Women- paid more than 30% in excess of a woman’s salary. Perhaps more shockingly, 13% of those in work believe there is no difference in pay between men and women, when actually it has got worse over the years – from 2014 to 2015 the gap widened by 0.2%. So although it’s illegal under the Equal Pay Act to pay different amounts to men and women in the same role, on average a woman earns around 80p for every £1 earned by a man. Player believes this is exacerbating gender stereotypes. “The lack of equal pay implies a message about behavioural and social differences between men and women which can reinforce gender stereotypes,” she says. Moreover, Player believes this inequality can affect the quality of work, because earning less for doing the same job can undermine confidence and affect competence.
However, the majority of UK workers believe the government should be doing more to quell this growing inequality, according to the Guardian Jobs research. And last year, David Cameron announced a government measure to be introduced in 2018 that could bring some change. Under new requirements, companies with more than 250 employees must disclose the pay of their male and female workers, in order to shrink the widening pay gap. David Cameron hoped this pay transparency will “create the pressure we need for change, driving women’s wages up”. Kathryn Nawrockyi, gender equality director at Business in the Community, believes