Does the Workplace Work for Women?

"The gender pay gap in the UK has narrowed since 1997, but it hasn't disappeared. As of April 2025, women still earn 12.8% less than men, according to the Office for National Statistics. The reasons are structural: women are overrepresented in lower-paid roles such as nursing and teaching, and underrepresented in higher-paid sectors. Even graduates who studied the same subjects see pay diverge early, with men out-earning women soon after entering the workforce."

"Women also continue to shoulder the majority of unpaid caregiving. Time taken out for childbirth, combined with limited access to flexible working and affordable childcare, slows career progression and pushes many women into part-time roles that pay less and offer fewer opportunities. The result is not only entrenched inequality, but reduced productivity, weaker economic growth, and diminished financial independence for women over their lifetimes."

Women in the UK earn 12.8% less than men as of April 2025, reflecting persistent structural labour market inequalities. Occupational segregation concentrates women in lower-paid roles such as nursing and teaching while leaving them underrepresented in higher-paid sectors. Pay divergence appears early, even among graduates who studied the same subjects, with men out-earning women soon after workforce entry. Unpaid caregiving, time out for childbirth, limited flexible working and costly childcare slow career progression and increase part-time work among women. These dynamics reduce productivity and economic growth and weaken women’s lifetime financial independence. Boardroom representation has improved, but gendered framing and infantilising labels persist.

Read at London On The Inside