Revealed: the worst industries to be a woman

Telegraph

07-03-2025

Since 2017, the biggest British companies have had to report how much they pay men and women.
The gender pay gap is a crude measure – not to be confused with equal pay – but it does reveal both the industries dominated by men (or women), and which sex occupies the top roles in a company or sector.
Telegraph Money's new gender pay calculator shows you what the pay gap figure is for your job and wider industry.
You'll also be able to see it changing over time. Generally, women start off earning more than men, but becoming a parent erases these initial advantages.
Men vs women: who earns more?
The median hourly salary for women working full-time is £17.88, while the median salary for men is £19.24, according to the latest Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
This means that for every £1 earned by a man, the average woman in the UK earns 93p.
The extent of the pay gap differs greatly per occupation and industry. It is highest amongst electrical engineers at 29.5pc and lowest among primary school teachers at 0.1pc.
A handful of occupations pay women more than men. Female academics working in humanities or social sciences, for example, earn 17.2pc more than their male counterparts.
Why is there a gender pay gap?
The 1970 Equal Pay Act made it illegal to pay men and women differently for doing the same work. The gender pay gap, instead, shows that women are over-represented in poorer-paid positions.
Len Shackleton, of think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: 'The gender pay gap arises because men and women tend to do different jobs, work on different arrangements (such as part-time, term-only and so on), are at different stages of their careers, or have applied for different types of promotions.'
Male-dominated occupations tend to have a higher pay gap, as both high- and low-paying roles are more likely to be filled by a man than a woman.
'If you look at the public sector, where common standards and HR policies apply, you find big differences in the gender pay gap between departments,' Mr Shackleton said. 'This is often to do with the attractiveness of different government functions to men and women.'
For example, female civil servants in the Ministry of Defence earn on average 91pc of what men earn. Women are a minority in the MoD, and few top earners are women.
In the Department for Work and Pensions, however, there is a majority of women employees, and over half of the top jobs are held by women.
In the UK, any employer with 250 or more employees on a specific date each year must report their gender pay gap data. Telegraph analysis of that data reveals that nine out of 10 women work for a company with a gender pay gap favouring men.
Similar to occupations, there are big differences between industries. In construction, 95.6pc of women work for a company that pays them less than men. Financial organisations, such as banks and investment firms, aren't far behind with a figure of 94.8pc.
In arts, entertainment and recreation, that number is much closer to 5pc. A lot of companies in the accommodation and food service sector pay employees a flat rate for most roles, which is why only 65.8pc of women in this industry will work for a company paying them less.
Although women are increasingly entering occupations and senior positions previously dominated by men, the gap persists.
One possible explanation is outdated gender stereotypes. Women can be discouraged by workplace sexism, such as attitudes implying that they cannot do their job well enough.
At least 40 per cent of women experience sexual harassment at work, according to a recent report from the Fawcett Society, a charity which campaigns for women's rights.
'Environments like this hold back employers who want to create a diverse, productive and people-focused organisation – and can reduce profits and perpetuate gender pay gaps,' Martha Hannan, interim CE at the Fawcett Society, said. 'Data tells us time and again that more diverse workforces perform better.'
Some studies have argued that men think more highly of their abilities, demanding more in return – an attitude that may emerge as early as primary school.
A recent study published in the Journal of Developmental Psychology showed that young boys had a higher opinion of their own abilities and asked for higher bonuses despite not performing any better than the girls.
The motherhood penalty
The other, more obvious, factor is that women typically take up more childcare responsibilities.
They might switch to part-time work, or take up leave entirely. If and when women choose to return, their pay will be less than that of men who continue progress in their careers in the meantime.
As a result, the gender pay gap widens with age. For men and women aged 22 to 29, the pay gap is only 1.3pc. When they reach the 50 to 59 age bracket, the gap has increased to 12.1pc.