The one place where the glaciers aren't melting is women's pay and today’s the day that too many women will start working for free.

On average, working women earn almost £7,000 less each year than their male counterparts doing comparable work.  It means that for part of each year they effectively work for free – and that date comes on November 22nd based on present gender pay gaps.

So from now until the 31st December, their employers have the use of their labour for nothing.

An according to the latest research from the Fawcett Society the gap is not likely to be closing any time soon.  Their calculations suggest that the gender pay gap will not close for almost three decades so women presently aged 40 or older will have reached state pension age before there is parity.

And the age-related aspect of the gender pay gap is a big part of the problem.

Figures released earlier this year show that women aged between 50 and 59 have the highest pay gap at 20.8%, working the equivalent of 76 days for free; women aged 60 and over have a gender pay gap of 18.4%, equating to 67 days they work for free.

Read my post from earlier this year to find out more about this

We need to collectively think about how we can effectively rise up and tackle the glacial pace of  progress towards closing the gender pay gap

Author

Maggie Taylor

Founder of Lumin, creating opportunities for women solopreneurs to collaborate, grow, and build successful businesses, fuelled by shared knowledge, mentorship, and real partnerships across generations

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Fawcett Society gender pay gap