Women with children face wider pay gap, says research

Women with children face a wider gender pay gap than men, according to new research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

The research showed that the gap widens year on year after a woman has her first child, reaching 33 per cent by the time the child is 12 years old.

Significant

According to IFS Associate Director, Robert Joyce, “There is already a significant gender wage gap of about 10% per hour before children come along but it then widens very significantly after that point."

Joyce stated that the gap is not an immediate separation and that it gradually widens every year after the birth of a woman’s first child.

Commenting on why the gender pay gap exists, he added that it could be a result of people working part-time or missing out on training opportunities.

“Part time workers don't seem to get the wage progression that full time workers do, so they fall further and further behind their peers,” he said.

“It could be due to people missing out on formal training opportunities which enable them to increase their skills and enable them to earn more.”

Diversity

The research from IFS comes after a survey by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR showed that men are more likely to be promoted into a higher management role.

The 2016 Gender Salary Survey revealed that 14 per cent of men in a management role were promoted over the past year, compared to 10 per cent of women.

Commenting on the research, CMI Chief Executive, Ann Francke, said that “promoting men ahead of women is keeping us all back. Diversity delivers better financial results, better culture and better decision making.”