The UK has one of the highest rates of part-time work in Europe and a very wide gap between the pay of women who work part-time and men who work full-time, according to a new report published today by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and the DTIís Women and Equality Unit.
Advancing Women in the Workplace: statistical analysis, which shows that women are still at a significant disadvantage in the workplace in the UK and across Europe, also reveals that in the UK in 2001 24% of all workers (6.6 million people) worked part-time - the second-highest percentage in Europe after the Netherlands (42%). The European average is 18%.
The majority of part-time workers are women (81% across Europe, 82% in the UK). In 2003 women working part-time earned just 60% of the average hourly earnings of men who worked full-time.
Commenting on the study, Julie Mellor, Chair of the EOC, said today: The most common reason for working part-time is the time spent caring for a child or adult. And it is clear that women in the UK are still paying a high price for taking on these caring responsibilities: the average woman working part-time earns 40% less for every hour she works than a man working full-time.
The gap between the pay of part-time and full-time workers can partly be explained by the unwillingness of some employers to allow women in senior positions to work part-time. This means some women end up taking jobs lower down the ladder than where they were before having children, and their employers lose out on the valuable skills and experience they have acquired.
A more positive attitude toward part-time and flexible work arrangements at all levels would help close the gap between womenís and menís pay as well as helping companies retain staff and save millions in recruitment and training costs as a result.
Minister for Women, Jacqui Smith said:
Unfortunately, the gender pay gap is still a very real issue that affects many women working part-time and full-time. We in Government want to close the gap, which is why weíve set a target to increase the number of companies doing equal pay reviews.
We are commissioning research at present to look into why the part-time pay gap is so pervasive, and I hope that this work, as well as the improved flexible working rights for parents that we introduced last year, will help continue to improve the deal women get at work.
Other key research findings:
Unequal pay: a significant gap remains between the rates of pay for women and for men across Europe. In 1995, the UK had the biggest overall gender pay gap in Europe, with women on average receiving 66% of menís earnings. In the UK the gender pay gap for all employees (34%) was much wider than that for full-time employees only (a gap of 26%), reflecting the low average hourly earnings of female part-time employees.
The impact of caring responsibilities: in 2001 almost half (47%) of UK women who worked part-time did so because of caring responsibilities, compared to only 5% of male part-timers.
Working hours: in 2001, full-time male workers in the UK had the longest average working hours in the EU (46 hours per week). Female full-time workers had the third longest average working hours in the EU (41 hours per week). Job options open to women: labour markets remain gender-segregated in the UK and across the EU. Men make up the majority of the workforce in agriculture, manufacturing, utilities and construction, while women hold over half of service sector jobs. Occupations also remain strongly vertically segregated. In 2001 women comprised just 30% of all managers and senior officials in the UK.
Case studies
A companion report - Advancing women in the workplace: case studies -highlights work that a range of employers are doing to advance women in their organisations, including recognising the importance of childcare and flexible working.
At Halifax, focus groups discussed whether the flexible working portfolio and equal opportunity policies met womenís needs for work/life balance. A major finding was that negative attitudes to flexible working for people at senior levels were creating a barrier to womenís progression within the company. Women also felt that their childcare responsibilities were ignored, and that women returning to work after maternity leave would find themselves moved to lower status jobs. As a result, a range of flexible work practices was introduced and promoted within the company, with managers and personnel becoming increasingly supportive in their responses to work-life balance issues. This led to an increase in the proportions of senior and middle management women who worked part-time or on a jobshare basis.
MTM, a small printing and engraving firm, makes every effort to make training equally available to full-time and part-time staff. Wherever possible, it organises training when part-time staff are working to maximise their chances of attending. While this initiative is not aimed specifically at women, the company has found that it tends to benefit them in particular, since they make up the majority of part-time employees.
Women in UK pay a high price for part time work
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