18 April 2008
Public sector trade union Unison has demanded action from the government after a study showed that the gender pay gap is as wide as ever and gets worse as women age.
Research from the Office for National Statistics shows that the hourly pay gap for full-time 20-something workers is just 1% in favour of men. But by the time women reach their 40s, they are paid 20.3% less per hour than their male colleagues.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said it was unacceptable that, 30 years after equal pay legislation had been passed, women were still waiting for equality in the workplace.
'It is very depressing to find that the gender pay gap gets worse with age, and how demoralising for young women starting out in the job market to know that they face a downward spiral of unequal pay,' he said.
The ONS's Labour and economic market review, published on April 14, compared the median hourly rates for full-time male and female staff of the same age.
The study found that women's earnings start to lag significantly behind men's about ten years into their working life.
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