Gender pay gap 'could last over 100 years'

The World Economic Forum estimates that it could be 118 years before global parity in the workplace is achieved - and in the UK, the Chartered Management Institute has found that women often work the equivalent of two hours a day for 'free' when compared to their male counterparts.

The Equal Pay Act was introduced nearly 50 years ago, but several social factors have combined to keep women's wages lagging behind men's.

Sam Smethers, chief executive of gender equality charity the Fawcett Society, explained:

“These include the motherhood gap – where women take time out of the labour market due to unequal sharing of care in the home leading to a gender pay gap of 33 per cent 12 years after the birth of a first child; our divided labour market where the trend is for women to be segregated into lower paying jobs with less progress; men at the top of the pay scale in the most powerful positions; and outright discrimination.

“Across all industries, managers and directors have a pay gap of 20 per cent – but skilled tradespeople like electricians and plumbers have the highest pay gap of 21 per cent.”

And the higher up the pay scale a woman rises, the wider the gap between her and male equivalents.

The charity has calculated that the pay gap for women in full-time work is 13.9 per cent as an hourly rate. It increases to 18.1 per cent when part-time workers are taken into account.

The government wants to end the disparity within a generation, and has introduced new rules to increase transparency on wage structures from large employers.

"Joining a trade union and asking for their advice is an effective way of preparing either to negotiate with your employer, or take them to employment tribunal,” advises Sam.

“The expansion of childcare services and the increase in the minimum wage are particularly important too. But the introduction of tribunal fees limits women’s ability to tackle the discrimination they experience, and continuing segregation in apprenticeships threatens to bake in a gender pay gap into the next generation.”