Member Article

New Poll: More than half of UK women concerned about gender pay gap widening as result of pandemic

56 percent of womenare ‘concerned about the gender pay gap widening due to the pandemic’, compared to 36 percent of men

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, January 10, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ – More than half of women in the UK are concerned about the gender pay gap widening as a result of the pandemic, a new poll has found.

The poll surveying 2,129 British adults was conducted by female-focused think tank The WealthiHer Network. It found 56 percent of women that provided a response are ‘concerned about the gender pay gap widening due to the pandemic’, compared to 36 percent of men.

The survey comes amid growing concerns of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the gender pay gap. More women were furloughed than men in 2021 at 6.3 percent to 5.3 percent and the effects of this are still to be seen.

Provisional data reported in April 2021 already suggests that the pay gap has increased to 7.9 percent for employees in fulltime work, up from 7 percent in 2020.

However in 2020 the Government made the decision to suspend reporting, subsequently leading to only a quarter of companies usually eligible to report their data doing so by the April 2021 deadline. Companies were gifted an extension until October to ease pressure caused by Covid-19, and full reports and data is still to be reported. Before this there has been a general downward trend over the last decade.

The ONS 2022 report will be pivotal to spot whether the downward trend has been broken due to the pandemic, furlough and job losses, and confirming women’s concerns of the widening gap.

The WealthiHer Network, through partnership and support from leading financial institutions including HSBC Private Banking, Royal Bank of Canada, and St James’s Place Wealth Management, aims to drive the financial empowerment and financial advancement of women on a global scale.

It says the gender pay gap is an issue that has long effected working women and that urgent action must be taken until absolute parity can be achieved. Until then women will not be given the recognition they deserve. With the help of its financial partners the WealthiHer Network is working to tackle these issues and create a fair and equal workplace.

WealthiHer Network founder Tamara Gillan said: “The gender pay gap is an issue that has plagued women’s attempts to level up for years. An evident cause of many frustrations. Women are right to be concerned about the gap widening, especially with initial figures showing a rise on the previous year and the country still to see the full effects of the end of the furlough scheme, which saw more women effected this year than men.”

“And it’s not just the gender pay gap, women have the gender pension gap, investment gap, and funding gap to contend with. At the WealthiHer Network we understand the effects barriers can have on women and their career. We want to ensure women have the tools to tackle these and continue to breakdown anything that stands in their way. The gender pay gap must be addressed urgently as a carry-over from less progressive times. Women have come so far an deserve full recognition for their hard work and equal standing in the workplace.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tamara Gillan .