Gender pay gap means women effectively work for free for 47 days a year

New TUC analysis reveals that the average woman effectively works for 47 days of the year for free and only starts earning from 15 February compared to the average man. The analysis reveals that the gender pay gap currently stands at 12.8%, the equivalent of £2,548 a year for the average woman worker.

That means that at current rates of progress, it will take 30 years – until 2056 – to close the gender pay gap.

The union body says a number of factors are driving the pay gap – including women having to work part-time to accommodate for extended caring responsibilities throughout their lives, therefore taking a significant pay cut.

The TUC says the government needs to do more if it wants to meet its ambition to close the gender pay gap. More opportunities for people to share caring responsibilities, improved access to flexible working and better access to childcare must all be part of the solution.

Gender pay gap spans across industries

The pay gap persists across different industries, and even in jobs dominated by female workers, such as education and care:

• In health care and social work the earning gap is 12.8%. This means that the average woman effectively works for free for 47 days.
• In education the earning gap is 17%. So the average woman effectively works for free for 62 days.
• In wholesale and retail the earning gap is 10.5%, meaning 38 days that the average woman effectively works for free.
• The longest wait for Women’s Pay Day comes in finance and insurance. The gender pay gap (27.2%) is the equivalent of 99 days, meaning women work for free until 9 April 2026.

Gender pay gap by age

The TUC analysis shows that the gender pay gap affects women throughout their careers, from their first step on the ladder until they take retirement. The pay gap is widest for middle-aged and older women:

• Women aged 40 to 49 have a gender pay gap of 16.2%. So they work 59 days for free until 28 February 2026.
• Women aged between 50 and 59 have the highest pay gap of 19.7% and work the equivalent of 72 days for free, until 13 March 2026.
• Women aged 60 and over have a gender pay gap of 17.7%. They work 65 days of the year for free and effectively start earning from 7 March 2025.

The TUC says the gender pay gap widens as women get older, due to women being more likely than men to take on unpaid caring responsibilities throughout their lives, limited childcare and social care provision, and too few good quality flexible jobs.

Older women take a bigger financial hit for balancing work alongside unpaid caring responsibilities throughout their lives – often looking after children, older relatives, and/or grandchildren.

Need for change

Gender pay gap reporting: the TUC says government plans through the Employment Rights Act to make employers publish action plans to tackle the gender pay gap are welcome. But it says they must be more ambitious and robust to make a real difference.

The union body also says these plans will serve as a blueprint for broader action on forthcoming ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, which the government has pledged to introduce. And it stresses the importance of getting the framework right from the outset.

Parental leave: the TUC says that the government must ensure the parental leave review delivers increased access to paid parental leave so that mums and dads can share care better.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:

Women have effectively been working for free for the first month and a half of the year compared to men.

Imagine turning up to work every single day and not getting paid. That’s the reality of the gender pay gap. In 2026 that should be unthinkable. With the cost of living still biting hard women simply can’t afford to keep losing out. They deserve their fair share.

The Employment Rights Act is an important step forward for pay parity for women. It will ban exploitative zero hours contracts, which disproportionately hit women and their pay packets. And it will make employers publish action plans for tackling their gender gaps. But these plans must be tough, ambitious and built to deliver real change, otherwise they won’t work.

Let’s be clear – the government needs to turbo-charge its approach, or women will continue to lose out.

Featured image via the Canary