Over 2M women in UK paid below real living wage: Study

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) – Over 2 million women working in the UK are paid below the real living wage, compared to 1.4 million men, according to a new study released on Friday.

Women “in shift work are also more likely to be on a zero-hour contract than men,” read a report by the Living Wage Foundation.

“They are also less likely to receive payment when shifts are cancelled: 27% of women (compared to 17% of men) said they were paid nothing when shifts are cancelled,” the report said.

“The real living wage is currently set at £10.90 (nearly $13.18) in the UK and a higher rate of £11.95 in London. It is voluntarily paid by over 12,000 businesses across the UK including LUSH, Burberry, Aviva, Everton FC and thousands of small-to-medium-sized businesses.”

The study also showed that women (34%) are less likely to have regular office hours than men (46%).

The research also focused on the attitudes of low-paid female workers on their pay and cost of living crisis, saying “75% of women, compared to 65% of men, felt their pay negatively impacted their levels of anxiety.”