Danni Hewson, founding ambassador of the AJ Bell Money Matters campaign to help women invest more, comments on the latest gender pay gap data (2022-23):
“There are so many reasons the gender pay gap exists and more work clearly needs to be done to address the fact that progress seems to have stalled.
“Moves to give more parents free childcare from the point that parental leave ends will make a huge difference to decisions being made by many women about returning to the workplace after having children.
“But workplace culture needs to evolve further to allow greater flexibility to allow more women to keep pushing at that glass ceiling and take up senior, high paid roles in organisations.
“It’s not that women are being paid less than men for doing the same job, it’s that women often find their career path takes a detour or changes direction just at the point careers are often taking off.
“Society is changing, and more people are embracing the idea of equal parenting, but AJ Bell’s Money Matters team knows that progress is painfully slow.
“Role models are hugely important and there are some brilliant women blazing a trail in all sectors including finance. But it’s not about one or two shining stars, it’s about giving all women the confidence and support to walk the same pathway. And the work needs to start early, to persuade more young women to enter sectors like finance.
“The gender pay gap contributes to the gender investment gap which means women simply have less money than men.
“The current cost-of-living crisis has shone a light on the lack of financial resilience many people have. Addressing the gender pay gap would mean that women have more disposable income to invest for their future well-being and that would be a huge step forward.”
AJ Bell’s Money Matters campaign was launched almost two years ago with the aim of helping women get more comfortable with their finances and to help narrow the gender investment gap.
