'Unthinkable' | Gender pay gap will take 30 years to close at current rate, warns TUC

It will take another three decades to close the UK’s gender pay gap if progress continues at its current pace, according to new analysis from the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

The union body says the average woman effectively works for 47 days of the year for free and only starts earning from today compared to the average man.

The analysis reveals that the gender pay gap currently stands at 12.8%, the equivalent of £2,548 a year for the average woman worker. At current rates of progress, it will take 30 years - until 2056 - to close the gap.

Women ‘working for free’

The TUC argues that the pay gap remains entrenched across the labour market, driven by structural issues including women having to work part-time to accommodate extended caring responsibilities throughout their lives, therefore taking a significant pay cut.