UK women earn £300k less than men over working life

New analysis by recruitment agency Robert Half shows that UK women are likely to earn £300,000 less than men over their working lives. The analysis comes at the same time as a survey for the Fawcett Society showed that 46% of people think women become less committed to their job after becoming mothers, compared with just 11% who thought the same of men after becoming fathers Maria Miller, Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, said that the gender pay gap is unlikely to be closed within a generation, suggesting that the gap is particularly acute for women over 40 due to the lack of quality part-time work and lack of effective shared parental-leave policies. The UK is currently ranked 16th out of 33 countries for gender equality at work.

David Cameron will fail to deliver on a pledge to close the gender pay gap within a generation, according to a senior Conservative MP who used to be the Cabinet minister for women and equalities.



Maria Miller, chair of a parliamentary select committee that scrutinises gender equality, told the Guardian: “The government thinks the issue has been resolved, and it has for women working full-time under the age of 35 but not for thousands of others.

“The gender pay gap is particularly acute for women over 40 – and that is because of the lack of quality part-time working and lack of effective shared parental-leave policies. The evidence is clear. The government needs to take a long, hard look at their policies.”

Miller highlighted that although the government has introduced parental leave, statistics showed that “at most 8%” of men will take up the option of extended time off with their newborns.

Speaking before International Women’s Day, she added: “Without the support of men, women won’t see the gap eliminated.” She said there was an urgent need for more jobs that were flexible and for a bigger push to ensure men share the burden of childcare.

It came as a survey of more than 8,000 people by the Fawcett Society found that 46% think women become less committed to their job after becoming mothers. That compared with just 11% who thought the same of men, while 29% of respondents said fathers became more committed to work.

The poll by Survation found that three-quarters of men take leave of two weeks or less after the birth of a child, with a third taking just one to five days. It found that women still do the lion’s share when it comes to childcare.

The women’s rights group said the figures revealed that women suffered a “motherhood penalty” while fathers were granted a “daddy bonus”.

Sam Smethers, the chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said: “We need a decent, dedicated period of leave for dads, paid closer to replacement income rate so that they can afford to take it.”

A government spokesman said: “The gender pay gap has been falling almost continuously, is at the lowest on record, and has been virtually eliminated for women under 40 working full-time. Thanks to the reforms this government is introducing, we expect that trend to continue.

“Only last month, we unveiled a raft of measures requiring companies with more than 250 employees to publish their gender pay gap and we are extending that duty across the public sector. We must all be ambitious and take action to close the gap once and for all.”

The survey results come amid calls for a change in parliament to allow job sharing among MPs.

The campaign is being spearheaded by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, who said: “Job sharing for MPs is an idea whose time has come. It will help open up the opportunity for disabled people to serve as MPs and make the Commons more representative of the community we are supposed to represent.”

Women’s rights are at the centre of the debate over women’s future in the European Union, with polls suggesting that most undecided voters are female.

Labour MP Emma Reynolds said: “The campaign so far has been dominated by men. It is clear that women are more receptive to other women making the arguments. Women need to be more visible in this campaign.



“The aggressive tone of the debate risks switching off women voters. Arguments about abstract notions of sovereignty don’t strike a chord with many women. We need to make granular arguments about how the EU affects women’s lives and their families.”

Reynolds, and other female voices supporting the in campaign such as Green party MP Caroline Lucas, argue that the EU secures guarantees for women around part-time work and maternity leave.

But the out campaigners will be pushing for women’s support as well on Tuesday, as they set up a new group called Women for Britain. The Conservative minister Priti Patel will give a speech comparing her fight to that of Emmeline Pankhurst.

“As a suffragette, Pankhurst fought for the rights of women to have a vote, a voice and a say in how their society is governed and who governs it,” she said. “In many ways, Women for Britain are fighting for the same cause.”