07 UK GENDER PAY GAP | BDO LLP
Trend 3: Industry developments Hourly pay gaps
However, such initiatives are unlikely to lead to an immediate reduction in pay gaps. Arguably, they could even contribute to the widening of pay gaps as more females join entry or lower-paid roles within these industries. Therefore, it may come as no surprise that our analysis sees the highest median reduction in mean or median hourly GPG between 2017/18-2022/23 in the industries with relatively low hourly GPGs (see Fig. 7). However, it should be noted that three of the Top 5 Industries with highest hourly GPGs – Mining, Professional and Technology, have reported a significant decrease in mean or median hourly GPGs figures over the reporting period.
Fig. 6 below shows the mean and median hourly pay gap per industry for 2022/23. As expected, industries that are widely perceived as male-dominated, both in terms of the male composition within the workforce and the prevalence of male employees in higher-paying positions, exhibit the most substantial hourly pay gaps.
Fig. 6: Average 2022/23 hourly GPG by industry
Mean hourly pay gap
Median hourly pay gap
Financial Services Construction Technology Mining and Quarrying Professional, Scientific & Technical Education Arts, Entertainment & Recreation Energy Retail Real Estate Administrative & Support Services Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Health & Social Work Manufacturing Transportation & Storage Hospitality Public Services Utilities Financial Services Professional, Scientific & Technical Arts, Entertainment & Recreation Retail Real Estate Administrative & Support Services Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Hospitality Public Services Utilities
Fig. 7: Industries with highest median reduction in mean hourly GPG or median hourly GPG (on a company-by-company basis)
Median hourly GPG
- 20%
- 30%
- 15%
- 16%
- 31%
Mean hourly GPG
- 14%
- 18%
- 13%
- 25%
- 26%
Public Services Manufacturing Mining and Quarrying Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
- 18%
- 21%
- 13%
- 38%
Technology Arts, Entertainment & Recreation
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
These pay disparities are impacted and potentially exacerbated by the high average pay levels within these industries. According to the Office for National Statistics, Financial Services, Mining and Quarrying, Professional, Scientific and Technical, and Technology rank among the top five sectors with the highest average weekly earnings. There has been a heightened effort recently to increase female representation in traditionally male-dominated fields, often through initiatives like increasing females on graduate schemes or actively recruiting women into these sectors.
It will take some time to close the GPG in industries such as Financial Services or Construction. However, the increased presence of females within these industries should play a crucial role in eventually narrowing these pay gaps as women progress through the ranks within their respective companies.
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