Gender pay gap increases – but which jobs are worst?

The gap currently stands at 15.7 per cent for full-time workers – up from 14.8 per cent in 2012. The gap is equivalent to men being paid all year round while women work for free from today onwards, known as equal pay day.

Last year equal pay day fell on 7 November.

According to figures from the Office of National Statistics, the worst jobs for equal pay are health professionals, where the pay gap stands on average at over 40 per cent for full-time staff.

The best jobs for equal pay are transport and mobile machine drivers, where men are paid on average 0.95 per cent more than women. The only jobs where women are paid more than men are skilled agricultural and related trades, where on average women earn 1.74 per cent more than men.

“It is disgraceful that in 2014, women in the UK still effectively work for free for nearly two months of the year relative to men and deeply concerning that last year the gap widened again for the first time in five years,” said Dr Eva Neitzert, deputy CEO of the Fawcett Society.

“The UK is fast sliding down the rankings of gender equal societies, and we need to take action now. We urgently need action to tackle low pay, with the majority (62 per cent) of those paid below the living wage female”

Getting worse

Last week, the World Economic Forum announced that the UK had fallen from 18 to 26 in the global rankings for gender equality.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It is small wonder that Britain is plummeting down the international league tables when it comes to gender equality.

“Four decades on from the Equal Pay Act women are still losing out on pay and career opportunities.

“It feels like the glass ceiling is getting stronger not weaker and we need a much tougher approach to stop future generations of women from suffering this pay penalty. Companies must be held more accountable for how they pay their staff and made to publish information.”