UK gender pay gap is worst for Pakistani and Bangladeshi women, report shows

Pakistani and Bangladeshi women in the UK face the biggest gender pay gap in the country, earning 26% less than white British men, according to a new study from the Fawcett Society.

Among full-time workers, black African women face the biggest gap of 19.6%. The Fawcett Society notes that this has improved only slightly since the 1990s, when the figure was 21.4%.

Meanwhile, white Irish women now earn 17.5% more than white men, which the report attributes to “generational factors,” as women in this demographic are more likely to be older and in senior roles.

Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, commented that: “This analysis reveals a complex picture of gender pay gap inequality. Black African women have been largely left behind, and in terms of closing the pay gap, Pakistani and Bangladeshi women are today only where White British women were in the 1990s.

“For these groups this is a story of low labour market participation and low pay when they are in work together with high levels of unpaid caring work.”

The report, compiled by Professor Yaojun Li of Manchester University, was based on data calculated from the UK Labour Force Survey.

Anne E. Winkler has written for IZA World of Labor about women’s labor force participation in different countries. She argues that family-friendly policies can increase female employment, to the benefit of women, families, and society as a whole. She writes that: “Given societal benefits such as greater economic growth, governments have a compelling interest to undertake policies to encourage women’s labor force participation. Parental leave and childcare subsidies are two such examples.”

In another article, Ana Ferrer has written for us about the role of married women in migrant households. She observes that highly educated immigrants remain disproportionally in low-skill occupations, writing that: “Policies to integrate immigrant women in the labor market, by providing support in finding initial jobs, could improve the economic assimilation of immigrant families.”

Explore more IZA World of Labor content about the gender divide here.