Listen up: Women in 'girly' jobs are also paid less than men. Now's the time to act

Photo: Film Stills

So we all know women get paid less than men (20 per cent, on average, in case you’ve forgotten or find it too painful to remember). But here’s something I find surprising. Even in supposedly “girly” professions – that is industries where women traditionally dominate – men still take home a bigger pay-cheque.

The Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities Gloria De Piero has sent me some figures which are frankly depressing. Some 92 per cent of hairdressers are women, yet those in full-time work are paid 18.8 per cent less than the guys. Cleaners and domestic staff are more often than not women (63 per cent), but they’re paid five per cent less.

_{Gloria de Piero in her Westminster office PHILIP HOLLIS}

And in some of the lowest paid jobs, the gulf is at its widest. Forty-four per cent of employees defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as “packers, bottlers, canners and fillers” are women, but they’re paid 12 per cent less.

You might think there would be safety in numbers – that if women rule the roost in a particular sector, they might do better. Sadly not.