New report shows UK Gender Pay Gap higher than thought

The Fawcett Society has worked with Dr Giacomo Vagni on a new report exploring the causes of and solutions to the Gender Pay Gap.

The full report 'Equal Pay Day 2024: Time to close the gender pay gap' was written by Dr Vagni and Lizzie Ville, Senior Policy and Research Officer at the Fawcett Society. The growing Gender Pay Gap means, on average, every month working women take home £631 less than men - that’s £7,572 over the course of the year, up from £574 per month last year (£6,888 over the year), according to the Fawcett Society.

Jemima Olchawski, Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society, said: "Equal Pay Day 2024 marks another painful reminder that gender pay inequality is not only persistent, but risks deepening. The gender pay gap now stands at 11.3%, meaning that, on average, women effectively stop being paid compared to men on November 20, and will work for free for the rest of the year. Improvements in the in ONS’ data methodology shows that the situation could be worse than previously understood.”

Dr Vagni, from the Department of Sociology and Criminology, said: “A gender pay gap of 8%, after accounting for personal characteristics (education, experience, occupation), is not trivial. It means being short-changed every hour of work, and these losses compound over time. For a £25,000 yearly salary, it is over £2,000 lost in the pay gap — a figure that makes a difference for many households. Over a decade or a lifetime, it is a fund that can change someone's life.”

Jemima added: “We welcome the Chancellor's commitment to closing the gender pay gap, these statistics make it clearer than ever that reaching that goal will require significant shifts in the approach to achieving equality. To truly achieve equality, we need a comprehensive, cross-departmental strategy that tackles the root causes of the gap, including the undervaluing of women’s work, a lack of affordable childcare, and the systemic barriers that prevent women, particularly mothers, from reaching their full potential in the workforce.

“If we are to see meaningful change, flexible work must be the default across all sectors, and discrimination in pay must be eradicated. The gender pay gap is not just an issue for women—it’s an issue for our entire economy. Until we address the inequalities that women face every day, we risk seeing this gap grow."

The Society has also created The Gender Pay Gap Calculator to allow women to find out their Gender Pay Gap compared to the average man.

• Read more about Equal Pay Day 2024 on the Fawcett Society website