Women are paid on average 17% less than men. However, there are some well paid jobs in the UK where women can also earn a high amount. Cashfloat explores some of the best paid jobs for women.
The Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap continues to be a problem in the UK. During the whole of their working lives women are likely to earn less than men. According to the latest figures, the deficit will be around £300,000 over a lifetime of work. In spite of the fact that it is over forty years since the Equal Pay Act was passed in parliament, women are still receiving an average of 17% less than men each year.
The Fawcett Society has put this into context by arguing that because of a gap in pay, women are effectively working for free from November to the end of the year.
Starting a Family has an Impact On Pay
Women’s organizations have pointed out that women who choose to start a family pay a financial price. This carries on throughout their working lives culminating in lower pensions when they retire. It is often the case that a woman’s salary level never recovers after they take maternity leave. However, men’s careers and earning potential continues to take off during their early thirties.
What Causes the Problem?There are two reasons why the pay gap continues to open up between men and women. The first is that there are less good quality part-time positions. The second is that there is not enough flexibility from employers. Most senior roles are equated with full time working and there have been calls for this to change. Whilst employers continue to complain about a skills shortage, there are plenty of women in the UK who want to return to their careers without working full time.
If employers were to rethink their strategy and create job shares or part-time hours in the office with some working from home, there are many women out there who would soon be back at work earning enough to finance their home lives and their pensions.
New Legislation.The government has promised further policies to end the gender pay gap. Although many businesses have now introduced shared parental leave there has not been a big take up with most women still taking the majority of time off after a child is born.
The 6 Best Paying Jobs for Women
The statistics show that women earn more than men in some trades like electronics and transport. One other field where women earn more than men is in skilled agricultural work. But the number of women who work in the field of electronics is low and those employed in skilled agricultural work are barely worth a mention. Although quite difficult to achieve, if a woman goes into marketing or sales, she can expect to earn up to £90,000 per year. Marketing is a career that is constantly changing and is one that has embraced many females in top roles.
Medicine is another career that has embraced women. To add to this, being a medical practitioner or working as a pharmacist is a well-paid job in the UK. Contrary to the 1960s when less than 10% of doctors were female, there is now a high proportion of women doctors. It is forecast that by 2024, women doctors will outnumber men. Female dentists are also on the increase. Those who pursue this career can expect to earn between £69,000 and £100,000 or above. Most of these high earners will be in private practice and not working for the NHS. So, where can women find highly paid jobs in the UK?
Although the private sector roles in management offer some of the best paid jobs for women, the pay gap is lower in teaching and there are more women teachers than men and more men in private sector management. In fact, vocational careers like teaching are where women earn the best pay in the UK. There is still a pay gap between men and women but in these kinds of occupations it is less. The pay gap in management jobs is reduced to 13% and in teaching it stands at 10%.
Those lawyers who have worked their way up to the top echelons of their profession have very high earnings. Whilst young women lawyers earn around 30% less than their male counterparts, once they have gone past their twenties they can earn up to £80,000 per year.
Working in the media is now much more accessible than it was when the BBC first started broadcasting. Female presenters on the TV make very good salaries with the top ones raking in over a million pounds a year. However, these top positions are rare for women and there is still a higher percentage of male presenters who earn the good money.
When it comes to writing it is a different picture with journalists on the best newspapers earning around £100,000 a year whether they are women or men. Likewise, authors get paid what they are worth regardless of their sex.
More women are now choosing accountancy as a career and with the complex tax positions within the UK, many more businesses need top accountants. Earning around £45,000, women do just as well as men in these roles.
Both advertising and public relations careers are also now more open to women. In a top role a woman can expect to earn around £60,000 per year. In addition, many companies can now see the potential for women in this type of career once they have learned to appreciate the fact that women are the best consumers.
As previously stated there are more women teachers than men and in the UK the percentage is 74% female as opposed to 26% male. Women who achieve the top jobs in schools such as a head of department or a head teacher can earn up to £100,000 and above.
Once dominated by men, a career in Human resources is now an excellent choice for females who want a high paying career. Figures show that there is now almost an equal divide between the number of men and the number of women who work as HR directors. With average earnings of £45,000 per year this is one area where women also do well.
Will the gender pay gap dissapear?
Despite the ongoing problem of the gender pay gap, it is clear that women are now entering into highly paid professions that were not open to them just a few years ago. If more young women were given good career advice and businesses were more flexible about hours of work, in the future we may see an end to the gender pay gap. Hopefully in the not too distant future women will become more equally employed and will be in 50% of the highest paying jobs in the UK. This may help single mum parents or struggling women avoid online loans – only the future will tell.
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