The LSE International Inequalities Institute has published a paper looking at the gender divide at the top of the income distribution in 8 western countries. While in the UK we have a number of statistics on the gender pay gap (and will have even more when the first snap shot of data is required to be reported under the Gender Pay Gap Regulations in April 2017) the LSE study also took into account earnings from self-employment and investment income.
It shows that the gender income gap is marked and similar across all 8 countries. Women are seriously under-represented in the top income groups and that increases as you reach the top of the income groups. In the UK the figures show that over the past 12 years the percentage of women in the very top income group has declined indicating a possible thickening of the glass ceiling for women.
A few days ago Deloitte published a report claiming that, based on current statistics from the Office for National Statistics, the gender pay gap in the UK will not close until 2069 based on current salary progression. That is 53 years (and two generations) away!
So what can we do now? We have a toolkit to guide you on calculating the gender pay gap, compliant with the Gender Pay Gap Regulations. We also offer a questionnaire service to help analyse the causes of any gender pay gap in your business and can work with you to report on and implement a plan to start to reduce the gender pay gap and break that glass ceiling.
If you would like to discuss this further, even if your business is not affected by the Gender Pay Gap Regulations, please do not hesitate to contact me or one of the team.