Gender Pay Gap

The Programme for Government 2008-2011 undertakes to work towards the total elimination of the gender pay gap. This is an important aspect of making sure men's and women’s talents are properly used and rewarded and their abilities and skills effectively used. The ratio between male and female median hourly earnings excluding overtime has decreased to 97.4% (from 97.5% in 2007), which represents a slight widening of the gender pay gap.. (Women in Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, September 2009).

A recent discussion paper considers the merits of using a wider set of measures to assess the gender pay gap.

See also a recent comparative study on the gender pay gap, prepared under the auspices of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Fulbright Fellowship 2008/09.