How to ask for a justifiable pay hike (and really get one)

A few weeks ago, a woman — let’s call her Ava — shared with me that she’d found out her male colleague — let’s call him Bob — is being paid £20,000 more than her.

Ava and Bob are in full-time middle-management roles at the same UK firm. One day Bob let slip how much he was on. Shocked, Ava revealed her salary was a good £20,000 less. Bob sympathised but ultimately told Ava: “You should do something about that”. So she did. Ava went to senior management and made a case for a pay rise — and was turned down. Ava says: “I was told that while they wished they could give everyone a raise, there’s only so much money in the pot.

“I didn’t reveal that I know Bob’s on twenty grand more than me. Why? It felt awkward to bring it up. Maybe I should have. The thing is, I wasn’t asking for a pay rise just because I know Bob’s on more. My job’s really busy, really stressful and I don’t think it’s adequately compensated. As it currently stands, I’m overdrawn every month and I’m having to take on extra jobs on the side to help pay my bills.

“I’ve decided to wait for my bonus to see if I’m finally compensated for all that I do. And if I’m not, I might leave.”

Pay discrimination: Pay discrimination is when women are paid less than men for “equal work”. It’s been illegal since the 1970s. “Equal work” is defined in the law as:

* “Like work”, where two people are doing the same job.

* “Work rated as equivalent”, where two people might be doing slightly different jobs but a job evaluation study has assessed them as equivalent.

* “Work of equal value”, where a tribunal has assessed that two people’s jobs are of equal value with reference to factors such as effort, skill, and decision-making.

Pay discrimination contributes to the gender pay gap — the difference in average pay between women and men.

Equal Pay Day: Yesterday was Equal Pay Day. It marks the day in the year when, based on the gender pay gap, women in the UK stop being paid compared to men. Pay discrimination is one of several factors contributing to the gender pay gap. Other factors include women’s employment in lower-paid sectors, women’s employment in less senior roles, and women taking time out of work and working reduced hours in order to care for others, whether for children or older relatives.

Societal attitudes: Let’s not forget pervasive societal attitudes towards women in the workplace. While we have come a long way, negative — often sexist — attitudes persist and they can (and do) continue to influence women’s career success and pay. Unthinkably, the glass ceiling is very much still in place in many organisations in 2024.

Research by the UK’s Money and Pensions Service found that more than 50 years after the Equal Pay Act 1970, just 57 per cent of men and 78 per cent of women think pay inequality is very wrong. That leaves a huge number of people thinking that pay inequality is, what... right?

Gender pay gap of 11.3 per cent: Equal Pay Day is a national campaign led by the Fawcett Society, the UK’s leading membership charity campaigning for gender equality and women’s rights at work, at home and in public life.

The Fawcett Society uses government data for the mean, full-time, hourly gender pay gap for the UK to calculate the gender pay gap for Equal Pay Day. This year it stands at 11.3 per cent — up from 10.4 per cent last year. Equal Pay Day comes two days earlier in 2024 than in 2023.

Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, says: “It matters because it means real lost income and earnings for women. Women are losing out on money in their pockets, they’re retiring on smaller pensions, and they’re missing out on career development as they’re not getting the same opportunities in the workplace as their male counterparts.

“The gender pay gap is bad for women and it’s bad for our economy. The evidence shows that gender equality aids the economy in terms of productivity, growth and the quality of decision-making. We all miss out with a weaker economy. Our economy needs growth yet we’re not maximising the full potential of our workforce because half of the team is on the bench.”