gap in the EU stands at 12.7 percent in 2021 and has only changed minimally over the last decade. This means that women earn 13 percent on average less per hour than men.
The UK government has taken steps to close the gender pay gap, such as introducing the Gender
Sources: https://fashionunited.com/news/fashion/uk-retailers-slow-to-close-gender-pay-gap/2023040653196
