Gender Pay Gap Falls
A new report published by PwC has found that the gender pay gap fell based upon reporting for the year 2024/25.
Report Findings
The findings of the report were as follows:-
- The mean hourly pay gap fell by 0.6% from 11.8% to 11.2%, and the median hourly pay gap decreased by 0.5% from 9.1% to 8.6%.
- The fall in the gender pay gap is the second largest decrease since the introduction of reporting in 2017
- The financial services and property sectors have seen significant reductions in their gender pay gaps, with real estate narrowing by 14.9%
- Analysis shows that it will take at least another 40 years for the pay gap to close completely
- Sectors with higher proportions of women, such as hospitality, report lower pay gaps due to reliance on hourly wage structures.
- Financial services continue to report the biggest gender pay gaps despite showing progress in reducing them.
- Employers with between 5,000 to 19,999 employees saw the largest decrease of 1.1% in the mean hourly pay gap.
- The smallest organisations typically display higher volatility in their gender pay gaps due to smaller employee populations.
- Most sectors have shown decreases in average mean pay gaps since the introduction of reporting in 2017/18.
- The real estate, banking and investment sectors reported substantial reductions in their mean pay gaps by 14.9%, 8.6%, and 8.2% respectively.
- Sectors like sport and football have seen increases in gender pay gaps due to structural imbalances and long-standing gender disparities..
- Hospitality, public administration and the health sectors report some of the lowest pay gaps due to higher proportions of women overall.
- The primary driver of the gender pay gap is unequal representation of men and women across different job tiers, with a higher number of men occupying senior roles
- Targeted interventions in recruitment, progression, and employee turnover are essential for closing the gender pay gap sustainably.
Comment
Commenting upon the findings, the global co-leader for reward and benefits at PwC, Andrew Curcio, stated: "The dial is finally shifting. Whilst we’re seeing incremental change – this year’s data shows that when employers take deliberate action over the long term, progress follows, although it will still take a long time for the pay gap to close."
Curcio added: "From reviewing pay structures, improving gender balance of senior roles, and transparent and inclusive promotion and recruitment processes, the organisations making the biggest strides are those embedding equity and consistency into their day-to-day decisions, not just their annual reports."
Reporting Deadlines For 2025/26
In terms of gender pay gap reporting for 2025/26, the deadline for public sector employers to report their data will be the 30th March 2026, with a snapshot date of the 31st March 2025. And for private sector employers and voluntary organisations, the deadline will be the 4th April 2026, with a snapshot date of the 5th April 2025.
Job Vacancies At Lowest Level In Over A Dacade
ONS Report
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have reported that apart from a brief period during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of job vacancies in the UK economy has fallen to its lowest level since April 2015.
Lowest Number Of Vancancies Since April 2015 (Outside Pandemic)
The ONS found that there were 727,000 job vacancies during the 3 months to June 2025, a fall of 56,000 (7.2%) compared with the previous quarter, down from 738,000 in May 2025, and the lowest level outside of the pandemic since April 2015.
Job vacancies have fallen for three consecutive years, down by 573,000 compared with their peak in May 2022. Compared to a year earlier, vacancies have fallen by 143,000 (16.5%) and are 68,000 below pre-pandemic levels (down 8.6%).
There were 2.3 unemployed people for every job vacancy during the 3 months to May 2025, up from 2.0 in the preceding quarter
Construction Sector Worst Hit
The number of job vacancies fell in 14 out of the 18 sectors of the economy, with the construction industry suffering the largest percentage decline in vacancies (31.9%) and fall in volume (14,000). The wholesale and retail trade sector (including motor vehicle and motorcycle repairs) also sustained a significant fall in vacancies (11,000).
