Two-thirds (66%) of UK respondents are unlikely to apply to work for an organisation that they believe has a gender pay gap, according to research by recruitment firm Glassdoor.
Its Global gender pay gap survey, which is made up of responses from 8,254 working adults across the UK, Canada, United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, also found that 76% of UK respondents believe that male and female employees currently receive equal pay for equal work.
The research also found:
- 76% of UK female respondents are unlikely to apply to work for an employer if they believe they have a gender pay gap, compared to 59% of men.
- 80% of UK respondents aged 18-24 would not apply for a job if they believed there to be a gender pay gap, compared to 58% of those aged 45-54, and 52% of those aged 55 and over.
- 87% of UK respondents believe male and female employees should receive equal pay for equal work, compared to 93% in the US, 90% in Germany and the Netherlands, and 88% in Switzerland and France.
- 70% of all respondents believe that men and women are currently paid equally for equal work.
- 69% of UK female respondents believe they are compensated fairly, compared to almost three-quarters (73%) of UK male respondents.
- 62% of German female respondents and 65% of German male respondents believe they are paid fairly, and 57% of French female respondents and 66% of French male respondents concur.
- Around a quarter (27%) of UK respondents believe new workplace policies around pay and compensation are key to helping solve the gender pay gap.
- 20% of UK respondents believe clearer communication from senior leaders and human resources about how pay raises, bonuses and cost of living increases are determined will improve the gender pay gap.
- Just over a quarter (26%) of UK respondents are of the opinion that greater internal pay transparency for all roles will help close the gender pay gap.
Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at Glassdoor, said: “While wage disparities do exist, this survey reveals that the majority of employees do not believe their workplace has a gender pay gap.
“Across the geographies we surveyed, the support for equal wages is there and there is general consensus that the best courses of action to ensure equal pay are new [organisational] policies around pay and compensation, government legislation requiring employers to pay people equally, and more transparency into salary at all levels.”