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Gender pay gap won't close until 2069, Deloitte warns

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• published: 25 Sep 2016
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The gender pay gap will not close until 2069 unless more women are encouraged to take up careers in science and engineering, it has been warned. Research by Deloitte suggests the gender pay gap is partly down to men and women choosing different career paths. The accounting giant says women should take advantage of technology-driven changes in the labour market by studying and working in areas like science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), where pay is more balanced. The study shows the hourly pay gap between the sexes is closing at a rate of just 2.5 pence per year, with pay parity not expected until 2069. But the research says it is "too simplistic to explain the gender pay gap in terms of pay inequality", and that it is partly due to difference in career paths, which are affected by academic choices and the subjects that each gender studies. Deloitte says women make up just 14.4% of the STEM workforce in the UK. Female graduates earn an average of 8% less than their male counterparts across all STEM subjects combined, the research found. This is compared to 9% across all other industries. Deloitte's report shows there is no pay gap across medicine, dentistry, engineering and technology. Emma Codd, managing partner for talent at Deloitte, said: "We know that the pay gap is far smaller for those women starting their careers in STEM-related roles; we also know that high-skilled jobs demanding a blend of cognitive, social and technical skills are typically among the most highly paid. "Therefore, if more women study STEM subjects and pursue related careers they will increase their earnings potential in the early years of their working lives and - should they remain in their careers - the later ones. This in turn should serve to reduce the gender pay gap. "A great deal of progress has been made in the past half century, but we should not wait another 53 years for full parity." Last month it was warned that women with children face a widening gender pay gap, leaving them 33% worse off than men by the time their first child is 12. The report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation suggested the shortfall was linked to some women working fewer hours after having children - meaning they miss out on pay rises and promotions.