Summary of the editorial from IDS Pay Report 971, February 2007

The earnings distribution by gender

Greater concentration of women’s earnings at the low-paid end

The gender pay gap, which is the ratio between male and female average hourly earnings, excluding overtime, is 17.2 per cent across the whole economy. This is taken from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figure shows little change from the previous year, in fact it is slightly higher than the 17.1 per cent revised figure recorded for 2005. The gender pay gap in the public sector is much lower at 13.5 per cent. This can be compared with the private sector gender pay gap of 22.3 per cent. The gender pay gap is larger in the private sector due to the greater occupational segregation in the sector, with women occupying the five ‘c’s of the labour market: cleaning, catering, caring, cashiering and clerical work, which are low-paid positions and require few formal qualifications.  

The average weekly pay rate for women in April 2006 was £453.60, compared to £591.60 for men, according to ASHE. The average is higher for men as more men occupy the highest-paid occupations. The median weekly pay rate for women is £386.80, meaning 50 per cent of women earn less than this amount, compared to about 32 per cent of men. The median earnings for men was £487.40 a week. While 50 per cent of men earn less than this amount, about 66 per cent of women do so.

... the full editorial can be read in IDS Pay Report 971