Flexible work is vital to close the gender pay gap, so why isn’t it the norm?

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Flexible work is vital to close the gender pay gap, so why isn’t it the norm?


She continues, “A need for flexible working arrangements, whether it be due to caring responsibilities, disability, or simply a desire to rebalance work and life, should not mean the end of career progression. Women are being kept in lower-quality jobs due to old-fashioned workplace norms.

“Women must be allowed to progress with the flexible working arrangements they require, and men must step up and take on their fair share of caring responsibilities and household tasks. Flexible work must be the norm for both men and women at work.”

Flexible working statistics:

  • 30% of women and 30% of men have applied for a job but had to turn it down because a potential employer was unable to offer flexible work.
  • 61% of women would feel uncomfortable making a flexible working request in the first week of a new job.
  • 67% of respondents (71% women and 64% men) agreed that they are more likely to stay in their current job if flexible working is available to them.
  • 4% of respondents (79% women and 70% men) agreed that working flexibly makes them feel more positive about their job.

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The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, which gives workers the legal right to request flexible working from day one of their employment, received royal assent earlier this year.

The Fawcett Society is calling for the government to add more legislative protections for flexible working, including an “employer advertising duty”, which would require employers to “think about how a job can be done flexibly and advertise all reasonable, flexible work options available to applicants, such as flexible hours, compressed hours, job sharing, remote working, or part-time work – with flexibility as the default.”

Harriet Harman, chair of The Fawcett Society, notes, “A thriving economy relies on the full participation of women, and we are currently locking women out of work they are qualified for and capable of doing.

“For too long, women have put up with less fair and less equal working arrangements in exchange for flexibility. We need urgent action to ensure women are allowed to work to their full level of skills and experience. Making flexibility the norm will make it easier for women to get the flexibility they need, and normalise men taking on their fair share of caring responsibilities. We cannot afford to wait.”

For more from Glamour UK’s Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.





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