The gap in pay between men and women in the UK increases after childbirth as mothers reduce their hours and miss out on wage progression, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said.

On average, women in the UK are paid about 18 per cent less per hour than men, a deficit that’s narrowed from 23 per cent in 2003 and 28 per cent in 1993, the IFS said ina report on Tuesday. For women with middle and high levels of education, the gap is essentially unchanged from two decades ago.

Poor pay progression

The pay gulf widens from about 11 per cent just before the birth of a mother’s first child to almost 35 per cent two decades later, according to the IFS. The disparity may be explained by women reducing the number of hours they work, meaning they accumulate less experience in the labour market and miss out on promotions, it said.

“Women in jobs involving fewer hours of work have particularly low hourly wages, and this is because of poor pay progression, not because they take an immediate pay cut when switching away from full-time work,” said Robert Joyce, the report’s author. “Understanding that lack of progression is going to be crucial to making progress in reducing the gender wage gap.”

The IFS research was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. – (Bloomberg)