Hard hats & hair driers: the apprentices gender gap scandal

Hard hats & hair driers: the apprentices gender gap scandal

Poor careers advice, sexual stereotyping and sexual discrimination mean that women apprentices are earning a fifth less than their male counterparts.

A new report, launched to be launched this week (September 14) at the TUC's annual Congress, shows that despite the expansion of apprenticeships, including into sectors not traditionally associated with the scheme, the pay gap between men and women is 21 per cent.

One reason is that women are most represented in poorly paid employment, for example hair dressing and child care (see table below). But, according to Scarlet Harris, unionlearn's apprenticeships policy & campaign officer and author of the report: 'Even within the same sector, women are being paid less, for example in the retail sector women make up 61 per cent of apprenticeship starts but are paid 16 per cent less than male retail apprentices. It is also the case that the wage return for a women qualified with a Level 2 apprenticeship is 4 per cent, while for men it is 16 per cent.'

Women also dominate the sectors which report the highest levels of apprentices receiving no pay whatsoever. In 2007, 41 per cent of retail apprentices, 32 per cent of health and social care, and 30 per cent customer service apprentices reported receiving no pay. The sectors with the highest proportion of male apprentices reported the lowest incidence of non-payment; electro-technical (0.5%), engineering manufacturing (1%), construction (1%).

Many NGOs working with young women such as the YWCA report poor careers advice on the part of careers advisors and teachers. A cursory look at further education providers' apprenticeships information online gives some insight into how prevalent sexism and gender stereotyping still are. Many colleges still illustrate their course options with pictures of female hairdressers and carers and male engineers and construction workers. For many young women, family and peer group expectations exert a great deal of pressure in terms of deciding on appropriate career paths.

How can this trend be reversed? The report recommends:

• Improved careers advice. Young women should be told about apprenticeships in traditionally male sectors such as science, engineering and technology. Sector Skills Councils, employers, and unions have a role to play in visiting schools and arranging open days for local school pupils.
• Better role models and positive images of women in industry. Women need to see examples of other women following non-traditional career paths.
• Equality training for employers. Employers should carry out training for all staff to challenge sexist stereotypes and behaviour in the workplace.
• Mentoring and support. Unions are uniquely well placed to provide the mentoring element and may well have female reps in the workplace who can provide informal peer support to female apprentices.
• Flexible working. The Government should consider the feasibility of promoting part-time apprenticeship routes in order to enable more women with caring responsibilities to access apprenticeship training.

Unionlearn, the TUC's learning and skills organisation, provides advice in the workplace about apprenticeships, negotiates fair wages and conditions for those on the programmes and union learning reps act as mentor for young people on them.

Source: Statistical First Release 2007/8 and DIUS Apprentice Pay Survey 2007