New ONS tool allows workers to see the disparity in pay on a job-by-job basis – from fishmongers to fitness instructors, cleaners to cooks

If you are a female traffic warden or probation officer read on for good news. If you are a female chief executive you may want to look away now.

The UK’s stubbornly wide gender pay gap is well-known. Almost half a century on from the gender pay act, there is still an 18.1% difference in average pay between men and women. Of course, such average figures for all employees tell a narrow story. They don’t, for example, account for the fact more women work in lower-paid jobs or sectors.



But now people can quickly look up how things stand between the sexes in their particular job with a new interactive tool from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It also shows how many women and men work in each role.

For example, women classed as “chief executives and senior officials” are paid 28.7% less than men in that group, at £34.91 an hour versus £48.94 an hour for men. Women hold 30% of those jobs.

It’s a similar story among bank managers. Women classed as “financial institution managers and directors” earn 36% less than men.

The ONS’s own staff might well have been disappointed with the results on “actuaries, statisticians and economists” where women are paid 20% less than men.

Things look better for cleaners, nurses, bar staff and further education teachers, where the gap is zero.

The pay gap goes the other way in some jobs. Female probation officers earn 25% more than men, women in “parking and civil enforcement occupations” earn 19% more, while female physiotherapists are paid 16% more.

The ONS adds a word of caution to its new tool. The pay gap figures do not reveal differences in rates of pay for comparable jobs. So where there is a gap for your occupation this does not mean men are getting more than women for exactly the same work.

As the statisticians point out, the reasons for the pay gap are more complex, and include the fact women are more likely to work part time, which can mean a lower rate of pay. Women are also underrepresented in senior roles, something which may be down to people’s attitudes to gender roles, lack of flexible working or women taking time to look after their family.

The tool was a joint project with the Government Equalities Office and comes ahead of new rules next April that will force large employers to report their gender pay and gender bonus gaps. The regulations will affect almost 8,000 employers with about 11 million employees.

Launching the new pay gap checker, the minister for women and equalities, Justine Greening, noted that the gender pay gap was now the lowest on record and that there were more women in work than ever before.

“But if we are to help women to reach their potential and eliminate the gender pay gap, we need to shine a light on our workplaces to see where there is more to do,” she said.

“This tool will empower both men and women to challenge this issue in their profession and help people to make more informed decisions about their career.

“Employers must play their part in this too and take action to tackle the gender pay gap in their organisation.”