03 Apr 2018

Report: Closing the Gender Pay Gap: the link between pay and happiness

Personal Group considers the workplace happiness gap and asks whether the same reasons women are paid less could be the cause of men’s workplace unhappiness.

Key findings

The UK’s current gender pay gap (9.1 per cent) means that in 2017 women ‘stopped earning’ on the 2nd of November. However, despite being paid significantly less on average than men, women are happier in the workplace.
Just under half (45 per cent) of female staff are happy often or happy most of the time compared to only 38 per cent of their male co-workers.
For both the gender happiness gap and the gender pay gap, it is important that once the information about the disparity revealed, it is acted upon. Leaving the reality of the pay gap visible for female workers without action and simply ignoring male workers dissatisfaction will be demoralising.
There is no quick fix to solve years of hidden sexism and unconscious bias.

This report considers the things that employers can do to tackle the gender pay gap and the gender happiness gap, such as ensuring hiring practices are gender neutral, encouraging learning and development and increasing flexible working.