Women workers earn less because they sell themselves short
WHEN looking for a new job, most of us are looking for a pay rise. But just how much extra should you expect to earn? While men, on average, are looking for around £12,000 more than their current wages, women believe they are worth just £7,000 more, according to a survey by AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians).
This is on top of a gender pay gap that already exists, according to the professional body that discovered that men working full-time were already earning around 18 per cent more than women, with the gap widening to 23 per cent at senior membership levels. Men also have a greater sense of worth, with one in 15 even believing they should be paid at least £40,000 more on an annual basis, while women tend to believe their worth to be more modest.
The research also revealed that men are more likely to push for a pay rise than women, and are more likely to get one. More than one in four men working in finance (26 per cent) had asked for a pay rise in the past year compared to less than one in five women (18 per cent). Conversely, three in five women (61 per cent) have never asked for a pay rise, true of just over half of men working in the sector (54 per cent).
Alexandra Hodgens works in the City in an accounting role for a litigation company. She says: “It is a shame that many people feel the need to ask for more money to get a wage that they feel they are worth — and equally it is a shame that those who may be too shy to ask for more money, or who don’t even consider asking for more, may miss out on a salary increase as a result.”
There is a similar gender gap when it comes to recruitment. While 82 per cent of young men receive feedback after applying for a job, just less than a third of young women do, so they miss out on this vital constructive advice that can help them learn from their experiences, according to the study of 4,000 young people by City & Guilds Group and Business in the Community (BITC). Young women generally found the experience of applying for a job more difficult and were also more likely to have their confidence knocked by a bad experience. BITC has produced a guide to making recruitment more transparent to young people.