How has gender income inequality in Ireland and the UK changed and why?

Authors

Silvia Avram, Karina Doorley, Claire Keane, Daria Popova

Publication Date

Mar 2025

Abstract

We examine the evolution of the gender income gap in UK and Ireland between 2008 and 2019 by income decile and decompose it to evaluate the relative importance of gender differences in working hours, self-employment, and hourly pay, as well as the redistributive effect of the tax-benefit system. We find that the biggest driver of the gender income gap in both countries is gender differences in employment/self-employment and working hours. These differences are especially large in the lower half of the income distribution, but their gradual reduction over the period we study led to a closing of the income gap in both countries. In contrast, the gender gap in hourly wages is more important in the middle and upper middle part of the income distribution, especially in the UK. The redistributive effect of the tax-benefit system by gender has fallen in the UK due to austerity measures but slightly increased in Ireland, primarily as a result of increased taxation. Further policy initiatives to align the employment rate and work hours of menand women in both countries could substantially reduce the gender gap in income in the future.

Publication type

CeMPA Working Paper Series

Series Number

CEMPA6/25

Research areas

Family and gender, Tax and benefit systems

Links

https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/research/publications/working-papers/cempa/cempa6-25

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