DATA showing the extent of the disparity in earnings between men and women shows how much work remains to bring about gender equality, a leading campaigner has said.
The latest earnings report published by Statistics Jersey showed that the Island’s gender pay gap increased from 10% to 12% in the 12 months to June 2022 – the highest figure since 2016 – as well as the stark disparities in earnings between different nationalities.
The position was branded ‘unacceptable’ by Assistant Home Affairs Minister Louise Doublet, a stance echoed by Kate Wright, co-founder of the Diversity Network.
Ms Wright said: ‘The fact that the gap is so large, and worsening, is hugely worrying, and I agree with Deputy Doublet – it isn’t good enough.
‘The data highlights a global issue – it’s not just Jersey – and the lack of action from employers and previous governments.’
The report showed that men and women in Jersey earned similar amounts in the early stages of their working lives before a sizeable gap appeared beyond the age of 30.
‘The “motherhood penalty” is clear and significant, with women being more likely to leave jobs or reduce their hours,’ Ms Wright added. ‘And I think we are seeing a “menopause penalty”, with median salaries for women dropping beyond the age of 50, whereas male earnings peak between the ages of 50 and 54.
‘There’s a disproportionate number of men in senior and higher-paid roles – something is stopping women progressing into these roles.’
Ms Wright said that work to break down stereotypes in order to attract more girls and young women into traditionally male-dominated sectors, and greater flexibility for employees, should be prioritised.
‘It’s not just women, we need to make progress so that people will ask why a business shouldn’t have a part-time chief executive,’ she said.
Of ‘major’ nationalities – those with at least 100 men and 100 women in the workforce – the three lowest-earning groups were shown to be Portuguese (with median monthly earnings of £2,600), Romanian (£2,640) and Polish (£2,830). Other nationalities were French (£3,220 per month), British/Jersey (£3,440), Irish (£4,140) and South African (£4,810). The widest male/female pay gaps were for Portuguese workers (23%)
and those from Poland (16%).
Deputy Raluca Kovacs, who was elected to the States Assembly for the first time last year, said: ‘Unfortunately it shows that we are going backwards – there is still so much to achieve, and each of us has a role to play in changing the culture.’
The report was the first of its type and was welcomed by Ms Wright. She said: ‘The data is not perfect and [is] a work in progress but, short of government mandating that employers publish their diversity pay-gap statistics – which I would really like to see – this is ground-breaking data for Jersey and a very positive step forward.’
