Gender wage gap 'wider for mothers', report suggests

23 Aug 2016

Women with children face a widening gender wage gap, new research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has suggested.

The report, which was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, revealed that the gender wage gap for mothers widens gradually for 12 years after the birth of a first child – by which point, women receive 33% less pay per hour than men.

The IFS suggested that this widening gender wage gap may be attributed to some women working fewer hours after having a child, which means that they could be more likely to miss out on pay rises and promotions.

The data also revealed that, on average, women currently earn 18% less per hour than men. This figure is down from 23% in 2003 and 28% in 1993.

Robert Joyce, Associate Director at the IFS and an author of the report, stated: ‘Women in jobs involving fewer hours of work have particularly low wages, and this is because of poor pay progression, not because they take an immediate pay cut when switching away from full-time work.

‘Understanding that lack of progression is going to be crucial to making progress in reducing the gender wage gap.’