Female managers in the retail sector are paid 21% less than their male counterparts, new study reveals.
It has been reported that women in managerial and directorial roles in the retail sector are experiencing a 21.1% pay gap when compared with their male counterparts.
A new study which has revealed the gender pay gap in the retail sector, has found that in 2020 there was a gender pay gap of 15.5% among all employees, down from 17.4% in 2019 and 17.8% in 2018. Although there has been some improvement, this still means that for every £1 earned by a man, his female equivalent will only earn 85p. The earnings gap for women in assistant and cashier roles was only 2.2% — significantly lower than the 15.5% average for all employees and only a tenth of the gap for senior retail roles.
The report takes a deep dive into the retail industry’s gender wage gap and how it has changed over the last 10 years, citing information about whether the age gap closes with age, whether it is a case of working your way up the career ladder and what the industry needs to do to close the gap.
What does the gender pay gap in retail look like?
By taking an average (mean) salary of male and female full-time employees across all wholesale and retail roles in the UK in 2020, men will earn £35,043 a year compared to £28,725 earned by women.
Source: ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)
Does the gender pay gap close with age?
Women over 50 suffer the largest gap, earning on average less than three-quarters of what men in the same industry earn. The percentage difference was significantly lower for those in the beginnings of their retail career with a £1,219 wage difference for those aged 22-29.
Tony Gregg, Chief Executive at Anthony Gregg Partnership, said;
“More needs to be done to bridge the gender pay gap in the retail sector. It is encouraging to see the gap shrinking, but there is still a long way to go to eliminate salary disparities, particularly in higher seniority roles.
When looking closer at the data over the last 10 years you can see that the improvement in the pay disparity has lost momentum. Without a clear downward trend in the pay gap, much remains to be done to achieve wage parity. It is clear that more retailers need to be transparent within their workforce concerning salary information and making this more readily available.
Employers need to practice inclusivity and foster this within their workforce to encourage fair advancement of women’s careers. It is only when we begin to change our thinking, that we may see the percentages level out”.
About Anthony Gregg Partnership
Anthony Gregg Partnership is a high end recruitment search business placing senior and board level roles across the UK and Europe. Tony Gregg is recognised within the retail industry as a leading executive search partner. Tony launched agp in 2003 and has since recruited hundreds of board and director-level candidates for prestigious clients spanning a wide range of consumer industries.
A high profile media commentator with extensive industry knowledge, Tony is renowned for his exceptional work rate, attention to detail and determination to get the right result for his clients and candidates.
Holly brings a wealth of experience in both print and digital publishing. As Modern Retail’s Content Editor, Holly is passionate about helping independent retailers to thrive in today’s ever-changing market.
