11 charts revealing the truth about gender inequality in the workplace

Eighteen percent. That's the average gap between a man and woman's salary in the UK.

Just two months ago, a survey showed up to one million women could be forced to quit their jobs due to menopausal symptoms. 63% of women said their workplace had no support plans in place for going through the menopause.

All over Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, the romantic notion of 'girl bossing' has been glamourised when it comes to working women. But the statistics present a stark reality: there are still many miles to go on the road for parity in the workplace.

Equal pay for equal work?

When women working at the Dagenham Ford factory in 1968 walked out on strike, it triggered a movement which led to the Equal Pay Act of 1970.

Yet, 52 years later, the pay gap has hardly budged.

We spoke to the General Secretary of the TUC trade union, Frances O'Grady.

She told us: "It's shocking that in 2022 working women still don’t have pay parity - and that the pay gap starts to widen significantly when women have children. At current rates of progress, it will take nearly 30 more years to close the gender pay gap.

"The last two years have shown us that employers can do more to help women balance caring responsibilities and work. Flexible working is vital to mums keeping their jobs and progressing at work and is an important step towards closing the gender pay gap.

"All jobs must be advertised with the possible flexible options clearly stated, and all workers must have the legal right to work flexibly from their first day in a job."

Closing the gender gap

And when it comes to the gender gap more generally - based on factors of health inequality and pay - the UK is behind other European countries.

Ranking at number 13 when it comes to closing the pay gap, the UK has closed the gap by 77.5%.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland comes in first, having closed the gap by a whopping 89%.

The impact of motherhood

While having children can be a fulfilling experience for many, it doesn't seem to pay off for women in the workplace.

As shown above, in every way, women struggle more in the UK than men after having children.

At the end of last year, Labour MP Stella Creasy caused controversy by bringing her newborn baby to the chamber of the House of Commons during a debate.

She was told it was against protocol to bring children into the chamber, but Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he has asked MPs to review the rules.

At the time, Creasy said: "Mothers in the mother of all parliaments are not to be seen or heard it seems."

Women in business

And when it comes to those working in business, the picture is mixed.

The FTSE 350 Index is made up of companies from the FTSE 100 and 250 index, listed on the London Stock Exchange.

It includes companies like AstraZeneca and Coca Cola - and the chart above shows how these organisations have been steadily increasing the number of women CEOs.

But this increase has still not put female bosses on an equal footing to their male counterparts, as shown below.

Research by the Cranfield School of Management has shown there is still a shortage of female chairs, chief executives and chief financial officers amongst the FTSE 100 companies.

Just eight of the CEOs in the FTSE 100 companies are women. The fact this is the highest figure since 1999, when the first female FTSE board report was published, shows there is still a long way to go before women are fairly represented in top jobs.

And for those women who do earn more money than men, it can cause friction and discomfort between them at work and at home.

Last year, for the first time ever, Australian researchers were able to quantify the impact of female breadwinners.

They found that women who earned more money than their heterosexual male partners were more likely to be subject to physical violence by 35%, and emotional abuse by 20%.

Workplace harassment

There is also a far more sinister side of working as a woman, which reveals itself in the form of harassment.

Of those women, 32% have been subject to unwelcome jokes of a sexual nature while at work, according to the Everyday Sexism Project.

28% have been subject to comments of a sexual nature about their body or clothes while working.

And 23% have experienced unwanted touching - such as a hand on the knee or lower back - while 12% have experienced unwanted sexual touching or attempts to be kissed while at work.

Women in politics

The first female MP elected to the House of Commons was Constance Markievicz in 1918, but she refused to take her seat.

Now, 103 years on the representation of women in the UK Parliament compared to other countries across the European continent still has far to go.

This is despite the fact that as of this year, the UK's Parliament has the highest number of women MPs than ever before.

225 MPs are female, making up just over a third of our elected representatives.

Inequality in industry

Putting aside the discrimination women face within their place of work, one of the biggest struggles of all is getting in to some workplaces at all.

Statistics show that women are less likely to enter male dominated industries such as construction, real estate or arts and entertainment. This pushes women into more care related industries such as health and social care, where 78% of jobs are held by women, or education, where women make up 70% of the industry.

Unfortunately, female dominated industries are often associated with lower levels of pay and work benefits.

And there are many factors involved in the pay disparity between men and women - especially when salaries can often depend on who is willing to negotiate.

Statistics show women are less likely to negotiate their salaries and ask for a pay rise.

Looking to the future

As we look ahead this Women's History Month, perhaps considering the ideas of women on how they we can improve workplace equality is not a bad place to begin.

We also spoke to expert Chelsea Phipps, a Practitioner in Residence at the London School of Economics' Marshall Institute.

She warned that although progress has been made, it has only worked for the select few.

Ms Phipps said: "The primary beneficiaries of these gains tend to be those who are privileged in other ways, while for some women and girls – particularly those in poorer communities and for women and girls of colour – things have actually become worse. If we are lulled into complacency because things seem better for us, we leave others behind who may not have as much of a voice.

"It’s not just women we’re holding back by leaving the job unfinished – it’s all of society. At least half of our population are being held back by their gender; imagine what we could achieve if we enabled them to reach their full potential."