A new analysis has revealed that some British workers are effectively working for free for 47 days of the year. The stark figure comes down to the gender pay gap, where women are paid less than men in most industries. Some sectors are worse than others when it comes to the gap, with finance and insurance standing out. The new analysis comes from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

It shows that women workers earn an average of £2,548 less per year than men, and that the gender pay gap is currently at 12.8%. The union warned that if things don’t begin to change faster, the gender pay gap will not be closed for another 30 years, finally happening in 2056. The TUC says that this effectively means a woman typically only starts earning what a man earns 47 days into the year (in mid-February). It also suggests that women who begin their working life today will likely earn less than men for the duration of their careers.

The difference is the most steep in finance and insurance jobs, with the widest gap at 27.2%. Education also stands out, with a gender pay gap of 17%.

However, the gender pay gap is much smaller in other sectors, such as leisure services.

“Imagine turning up to work every single day and not getting paid,” said TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak. “That’s the reality of the gender pay gap. In 2026, that should be unthinkable.

“With the cost of living still biting hard, women simply can’t afford to keep losing out. They deserve their fair share.”

The act would also require employers to publish strategies to close the gender pay gap within their businesses. Nowark warned that such plans “must be tough, ambitious and built to deliver real change, otherwise they won’t work”. 

As it stands, companies employing more than 250 staff in the UK are required to report their pay data. This means that gender pay gap data could have been disproportionate for some years, as smaller companies have no obligation to report such data. 

In fact, research published in the British Journal of Industrial Relations found that the gender pay gap might have been underestimated for as much as two decades because of this.