How government '˜betrayed women' by failing to tackle pay gap

Women aged between 50 to 59 earn up to 27% less than their male counterparts, and ladies over 40 will continue to suffer unless more is done to tackle the root causes of inequality, an influential committee of MPs has said.

Despite a commitment from the Conservatives to elimiate the national gender pay gap of 19.2% within a generation, this figure has not reduced in four years.

Chair of the Commons’ Women and Equalities Select Committee, Maria Miller MP, said: “The gender pay gap is holding back women and that isn’t going to change unless the Government changes its policies now.

“The pay gap represents a massive loss to the UK’s economy and we must address it in the face of an ageing workforce, a skills crisis and the need for a more competitive economy.”

The report found that Government policies do not do enough to support men and women to share childcare which means women are more likely to leave the workforce, work part-time.

Many women are also trapped in low paid, part-time work below their skill level. The under-utilisation of women’s skills costs the UK economy up to 2% GDP, around £36 billion.

In the countryside women also face an unlevel playing field with the latest statistics compiled by the Government showing that the proportion of females living in rural areas and employed full time is 52.2 per cent compared with 58.8 per cent of females living in towns and cities.

Minister for Women and Equalities Nicky Morgan said: “We welcome the committee’s report on this vital issue and their recognition of the critical work already being done across government.

“The gender pay gap is the lowest on record, we have more women in work and more women on FTSE boards than ever before – but I want us to make more progress and faster.

“That’s why one of our very first acts after the election was announcing plans to force businesses to publish their gender pay and gender bonus gap. We have also introduced shared parental leave, doubled the amount of free childcare available to working parents and we are working with employers to ensure that women, no matter their age, stay in the workforce and progress to the most senior roles.

“But Government cannot do this alone – employers also have a critical role to play in removing barriers and challenging stereotypes.”

However the report concentrated heavily on the Government’s enabling role and responsibilities over employers, and described how aside from increasing the National Minimum Wage, there has been ‘no co-ordinated attempt to address the issues faced by the many women working in low paid sectors’.

They argue the UK’s working culture will not change of its own accord and currently too much is left to chance.