Working women in their early 30s in England are paid less than men of the same age, in the same types of jobs, who have similar levels of education and work experience, finds a new study from UCL researchers.
The report, published today by the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, also finds that women are more likely than men to find work stressful, suggesting that lower pay is not compensated for by less pressured work.
The researchers analysed data from more than 7,200 people in England, born in 1989-90, whose lives are being followed by the Next Steps study. Drawing on data collected in 2022-23, when study members were aged 32, they examined information about people's employment, home and family life, as well as job quality measures, such as work stress, job satisfaction, prospects for career advancement and job security.
On average, women without children earned nine per cent less per hour than men without children with similar individual characteristics, such as family background, educational qualifications and work experience, as well as job characteristics, including occupation, hours worked and contract type.
This pay gap was even wider for mothers, who earned on average 16% less than men without children. Fathers' earnings were similar to men without children.
The study's authors found no evidence to suggest that women were trading off pay against being in less stressful and more fulfilling roles. Women, especially those without children, were more likely than men to report finding work always or often stressful and were equally likely to be satisfied with their roles.
Despite differences in pay, most men and women were happy with their jobs. For instance, 80% of workers were satisfied or very satisfied with their work, and over 90% thought they were unlikely to lose their jobs in the next 12 months. In addition, more than 90% felt they were doing useful work and over 65% said their employers motivated them to give their best performance.
Dr Bożena Wielgoszewska (UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies) said: "Despite women overtaking men in terms of educational attainment, our new findings highlight sizeable gender pay differences among workers in this well-educated and economically active generation.
"What is concerning is that women are paid less than men, even when comparing women and men working in similar jobs and with similar characteristics such as their educational attainment and age.
"One theory suggests that women may accept lower pay for less stressful and more enjoyable work, but we do not find evidence of that," continued Dr Wielgoszewska.
"Women are equally likely to be satisfied with their jobs and are actually more likely to find their work stressful than men."
Gender pay differences in England have gradually reduced over time, but progress has stalled in recent years, especially for mothers. The researchers say it is hard to pin down to what extent this motherhood pay penalty is driven by personal choices, gendered social norms or systemic barriers to both parents working full-time.
Dr Wielgoszewska added: "Mothers' work opportunities are often limited by a lack of good quality and flexible work, and affordable childcare. Whether the new government's funded childcare initiative will help remains to be seen. Ensuring mothers have access to good quality part-time work opportunities, with potential for wage progression and career advancement should be explored as part of the government's new 'make work pay' agenda.
"Motherhood pay penalty aside, we also found gender differences in pay among workers who do not have children and work full-time. It is possible that more detailed information on work tasks, values, attitudes or preferences may help to better understand the reasons why the gender pay gap persists. It is also possible that other explanations play a role, such as discrimination in hiring, firing, wage-setting or promotion. It is imperative that policymakers do as much as they can to strengthen equal opportunity structures for men and women, including mothers and fathers, to ensure people are able to make the best decisions about work for themselves and their families."
