Although they have narrowed, the pay gap between women and men remains significant: in 2018, women’s pay was on average 25 per cent lower than men’s. However, the size of this gap varies between 5 and 25 per cent depending on how it is measured. It is necessary to use different indicators of inequality: each has its own rationale, and comparing the various measures provides useful insights for the design of relevant public policies. We show here that a substantial proportion of the inequalities can be explained by segregation across firms, with women working, on average, in firms offering lower wages. Thus, to fully eliminate the pay gap between women and men, it is not enough simply to impose pay equality on firms; other policies will be necessary.
A new dedicated website:
In order to summarise these various measures of the gender pay gap, the IPP is launching a new online tool enabling users to make their own methodological choices and, with just a few clicks, visualise trends in pay gaps over the long term according to different criteria and across different groups of employees and firms.
