Gender equality report reveals improvement in West Midlands

The female full-time employment rate has increased by 4.5 per cent over the past year, according to a new gender equality report.

PwC’s Women in Work Index, an annual report that assesses progress made towards achieving gender equality at work, says the West Midlands climbed two places in the rankings to 10th place.

The report shows that the female full-time employment rate for West Midlands increased substantially from 56.9 per cent to 61.3 per cent, while East Midlands saw a small 0.4 per cent increase to 57.77 per cent.

However, both regions are below the UK average of 58.6 per cent.

And both continue to have a gender pay gap higher than the national UK average of 14 per cent - the East Midlands saw an improvement in the gender pay gap from 17.1 per cent to 15.9 per cent, while West Midlands saw no change at 15 per cent. 

There was a small increase in female labour force participation in the West Midlands, shifting from 73.6 per cent to 74.2 per cent.

Alex Hudson (pictured), PwC UK market senior partner in the Midlands, said: “The latest Women in Work Index shows that there is much more to be done to support women in the Midlands with better access to equal opportunities at work.

“It’s positive to see an overall increase in the female full-time employment rate, however action needs to be taken to increase the female participation rate, as we know this is essential for growth in our economy.   

“To enhance productivity and drive GDP growth in our region, we must also look to reduce the gender pay gap as it still lags the UK average – the only way to do this is by working closely with business leaders and policy makers to address this.

“We know that women are underrepresented in industrial and manufacturing industries, and with the rise of AI and emerging technologies in the workplace, it’s essential that women are represented and have the right skills – this will play an important part in improving our ranking.” 

This year, the Women in Work Index focused on the positive link between workplace gender equality and a country’s economic performance.

Specific focus was given to analysing the impact of the female participation rate on increased productivity, and the resulting boost to productivity of OECD countries. 

In 2023, the UK had a female labour force participation rate of 74.8 per cent, compared to 72.7 per cent and 71.7 per cent in the OECD and G7, respectively.

The G7 had the weakest performance, with its 2023 participation figure now only just aligning with that of the UK’s in 2014. 

The findings show that increased female participation significantly contributed to productivity and GDP growth across OECD countries from 2011 to 2023, leading to an annual increase of USD $0.19 in GDP per hour worked for the average OECD country.

This translated into an average GDP boost of USD $4.5bn per OECD country a year.

If progress toward full gender equality in the workplace continues at the same pace for the next five years, total productivity gains by 2030 could amount to $54.5bn (£43.5bn) in UK GDP, $31.6bn for the average OECD country and $105.5bn for the average G7.