‘Women mean business in Sheffield’ says professor

Women in Sheffield are paid on average 9.6% less than their male counterparts doing work of equal value, a Sheffield Hallam University professor has found.

Dr Helen Richardson, professor of gender and organisation at Sheffield Business School has addressed the need for the city to recognise and value its talented women in her inaugural professorial lecture.

Her research has looked at economic activity in the South Yorkshire region from the beginning of the recession and found that despite female students outperforming men, they are still likely to receive £3000 less as a starting salary.

By 2010, male unemployment rates in Sheffield had levelled off at 7.4% but for women there has been a steady and continuing rise, from 4.5% in 2010 to 6.8% in 2013.

Dr Richardson will also discuss the differences in occupation for men and women after her analysis of the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey (LFS) found that the majority of the 6820 women in South Yorkshire that were surveyed had roles in administration, education, health and hospitality sectors while the 6322 men mainly worked in manufacturing, construction, transport and communications.

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