Business

Northern Ireland's gender pay gap widens according to new report

Average salary gap between men and woman was 9.6 per cent in 2018, compared to 8.6 per cent in 2017.
Average salary gap between men and woman was 9.6 per cent in 2018, compared to 8.6 per cent in 2017. Average salary gap between men and woman was 9.6 per cent in 2018, compared to 8.6 per cent in 2017.

THE gender pay gap in Northern Ireland has widened, a new report from PwC has found.

Average salary gap between men and woman was 9.6 per cent in 2018, compared to 8.6 per cent in 2017.

The Women in Work Index 2020 said Northern Ireland still has the smallest pay gap of the 12 UK regions assessed.

The report, which scores regions and countries on female economic empowerment, ranked the north as second overall in the UK.

Along with gender pay gap, it analysed four indicators, including labour force participation and female unemployment rates.

Two years ago, Northern Ireland was eighth in the UK for all five areas. Last year it rose to fourth.

However, the UK as a whole has slipped three places to 16th in the table of OECD countries.

The study, which uses largely uses data from 2018, found that the Republic of Ireland has now leapfrogged the UK in terms of female economic empowerment, rising three places to 14th.

The Republic had been as low as 24th in 2016, making it among the biggest movers since 2000.

In the north, the gap between the number of men and women in work has decreased from 10 per cent to eight per cent.

But the north is bottom of the UK table for female labour participation.

The recent record breaking performance of Northern Ireland’s labour market did see an increase in the number of women entering the workforce last year.

Lynne Rainey, PwC partner in Northern Ireland, said: “The single biggest factor in Northern Ireland moving up the Index is the increase in the number of women coming into the workforce.

“This underlines how important it is that we continue to find ways to remove the traditional barriers that prevent women from choosing to work and enabling them to fully participate in society.

“Practical and progressive approaches like having flexible working hours, working from home policies and returnerships which support women to re-enter the workforce all have a role to play.

“It’s also crucial that women get the right opportunities to upskill in the face of increasing automation as we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“Introducing these approaches may mean substantial changes in some businesses, but the prize of getting it right is the prospect of significant economic gains.”

Although the latest report showed a slight reversal of the gender pay gap, Northern Ireland has seen the gap close significantly since 1998, when it stood at 22.7 per cent.

Ms Rainey said the increase could be due to more women entering lower-paid, part-time work.

“However there’s no room for complacency when you consider the difference between female earnings in the public and private sectors, where women earn three per cent more than men in the former and 16 per cent less in the latter.

“This remains an area that needs to be remedied.”

Iceland has topped the new 2020 index of OECD countries, with Sweden, Sloveniak, New Zealand and Luxembourg comprising the top five performing countries for female economic empowerment.