Gender pay gap at its widest for women in their 50s

The gender pay gap is at its widest when men and women are in their 50s, according to new analysis.

The analysis by the membership organisation Rest Less found the mean average salary for a woman in her 50s working full time is £32,052 compared with £44,561 for a man in his 50s – a difference of £12,509 or 28%.

This compares to an average gap of 17.6% for women aged 18-21; a gap of 12.9% for women aged 22-29; 16.4% for women aged 30-39; 25% for women aged 40-49; and 27.6% for women aged 60+.

Rest Less’s research shows that whilst both sexes reach their peak full time salaries in their 40s (for women this is £34,665 and for men it is £46,213 – a difference of £11,548), the average gender pay gap hits its peak when people hit their 50s.  The average salary for a full-time working woman in her 40s drops by eight per cent on average when she reaches her 50s. For men, the drop is just four per cent – half the reduction that women face.

Stuart Lewis from Rest Less said: “Women in their 50s are facing a tough time in the workplace. Our latest research shows that women in their 50s are taking a double hit when it comes to their salaries, caused by both gender and age discrimination.  With such a tight labour market, and the wealth of talent and skills on offer amongst women in their 50s and 60s – it’s surprising not to see more employers actively seeking out and engaging with this audience to help fill a very real skills gap.”

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