Why Women Still Earn Less Than Men – And Why Supporting Other Women Matters
- Tori Lynn Crowther
- Aug 14, 2025
- 6 min read
Why Women Still Earn Less Than Men – And Why Supporting Other Women Matters
Despite decades of progress, women in the UK continue to earn less than men on average — even though equal pay for equal work has been illegal for more than 50 years. This is not a coincidence, a misunderstanding, or a matter of individual confidence. It is structural, historical and deeply embedded in how women’s work, risk and leadership are perceived.
Understanding why this is still happening is essential — not just so women can protect themselves, but so we can actively push other women forward instead of competing for scraps.
The UK gender pay gap: what the statistics actually show
The gender pay gap measures the difference between the average hourly earnings of men and women across the workforce, not whether two people doing the same job are paid differently (which is illegal).
Recent UK data shows:
Women earn around 14–15% less than men overall when full-time and part-time work are combined.
Among full-time workers alone, the gap narrows but still sits at around 7–8%.
The gap widens significantly at senior levels, with women earning over 15% less than men among the highest earners.
In real terms, this means that for every £1 a man earns, a woman earns around 85–86p — and often much less over a lifetime.
“But equal pay is the law – so why does this still happen?”
Equal pay is the law. It has been since the Equal Pay Act 1970, later absorbed into the Equality Act 2010. Yet the gender pay gap persists because the law only addresses direct discrimination, not the wider systems that shape women’s working lives.
Women are not usually paid less for the same job — they are more likely to:
Be concentrated in lower-paid sectors
Work part-time or flexibly due to caring responsibilities
Be overlooked for promotion
Be viewed as higher “risk” employees
Leave or stall careers due to maternity
None of this is accidental.
The historical roots: how women’s work became undervalued
For most of modern history, women were excluded from:
Property ownership
Credit and finance
Senior leadership
Independent income
Even when women entered the workforce in large numbers, their labour was framed as secondary — something done to supplement a man’s income, not sustain a household.
This framing still lingers.
Work dominated by women — care, education, admin, service industries — is consistently paid less, regardless of skill or responsibility. When men move into these roles, pay often rises. When women dominate an industry, its status tends to fall.
This is not about productivity. It is about perception.
A personal example: when bias becomes invisible but devastating
Just before the first COVID lockdown, I was in the middle of moving house. I had a buyer. I had a chain. Everything was ready.
Then the bank stalled.
Despite having all the paperwork, all the proof, and meeting the criteria, the decision dragged on for so long that my buyer lost patience and bought another house. The chain collapsed. Days later, the country went into lockdown — and the move never happened.
Afterwards, my mortgage adviser was blunt. He told me this situation was not unusual.
His explanation was simple and unsettling:
Banks routinely scrutinise women more heavily. They are slower to trust that a woman can hold a mortgage on her own — even with evidence. He said he had seen it many times.
Nothing on paper said “because you’re a woman”. Nothing illegal happened.
But the outcome was the same.
This is how modern discrimination often works — quietly, plausibly, and with consequences that ripple through finances, security and opportunity.
The motherhood penalty
One of the biggest drivers of the pay gap is maternity and caregiving.
Women are far more likely to:
Take extended maternity leave
Reduce hours after having children
Carry the mental load of family life
Step back from progression roles
Studies show mothers can lose tens of thousands of pounds in earnings within just a few years of having a child. That loss compounds over time — affecting promotions, pensions and long-term security.
This is not because women are less committed. It is because workplaces are still built around uninterrupted, full-time, male-pattern careers.
Leadership, directors and the glass ceiling
Women remain under-represented at director and executive level. Even in industries dominated by women, senior leadership often skews male.
Reasons include:
Bias in promotion and hiring
Male-dominated decision-making spaces
Fewer sponsors and advocates
Women being judged more harshly for authority
When women do reach leadership, they are often expected to be warmer, nicer and more accommodating — standards rarely applied to men.
Why women are sometimes not kind to each other
This is uncomfortable, but important.
Women are often placed in environments where:
There are fewer leadership seats
Success feels scarce
Approval is conditional
In these systems, competition replaces collaboration.
This is not because women are naturally unsupportive. It is because scarcity breeds self-protection. When women believe there is room for only one, supporting another can feel like a threat.
But this mindset serves the system — not women.
Why pushing other women to do better matters
When women:
Share information
Recommend each other
Normalise higher prices and salaries
Support women in leadership
Challenge minimisation and undercharging
…the entire baseline shifts.
Progress does not come from being the exception. It comes from raising the standard together.
Why the pay gap is still here — and how we change it
The gender pay gap persists because it is:
Culturally reinforced
Structurally protected
Quietly tolerated
It changes when:
Women stop shrinking to be acceptable
Businesses become transparent
Flexibility includes progression
Care is shared, not assumed
Women back women — visibly and consistently
This has taken a long time because systems do not undo themselves.
But they do change when people stop accommodating them.
Final thought
The gender pay gap is not a failure of women.
It is the result of history, bias and structures that still assume women are a risk — financially, professionally and culturally.
The answer is not for women to try harder alone.
It is for women to push other women forward, refuse minimisation, and build businesses and careers that are designed to last.
Because when women rise together, the rules finally start to change.
A note on self-respect and business
This guide assumes one thing: you are running a business, not a hobby.
Women have been taught to minimise their work, soften their boundaries and price themselves around other people’s comfort. That conditioning does not belong in sustainable business ownership.
You are allowed to:
Charge enough to make your business viable
Set and enforce clear boundaries
Expect respect from clients, peers and the industry
Take your work seriously, even when others don’t
Build something that supports you, not just everyone else
Professional respect starts with self-respect. And businesses built on self-respect last.
About Tori Lynn C. & The Dog House
Welcome to The Dog House — my cosy corner of the TLC Canine Crusaders Business Hub. I’m Tori Lynn C., the founder of TLC Dog Walking Limited, mentor to professional dog walkers, and lifelong advocate for dogs and the people who care for them. Before building my own dog walking company, I worked as a dog trainer and held corporate roles at Pizza Hut’s Head Office in London and at PricewaterhouseCoopers, based at Embankment Place. Business, structure, and people management have been part of my life for a very long time.
With full time, hands-on experience in the dog industry since 2007, my mission is to guide you through the realities of running a successful, sustainable dog walking business — from client care and safety to wellbeing, confidence, and professional growth.
The Dog House is where I share the honest, behind-the-scenes conversations we all need: the tricky moments, the funny bits, the business lessons, and the mindset work that keeps us thriving rather than merely surviving. Whether you're just starting out or scaling up, you’ll always find support, guidance, and a friendly nudge forward here.
You’re never alone in this journey — you’re part of a community of canine crusaders.
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The information provided on this website is for general information and educational purposes only. It is intended to support pet care professionals in understanding common legal considerations when operating a dog walking or pet care business in the UK.
This content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for advice from a qualified solicitor or legal professional. Laws, regulations and local authority requirements may change over time and can vary depending on location and individual circumstances.
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