{"id":2681,"date":"2021-03-05T13:42:16","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T12:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/?p=2681"},"modified":"2021-06-07T16:52:38","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T15:52:38","slug":"why-does-the-gender-pay-gap-vary-across-wales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/why-does-the-gender-pay-gap-vary-across-wales\/","title":{"rendered":"Why does the Gender Pay Gap vary across Wales?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In our latest post, doctoral student Suzanna Nesom<\/a> discusses findings from her literature review on the Gender Pay Gap in Wales.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Gender Pay Gap is the difference in earnings between women and men, determined by calculating women\u2019s average pay \u2013 usually measured hourly to adjust for hours worked \u2013 as a percentage of men\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a persistent feature of the UK labour market, with the median UK Gender Pay Gap in 2019 estimated to be 17.3% for all employees. While this is relatively large compared to other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and EU countries, it has slowly declined since 1996 for all, full-time and part-time employees (figure 1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Figure 1<\/strong>: The median UK GPG, 1997-2019
Data<\/strong>: ASHE and NES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The UK Gender Pay Gap exhibits a regional dimension (figure 2). It is smallest in the devolved nations and London, and largest in the English regions closest to London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Figure 2<\/strong>: The median GPG at UK NUTS1 regions
Data<\/strong>: ASHE (2019)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also a regional dimension to the Gender Pay Gap in Wales. The median (mean) Gender Pay Gap for all employees in Wales ranges from 7.9% (0.7%) in Conway and Denbighshire, to 21.1% (19.9%) in the Central Valleys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Welsh legislative environment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Gender Pay Gap has recently received significant policy attention, not least in the UK. In 2017, the UK enacted wage transparency regulations<\/a> that require public and private sectors employers with more than 250 employees to annually publish six measures of the Gender Pay Gap within their organisations. The enforcement of Gender Pay Gap reporting for 2019\/20, though, was suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since devolution, Wales has a distinct equality agenda, including a Welsh specific statutory duty to address pay differences. The Welsh legislative environment is also more conducive to tackling the Gender Pay Gap, with the Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015<\/a>, Prosperity for All: the national strategy 2017<\/a>, and the work of the Fair Work Commission 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researching the Gender Pay Gap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are three main economic methodologies to researching the Gender Pay Gap:<\/p>\n\n\n\n