What is the pay gap situation in the UK?
Out of the 27 EU countries, the UK has one of the largest pay gap amounting to 22 percent: For every pound a man earns, a woman gets 82.8p, the equivalent to woriking in November and December of very year for free! Within one year, 44,013 equal pay claimes were brought forward. Has the pay gap diminished over time? No, on the contrary. In some countries, the situation has actually gotten worse. In Germany, for instance, the discrepancy was 22.7 percent in 2006. Why do women earn less than men? A large part of the pay disparity can be explained by the fact that women often work part-time and that the proportion of women working in the social sector – jobs that tend to not be as well paid – is larger. In the UK, 50 percent of women work in low-paid part-time jobs beneath their potential, e.g. not using their vocational skills. In well paid sectors such as the chemical industry or engineering, men make up the majority of the workforce. In addition, women tend not to advance into leading p
