Women in their 20s earn more on average than men of the same age, according to recent findings.
According to recent figures compiled by the Press Association, between the ages of 22 and 29, a woman will typically earn £1,111 more a year than her male colleagues.
However, despite this, the research goes on to show that in their 30s, men earn a considerably amount more than their female counterparts. By 2013, a man who turned 30 in 2006 would have, on average, been earning £8,775 more than a female colleague of the same age.
The figures were collected through the Office of National Statistics’ data and looked at the comparative earnings of men and women between the years 2006 to 2013.
Commenting on the statistics, Ann Pickering, HR director at telecoms company, O2, said, “While women are earning slightly more than men in their 20s, they are still overtaken by men later in life – and the reason is simple.”
“Women are playing catchup when it comes to reaching senior well-paid positions.”
“If women are not in the same roles as men, how can they be on the same wage?”
“The slight salary imbalance in favour of women early on in their careers is particularly interesting, and makes that drop-off point in women’s careers and salaries all the more stark.”
Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society said, “Unless there is a good reason not to do so, that should be a company’s default thinking.”
“Sadly the opposite is true: once you get to a certain level it’s a full-time role, which excludes many women from roles they would be perfectly capable of doing.”
The findings come as it is announced that women across the UK are effectively working for free for the rest of the year. Today, marks Equal Pay Day, the day women start working for free, because on average they earn less than men. The day is calculated using the mean full time gender pay gap, which currently stands at 13.9 per cent.
