Gender pay gap for UK women aged 40 and over ‘will not close till they are pensioners’

Equal Pay Day report from Fawcett Society blames lack of flexible working in well-paid high-quality jobs

UK women aged 40 and older will not experience the closure of the gender pay gap until after they reach state pension age, according to a report by the Fawcett Society.

The Equal Pay Day 2023 report, Making flexible working the default", found that on average working women take home 574 a month less than men - or 6,888 a year.

Forty per cent of unemployed women said access to flexible work would enable them to take on paid work. Almost a third of unemployed men said the same.

Women were significantly more likely to report working part-time (27%) compared with men (14%).

About 77% of women agreed that they would be more likely to apply for a job that advertised flexible working options.