LONDON - Salary comparison site PayFinder.com has revealed that research conducted by it recently found that the salary gap between women and men was on the rise. Female workers in Britain were
paid almost 27 percent less than their male counterparts.
These figures were tabulated by the site from the data logged in by 160,000 workers on PayFinder between August 2004 and 2005. As expected the biggest gap was found in the capital with men earning £39,022 at an average and women earning £28,833; a salary gap of almost 35 percent. Across the country, men earned £30,948, while the average salary for a female counterpart was just £23,977. CJ Brough, a spokeswoman for Payfinder.com said that the latest report highlighted the fact that women shied away from asking for a raise, "This year's PayFinder report highlights that sex discrimination is still rife in the workplace. Women need to be diligent and take the lead in checking that their pay is fair and equal. Unfortunately the fairer sex do tend to shy from wage negotiations, whereas conversely, men often have no such reservations," she added.
She dismissed suggestions that the differences in salaries are due to the better ability among men, "Aside from the legal ramifications, it's a nonsense that gender could be a factor in determining salary level. And before anyone cites female job choice as a possible cause, PayFinder also shows that regardless of industry and indeed role, men still earn more than women," she pointed out.
The gender pay gap was found to be the lowest in Northern Ireland where men earn £25,998 as compared to the £22,581 earned by women; a difference of 15 percent. The gap was 32 percent in East Midlands and the South East, while it was 30 percent in North West and South West. Scotland and the east of England recorded a difference of 29 percent. "Women need to be diligent and take the lead in checking that their pay is fair and equal," the report concluded.
Posted
on : Tue, 30 Aug 2005 21:05 GMT | General News
By : Pippa Fielding
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