Call for action as gender pay gap widens » Local Government » 24dash.com

The gender pay gap has increased over the past year and now stands at 17.1%, official figures showed today.

The difference in earnings of full-time women and male workers rose by 0.1% over the year, while for part-timers the gap also widened to more than 36%.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Today's shock increase in the gender pay gap makes the case for decisive action more pressing than ever.

"This is an injustice for both women and men. As redundancies mount, more women may find themselves as the sole or main income earner. It's more important than ever that they are not underpaid for what they do."

The figures from the Office for National Statistics also showed that average earnings for full-time employees increased by 4.6% in the year to April to £479 a week.

The figure increased by 4.6% to £521 for men and by 4.4% for women to £412.

The number of jobs with pay less than the national minimum wage fell by 8,000 over the year to 288,000, just over 1% of the total number of jobs in the UK.

Part-time workers were more than twice as likely as full-timers to be paid less than the statutory rate.

The TUC said the gender pay gap was even wider in the private sector, at 21.7%, adding that research showed private firms were much less willing to check their pay systems to make sure they were paying women fairly.

Mr Barber added: "The link between fair pay and checking pay systems is clear. The case for mandatory pay audits is stronger than ever."

The GMB union said the UK had fallen 20 places in an international gender pay league.

Equality officer Kamaljeet Jandu said: "It is very disappointing that the gender pay gap has widened when there is an expectation that progress will be made in narrowing it.

"Male workers at the top of the tree account for a lot of this gender pay gap. GMB has been promised that equal pay audits will be part of the Government's procurement policy and it is essential that audits come into effect as soon as possible.

"Women's contributions, skills and experience are equal to men's and must be rewarded accordingly."

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said it was "particularly worrying" that the gender pay gap for part-time workers had increased from 35.8% to 36.6%, indicating the "penalty" paid by women who worked part time to balance work and family life was actually on the increase.

Based on today's figures, the Commission estimated the average woman who worked full time would miss out on £369,000 over her working life.

The commission published a survey looking at the number of public and private sector employers who were conducting voluntary pay reviews to help them ensure they were paying people fairly.

The survey of 866 public and private sector businesses across the UK showed a 5% increase in the number of employers who completed equal pay reviews in the past three years.

Equal pay reviews were more common in the public sector, where 43% of employers either had completed one, had one in progress or were planning one, compared to 23% of private sector organisations.

Chief executive Nicola Brewer said: "In these tough economic times, everyone will be counting the pounds and pence.

"Today's figures show women in particular are feeling the pinch. The average woman who works full time will lose out on £369,000 over the course of her working life, which translates into 16 house down payments.

"Particularly worrying, the penalty for women who work part time is increasing.

"Women aren't the only ones paying the price. The pay gap highlights a wider failure - Britain's failure to work better.

"Women who want or need flexibility often find they have to trade down. Many of the well-paid, high-status jobs are stuck in an inflexible 1950s mould designed for an era when men worked and women stayed at home.

"Unless we embrace modern ways of working employers will continue to miss out on the considerable talents of an increasingly well-educated generation of women who now make up almost half the workforce, as well as many others - carers, disabled people - who may not fit into this rigid model.

"I'm encouraged to see more businesses have decided to conduct equal pay reviews to determine the scale of the gap in their organisation."