According to the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), the gender pay gap for full-time employees in April 2019 has increased since 2018.

UK gender pay gap statistics 2019

• The gender pay gap among full-time employees is now at 8.9%, an increase from 8.6% in 2018.
• Since 2012, the pay gap among full-time employees has declined 0.6%.
• The gender pay gap for all employees is currently 17.3%, a decline of 0.5% since 2018.
• 79% of occupations have a gender pay gap greater than zero.
• Though substantially decreasing, the gender pay gap among 40- to 49- year-olds is currently 11.4%.
• The gender pay gap among 50- to 59- year-olds is 15%.

According to ONS, while there has been a marginal increase in the gender pay gap for full-time employees over the past year (0.3 per cent), it is narrowing across the whole workforce with the pay gap for all employees falling slightly from 17.8 per cent in 2018 to 17.3 per cent in 2019. However, the pay gap for part-time workers is in favour of women by -3.1 per cent.

Gender pay gap statistics 2019 by occupation

According to the research, the pay disparity among full-time employees fell in seven of the nine main occupation groups. However, pay gaps among full-time workers increased in the 'managers, directors and senior officials' group (2 per cent) and in the 'caring, leisure and "other service occupations"' group (0.1 per cent).

Overall, almost eight in 10 (79 per cent) occupations have a gender pay gap greater than zero, the largest of which among all employees is seen in the 'carpenters and joiners' group (44 per cent) and 'energy plant operatives' (41 per cent).

Gender pay gap statistics 2019 by age

Age is also a significant factor in the size of the pay gap, according to ONS. Although the gap for 18- to 39- year-olds is near zero, there is a 10 per cent difference in hourly pay in the 30 to 39 category. This is partly due to an increase in women working part time.

One of the main reasons for differences in the gender pay gap between age groups is that women over 40-years-old are statistically more likely to work in lower-paid jobs. Conversely, younger women are less likely to work in the 'managers, directors or senior officials' group.

How is the gender pay gap calculated?

The gender pay gap is calculated as the difference between average hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of men and women as a proportion of average hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of men's earnings. It's a measure across all jobs in the UK and does not represent the difference in pay between men and women doing the same job.

See also

How to develop a more gender-balanced workplace

Ethnicity pay gaps in Great Britain: 2018

HSE health and safety statistics 2017-18

Find out more

Gender pay gap in the UK: 2019 (Office for National Statistics)

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