Living wage is set to boost women’s pay
Three in every 10 female employees in the country are set to receive pay rises due to the new minimum wage for over-25s, according to a report out today by independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation.
The measure, announced in July’s Budget, will initially be set at £7.20, 50p above the National Minimum Wage which will be £6.70 from October. It will rise to around £9.35 by 2020.
New analysis by the Resolution Foundation finds that six million people will receive some form of pay rise by the end of the decade as a result of the policy. Of these, 3.2m are expected to be earning less than the National Living Wage.
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However, the foundation estimates that a further 2.8m employees who already earn at or above the National Living Wage will also benefit from a “ripple effect”, as employers aim to maintain pay gaps.
Women are expected to account for 3.7m of those receiving a rise – 61 per cent of the total and nearly three in 10 of all female employees – because of their higher concentration among the low paid. A lower proportion of male employees will gain, with 2.3m (18 per cent) expected to see their earnings boosted.