London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 27, 2025

Men out-earning women: Five things you need to know

Men out-earning women: Five things you need to know

It was designed to highlight organisations where women were lagging behind and motivate change that would revolutionise workplaces.
But five years after the first set of gender pay figures were published by big employers, the latest numbers suggest a lack of progress. Women still earn on average about 90p at these organisations for every £1 a man does.

So is this any more than a box-ticking exercise?

Here are five things to take into account:

1: The gender pay gap is not the same as equal pay

Measuring a company's gender pay gap means lining up the male employees in order of salary, doing the same for the women, and compare the two in the middle.

So the pay gap isn't just about whether men and women are getting equal pay for equal work (an area covered by law for 50 years).

It's also about how many women there are, what roles they hold , and if they're progressing up the ranks.

2. There are many reasons the gender pay gap might exist

It may be about traditional career roles - hence why construction and finance, traditionally male dominated, have particularly large gaps.

Fields in which women are overrepresented may also have traditionally attracted lower pay. Store staff at Asda, for example, have been arguing in court that they should be valued the same as the largely male workforce in depots.

Gaps may reflect a lack of opportunities- for entering or progressing or corporate culture or attitudes. Or the challenges of responsibilities outside of work.

Some economists claim the gap is a "myth" , suggesting it may reflects women's choices, that they opt out of career progression or even the workplace.

But some may have the choice made for them: research commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy found that 1 in 9 women said they had lost their jobs when they returned to work after having a child, or felt forced out of their job.

3: Getting more women in the door isn't the whole answer

What is definitely true is that the gap opens up once children arrive - men and women earn roughly similar salaries in the early parts of their careers.

For employers, the challenge is hanging on to women, ensuring they have routes to progress.

For carers, disproportionally women, it's balancing responsibilities. And, ahead of last month's Budget which offered more financial help for childcare, financial services group PWC calculated that the challenge and costs of dealing with caring responsibilities in the face of a pandemic and soaring inflation may have halted women's workplace progress.

Later in their careers, a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development report found that almost 900,000 women in the UK had left their jobs because of menopausal symptoms.

4: Gender pay gap figures may obscure changes - but drive change.

On the face of it, there has, after decades of progress, been no movement in the pay gap overall since big organisations started reporting these figures five years ago.

But some of those with the widest pay gaps admit the scrutiny has been constructive. Less than a decade ago, only 5% of EasyJet's intake of pilots were men - now it's 10%. The spotlight didn't only highlight the gap between pay in the cockpit and the crew in the back - but encouraged more women to become pilots.

Ironically, recruiting more women at entry level can cause the gap to widen before they move up the ranks.

5: Don't just blame companies

Ask gender pay specialists and they'll tell you there are many initiatives that companies can take - tackling unconscious bias, offering more flexible working and encouraging shared parental leave.

But the issue doesn't end at the office door. The experts say society needs to change.

Schools could encourage girls to take more STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and maths. The variety of flexible, affordable childcare options could be increased. And some men could take on more of the household chores.

But campaigners say gender pay gap reporting may not be enough. Some want legislations to force companies to explain how they intend to close gaps - with penalties for those who fail .

Why bother?

Over her career the average woman can expect to earn almost a quarter of a million pounds less than the average man. But that penalty aside, failing to capitalise on what women can offer may be restricting our wider fortunes at a time when skills are in short supply.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
×