The topic of pay inequality between men and women in the UK has been of much interest. It has been known that men usually get paid more than women even though they both do the same job and have the same qualifications. Although there is no real justification as to why men get paid more, sociological and political factors play a part in allowing men to get paid more. According to The Telegraph ‘Women in full-time employment earn 15.7% less than men - which adds up to a pay difference of £5,200 a year between the genders.’. This illustrates that despite policies and Acts being introduced to protect the rights of men and women, men still get paid more. An exploration as to why this occurs will be discussed.

The definition of inequality according to Wikipedia is ‘the condition of being unequal whether that is socially or economically’. Is it acceptable for a woman who is equally educated and experienced, if not more than a man, to get paid less for working the same hours and job role? The Telegraph also states ‘One in four women working full-time earns less than the living wage, compared to one in six men.’ Why is that women, who are often mothers, have to work the same hours as a man but get paid less? I believe sociological factors play an integral role in this as men are perceived as breadwinners and thus validates them being paid more as an ideological norm. It is often a taboo subject and society looks down upon women who are breadwinners for her family because in a ‘man’s world’ he should be protecting and providing for his family.

Statistics agency Eurostat stated ‘The UK has the sixth-largest pay gap between men and women in the European Union. At 29.9%, the biggest salary gap was in Estonia, followed by Austria at 23%, the Czech Republic at 22.1% and Germany at 21.6%. The UK stood at 19.7%, France at 15.2% and Ireland at 14.4%.’ Although the UK male-female pay inequality is not as large as countries such as Estonia and Austria it is still concerning that it is in Europe’s Top 10 largest pay gap. According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission who introduced the Equality Pay Act in 1970 ‘people should be paid the same regardless of their gender’. However, the statistics prove otherwise. So why is this the case?

It can be argued that pay inequality exists in majority of countries within Europe, but one country that protects the equality rights of women is Finland. In Finland, gender equality is a core value in their society. They value the right of women and men equally as their government has complied equality measures into an action plan. Currently, a Finnish woman earns about 80% of a man’s salary for regular work according to finland.org, this shows that Finnish government both in the past and present gives equal rights and values both genders equally. So why can’t the UK adopt the Finnish system of equality?

The most clearest example of pay inequality between men and women in the UK is in sport, but more specifically in football. Whilst some male football players can earn anything between £50,000 and £150,000 a week, the highest earning female footballer in the UK will earn that in a YEAR! The pay inequality could lead to low aspirations for young women to aspire to be great footballers or directors within large companies. However, projects such as STEM have been implemented and introduced by big named companies such as BT, Rolls Royce and The British Army to bridge the gap between job opportunities and pay.

Overall, pay inequality between men and women still exists in Europe; whilst some countries such as Finland have successfully broken the barrier and given women more rights to be paid equally to their male counterparts, the UK is falling short of protecting the rights of their women in society. A woman may have multiple roles such as being a mother, a wife and being employed whereas a man has a single role of working full time it is unfair for a man to be paid more. As a result, the UK government needs to do more to bridge the gap between male and female pay.