Gender pay gap has seen 'barely any change' over past 25 years, IFS finds

07 Dec 2021

A report published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has suggested that the gender pay gap 'has barely shifted' in the past 25 years.

The business group found that the pay gap remains, 'despite the fact that women are now considerably more likely than men to be graduates'. According to the research, working-age women carry out 50 hours a month more unpaid work than working-age men.

The IFS revealed that women are 'missing from the top of the earnings distribution', with nine out of ten of those earning the most being men.

However, it also found that raising the National Minimum Wage (NMW) has helped to close the pay gap for lower earners.

Monica Costa-Dias, Deputy Research Director at the IFS, said: 'Huge gender gaps remain across employment, working hours and wages.

'It seems unlikely that we can rely on women becoming more and more educated to close the existing gaps.'