The Trade Union Congress (TUC), the largest trade union body in the UK, has said that the gender pay gap is closing ‘painfully slowly’ and the UK can no longer drag its feet on guaranteeing equal pay.

The TUS general secretary even called for bosses to be fined if they do not implement actions to close existing gender pay gaps.

Companies with more than 250 employees were required to report their gender pay gap today (4 April), prompting the TUC to comment on the state of gender equality in the UK.

“Working women deserve equal pay. But the gender pay gap is still a huge issue,” TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said.

“At current rates of progress, it will take more than 20 years to bring men and women’s pay into line.

“That is not right. We cannot consign yet another generation of women to pay inequality.

“It’s clear that just requiring companies to publish their gender pay gaps isn’t working. Companies must now be required to implement action plans to close their pay gaps. And bosses who don’t comply with the law should be fined.”

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In 2023, the gap for full time employees was 7.7%. Research from Hired shows that the tech pay gap sits at around 4%, but this is just based on women being offered a lower starting salary than male counterparts.

A report by Verdict in 2022 shows that on average, 91.1% of UK tech companies pay female workers less than their male counterparts.

Across tech, men’s average hourly pay was 16% higher than woman, putting the tech sector’s gender pay gap at a higher rate than the national average, which Verdict determined to sit at 11.6%.