WOMEN living in Bromsgrove will effectively work months for free this year compared to men due to the gender pay gap, figures suggest.
Women's rights charity the Fawcett Society said progress in reducing the gender pay gap is too slow and called on the government to introduce measures to help women into higher-paying work, especially during the cost-of-living crisis.
Office for National Statistics estimates show full-time female workers in Bromsgrove earned an average of £19.18 per hour excluding overtime as of April, while their male peers earned £23.32 – a gap of 17.8 per cent.
It means that by the end of the year, women will have effectively worked without pay since October 28.
Across the UK, the full-time female workforce is paid an average hourly rate of £18.09 – 11.3 per cent less than the £20.04 hourly wage earned by men.
Hourly figures are used to remove the effect of overtime.
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