How hybrid roles and flexible working are widening women's wealth gaps

"The issue here is not flexible work, she says. The lack of access to it in senior, well-paid roles is. Women still do 50 per cent more unpaid care than men, and so are more likely to take up jobs that offer flexible working in order to better combine their unpaid caring responsibilities with their paid job. But right now, we see that flexibility is more often than not concentrated in lower-paid jobs with limited progression."

"Lower salaries mean lower pension contributions, she says. Someone earning 100,000 over a 20-year period can expect to accumulate an additional 70,000 in their pension fund compared to someone earning 80,000. This assumes they are both paying five per cent of their salary into pensions, which grow at 10 per cent a year."

Flexible working arrangements, intended to support gender equality, have created an unequal distribution problem. While remote and hybrid roles help women balance paid work with caregiving responsibilities, flexibility remains concentrated in lower-paid positions rather than senior roles. Women perform 50 percent more unpaid care than men, making them more likely to seek flexible employment. However, this concentration in lower-paid jobs with limited progression opportunities widens pay and pension gaps. The structural issue is not flexibility itself but its unequal access across pay grades. Even modest salary differences compound significantly over time through pension contributions, creating substantial long-term financial disadvantages for women.

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