‘Be frank about care industry pay’
CAREERS advisers should be honest with girls about the low salaries attached to some jobs, a Government-ordered report has warned. Classroom discussions about future wages could help close the gender pay gap, experts have said.
More women than men enter caring professions like nursing. But these are often much more poorly paid than male-dominated jobs like engineering.
Experts warn the early career choices of women can affect their long-term earning potential. Teachers should tell pupils about the wages of a range of jobs.
This could be especially important with regards to professions often seen to be the preserve of men. But the experts also suggest that teenagers could be turned off by too blunt a message.
Career targets should be “stretching but achievable”, the report, commissioned by the Government Equalities Office from the Institute for Employment Studies, warns.
It warns that “gendered” career choices in effect open up a pay gap before children are even born and exacerbate it afterwards.
The report added: “This suggests a need to counter gender stereotypes and optimise use of careers information, advice and guidance to girls and young women. Such information could flag likely earnings attached to different kinds of education and training courses (and) technical and professional roles.”
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Tackling the gender imbalance in certain industries is more about challenging stereotypes
Seamus Nevin, head of policy research at the Institute of Directors, said: “While awareness of salaries is important, tackling the gender imbalance in certain industries is more about challenging stereotypes.
“Not only should we be encouraging more young men to go into female-dominated professions such as childcare, nursing and teaching, but it must also become as normal for men in work to take on childcare responsibilities as it is for women.”
Last year a study found that the pay gap between the genders was being perpetuated by teenage girls who wanted jobs which paid less.
The average hourly wage for their dream job was more than a quarter, or £6.49 an hour, lower than boys.
The study of more than 7,000 teenagers by researchers at UCL found the second most popular choice for girls was secondary school teacher, a job which was sixth on the list for boys, behind higher paying roles like architect.
