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 Almost two-fifths of UK employers pay men more than women, on average – showing a worsening picture since companies were first forced to report on their gender pay gap six years ago.
A Financial Times analysis of this year’s data shows that 79.5% of employers paid their male staff more than their female colleagues, higher than the figures last year and six years ago.
The average gap, or the difference between men’s and women’s average hourly pay, was 12.2% in 2022-23, unchanged from last year but higher than the 11.9% in 2017-18.
The banks HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered reported a widening in the gap between what they paid men and women in 2022, according to analysis by Reuters.
At the banks that disclosed their pay gaps by ethnicity, the gap was biggest between black staff and their white colleagues.
Businesses with more than 250 employees in Britain must disclose the difference between the regular pay and bonuses of male and female staff. The deadline was yesterday, for the year up to April 2022.
HSBC reported that women were on average paid 45.2% less than men. This was up from 44.9% the year before.
The UK arm of the US investment bank Goldman Sachs reported a gender pay gap of 53.2%, the largest among major finance employers, and up from 51.3%.
Morgan Stanley’s UK business had a slightly wider gap of 40.8%, up from 40.5%, while Standard Chartered’s gender pay gap increased to 29% from 27%.
All four banks said that the figures reflected the under-representation of women in senior roles, and said they were taking steps to address this.
New car sales in the UK rose for the eighth consecutive month in March, climbing 17% from a year earlier, according to preliminary industry data.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said it was the biggest month ever for battery electric car registrations. More details will be released at 9am BST.
Asian stock markets struggled, with Japan’s Nikkei down 1.6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.66%. Other markets, such as Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea’s Kospi, made modest gains. On Wall Street, US stocks declined yesterday after data showed US job openings hit their lowest level in almost two years in February.
Asia markets also retreated after the Reserve of New Zealand unexpectedly raised rates by 50 basis points instead of the widely expected 25 basis points. Other central banks appear to be considering slowing, or even pausing, their rate rises.
European shares opened slightly higher. The UK’s FTSE 100 index is up 11 points, or 0.15%, at 7,645. Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac also edged 0.1% higher, while Spain’s Ibex gained 0.3% and Italy’s FTSE MiB was flat.
The agenda
• 8.15am BST: Spain S&P Global composite PMI for March
• 8.45am BST: Italy S&P Global composite PMI for March
• 8.50am BST: France S&P Global composite PMI final for March
• 8.55am BST: Germany S&P Global composite PMI final for March
• 9am BST: UK new car sales for March
• 9am BST: eurozone S&P Global composite PMI final for March
• 9am BST UBS annual meeting in Basel
• 9.30am BST: UK S&P Global/Cips composite PMI final for March (forecast: 52.8)
• 1.30pm BST: US trade for February
• 3pm BST: US ISM non-manufacturing PMI for March
We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ... |
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