To say that 2023 has been a challenging year feels like something of an understatement. Between the cost of living crisis, near-constant global uncertainty and the collective grief we’ve experienced from watching others around the world suffer, it’s been increasingly difficult to stay hopeful that things will get better.

And when our finances are tighter than ever, it feels like an even greater kick in the teeth to remember that this year, women will, on average, take home £574 less than men each month – an increase from £564 in 2022.

New research from the Fawcett Society, published today, marks Equal Pay Day 2023, the day when women effectively begin working for free due to the average gender pay gap. This year, among all employees in the UK, the average gender pay gap decreased to 14.3%, from 14.4% in 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics – and the pay gap is even worse for women of colour.

It’s a small improvement from the 17.4% seen in 2019, but progress to close the gender pay gap is still glacial and comes with shocking consequences.

According to the Fawcett Society, at the current rate of change, the gap won’t close until 2051. That’s 28 years from now. It means that women in their 40s, born before 1983, won’t see the gender pay gap close in their working lifetime and before they reach state pension age.

It’s a bleak reminder of just how far we still have to go until we reach true equality, but the reality is this: the gender pay gap is closing far too slowly.

“At the current rate of change, women over 40 will suffer the pay gap until they retire. This is unfair and unjust, and it hurts everyone,” explains Fawcett Society chair Harriet Harman. “A thriving economy relies on the full participation of women, and we are currently locking women out of work they are qualified for and capable of doing.”

As Harman stresses, we cannot afford to wait without taking action. So just what do we do to, once and for all, solve a problem like the gender pay gap? For many, the answer lies in better access to flexible work. 

“The fact is, if we want a thriving economy, the gender pay gap must close and to achieve this, our government must make flexible work the default,” explains Jemima Olchawski, CEO of Fawcett Society. “We see time and time again that women feel they have no choice but to accept lower paid, lower quality work in exchange for flexibility and this isn’t fair. A need for flexible working arrangements, whether it be due to caring responsibilities, disability or simply a desire to rebalance work and life, should not mean the end of career progression.”

Because of a lack of flexible working arrangements and due to old-fashioned workplace norms, Olchawski says that women are being kept in lower-quality jobs. “Women must be allowed to progress with the flexible working arrangements they require and men must step up and take on their fair share of caring responsibilities and household tasks,” she stresses. “Flexible work must be the norm for both men and women at work.”

We couldn’t agree more. 

Images: Getty