Everyone knew that pay levels varied unpredictably and unfairly – and that the people who were good at getting raises were almost never the people who were good at their jobs. I am freelance, so have been spared the tortured intra-office conversations, but when I last worked full-time (at the Evening Standard, which has a 5.8% pay gap in favour of women, to my surprise), it was a constant source of tension. The Guardian’s own gender pay gap is 12.1% in favour of men. Men earn on average 18.4% more than women, or 9.7% if you go by the median hourly rate. About 78% of British companies pay men more than women. Income inequality is widening society is fragmenting across class, age, gender and racial faultlines envious, curious glances are cast.Īnd since last month, when 10,000 or so British companies were obliged to publish data on gender pay gaps under the Equalities Act, we’ve had even more numbers to pore over. I’ve been noticing friends open up a lot more about their finances, admitting they, too, spend an inordinate amount of time on, wondering: “How on earth does anyone else do it?” No wonder: the LSE recently calculated that British workers have seen the second worst wage growth in the OECD (after Greece), with wages falling 5% between 20 once adjusted for inflation. Still, we are increasingly being encouraged to drop our financial pants – at least in front of our immediate colleagues – as a means not only of addressing pay inequality, but also of changing the balance of power between employers and employees. That I’m earning too much and still don’t feel it’s enough A recently qualified teacher I know – whose salary I might estimate at about £24,000 – defended our reticence: “It’s a British thing which I am proud of – it seems crassly materialistic to discuss money in detail with acquaintances, or even friends.” I wouldn’t share my salary, because I’m embarrassed And perhaps there’s something to be said for not knowing. In Massachusetts and other US states, less transparency is touted as the answer employers aren’t allowed to ask what your previous salary was when you apply for a new job, to stop low pay following women and minorities throughout their career. (Well, not the online bit.) And even with much more equal parental rights, they still have gender pay gaps similar to ours, about 15%-18%. In Sweden, Norway and Finland, you can look up anyone’s salary online – a practice dating back to the 18th century. The squeamishness is not limited to Britain – Donald Trump is in no rush to publish his tax returns – but it is acute here, and only made more so by the recent revelations about the gender pay gap. I am a very lucky woman and I’m quite happy with how things are ticking along.” “It seems quite a strange thing to be discussing out in the open like that. “I don’t think that’s a very nice conversation to have publicly at all,” as Kate Winslet told the BBC when pressed on the issue of gender pay disparities in Hollywood a couple of years ago. It ought to be one of the least personal things about us – a simple data point, one that’s not so hard to estimate, surely – and yet clearly it’s emotive. Chris Evans makes more than £2.2m at the BBC. José Mourinho is on a reported £15m at Manchester United and is apparently unhappy. Jeremy Corbyn’s last published tax return puts his income at £136,762 Theresa May’s was £117,350 but she hasn’t published one since she became prime minister David Cameron never published a tax return, but he did publish his earnings in light of the Panama Papers scandal: £200,307 from salary and rent in 2014/15. It’s awkward, isn’t it? The median annual income in the UK, according to the most recent Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, is £28,677 for full-time employees. “Some people are underpaid, some people are overpaid, life isn’t fair.” Her friend pointedly attends to her child. “It’s not something you want to talk about in front of your friends, is it, what you earn?” the latter says. One is a stay-at-home mum the other is not. I approach a couple of mothers in the park and cast a shadow over their picnic rug. “If you ain’t paying me, I ain’t interested,” he says. I try a younger guy in athletic gear, performing stretches by a park bench.
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