Equal Pay Day: Why Women Now Work For Free

Women will effectively work for free from now until the end of the year because of the gender pay gap, campaigners claim.

Official figures show the current difference between men’s and women’s hourly pay is 14.2%.

The disparity means women are effectively working for nothing from 9 November.

The gap (NYSE: GPS - news) has narrowed this year, with the Equal Pay Day date arriving five days later than last year.

But the progress has not been steady, as the gap widened from 2013 to 2014 by three days.

Sam Smethers, chief executive of gender equality charity the Fawcett Society, called on the Government to speed up the pace of change.

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) said: “It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is welcome that the date moved in the right direction this year but at current rates of progress it will take 50 years to close the gender pay gap.

"Women should not have to wait that long.”

Last week, MPs on the Women and Equalities Committee launched an inquiry into Government strategy on gender pay.

They say more needs to be done to help women aged 40 and over in particular.

The committee said that, while younger women in full-time work experienced a "very low or even reversed gender pay gap", the gap for hourly earnings grew sharply from the age of 40 onwards.

Committee chairwoman Maria Miller said: "The gender pay gap is mainly a problem for women over 40, and currently hits women in their 50s even harder."