Gender inequality around pay continues in the workplace, with women more likely to receive pay rises below inflation compared to men this year, which could impact gender pay gap reporting data for the worse.

Gender, pay rises, and inflation

In this new study involving those who had received a pay rise in 2022, two-fifths (40%) of women said it was below inflation, while only a third (32%) of the men who received a pay rise said the same.

These fresh insights into gender pay inequality come from HR and payroll software provider CIPHR’s new UK pay rise study, which also found that more women than men reported getting a lower pay rise generally.

The study also reveals different perceptions around pay rises by gender; 41% of men thought their last pay rise was fair compared to just 32% of women.

With the Office for Budget Responsibility reporting that pay will not keep up with the rate of inflation in 2022 or next year, existing pay disparities exacerbated by inflation could mean the UK’s gender pay gap may grow – or at least remain unchanged.

The impact on gender pay gap reporting

These figures don’t paint a happy picture for gender pay gap reporting, with public-sector firms set to report and publish their gender pay gap figures by March 30th and large private sector organisations by April 4th, 2022. From firms that have already submitted their figures, continued female pay inequality is clear.

According to the 5,062 employers who have published their gender pay gap figures for the 2021-22 reporting year as of 3 pm on March 28th 2022, 77% pay their male employees more. Of those who pay their women more than men, only 13.4% do, which is equivalent to just one in seven employers. Only one in 10 organisations reported having no pay gap at all. Based on these calculations, the average median hourly pay gap is 11.9%.

So far, this is an improvement from last year, where ONS figures, which are not based on this compulsory reporting, found the average median gender pay gap for all employees to be 15.4% in 2021. When broken down, this meant that women, on average, earned 85p for every pound earned by a man.

With inflation in 2022 and the soon-to-pass reporting deadlines, it’s likely that the gender pay gap will not have narrowed significantly, with the effects of inflation on peoples’ average hourly pay set to be reported by the ONS in its annual gender pay gap statistical bulletin later this year, which should give greater insight.

To view CIPHR’s pay rise study in full, click here. For their advice on reporting gender pay gap figures, click here.

In this article, you learned that:

• The ONS found the average median gender pay gap for all employees was 15.4% in 2021
• According to employers that published their gender pay gap figures for the 2021-22 reporting year so far, 77% pay their male employees more
• The new CIPHR study found that of those who’d received a pay rise in 2022, 40% of women said it was below inflation while only a third (32%) of the men said the same.