Shortcomings and Problems in Analyses of Women and Low Pay

Women on average are less well paid than men, and in this Chapter we consider the chief explanations of why this should be the case, with a view to highlighting areas where better statistical material and/or further theoretical developments are needed. The indications are that lack of data is indeed a constraint on further British research in this area, and consequently informed public policy-making on issues concerning women’s employment. However, the costs of data retrieval and tabulation must be considered. It is therefore necessary to form a judgment on those areas in which our main surveys (the Population Census, the New Earnings Survey and the General Household Survey) might usefully be supplemented in the context of women’s pay relative to men.