Fawcett's press release for Equal Pay Day 2025 Saturday 22nd Nov 2025 Equal Pay Day falls on the 22nd November 2025 Fawcett Society, leading women’s rights organisation, announces that Equal Pay Day will land on the 22nd November 2025. Equal Pay Day marks the day where women stop getting paid in comparison to men; meaning women effectively work for free for the last the last 5 weeks of the year. This year, ONS data showed that the gender pay gap stands at 10.9%. The pay gap halved in the last 3 decades, but progress has stalled in the last 5 years. The gender pay gap is a result of illegal discrimination, bias, and of progress on workplace equality moving too slowly (such as ensuring flexible working as default for all workers or stopping employers seeking out historic salary information to set salary offers for new employees). Analysts have estimated that closing the gender pay gap could add £55b to the wage bill and would provide a significant boost to economic growth. Penny East, Chief Executive at Fawcett says: We know government recognises and acknowledges the gender pay gap, and the impact it has on female employees and the wider economy. Government must act with the urgency and ambition needed to close the gender pay gap, by ensuring action plans for employers are enforceable and evidence-based; this may be alongside stronger employment protections through the Employment Rights Bill that support women’s retention and progression in the workplaceWe understand government is determined to deliver economic growth, and we urge ministers to view the pay gap plans through that lens. We need flexible working as default, and for workplaces to be far more transparent in their salary setting. This is not a ‘nice to have’. Women being paid equally and treated fairly is better for employees, for workplaces, and for our wider economy There are concerns that the widespread implementation of AI tools in workplaces could widen the pay gap and gender inequality in the workplace. With evidence showing that AI tools are more likely to reject female candidates, and a greater risk to public sector roles (which are disproportionally female-led workplaces). Penny continues: Many workplaces have already changed enormously due to AI and automation tools. We know every government department is putting significant resource into AI development to fuel public sector efficiency, and to drive economic growth. We see huge benefits to AI, but it is crucial that government looks at the impact of AI tools on women’s economic equality – businesses must be made to test and guarantee their AI tools do not embed bias, and there must be national efforts to ensure that women, particularly older women, are not excluded from AI implementation The Fawcett Society is partnered with Leigh Day to provide free advice to women who believe they are being underpaid because of their sex. Paula Lee, employment partner at law firm Leigh Day, said: Every year on Equal Pay Day we are reminded that behind these national statistics are real women, many of whom have spent years being undervalued at work. The clients we represent work just as hard as any male distribution worker yet continue to be paid less than men doing what we say are jobs of equal value. They come to us seeking fairness for themselves, and because they don’t want the next generation of women to face the same fight. Progress on the pay gap is always welcome, but it’s painfully slow. Until employers properly see and value women’s work, Equal Pay Day will keep coming around each year as a stark reminder of how far we still have to go Sarah, who had support and legal advise from the Leigh Day and Fawcett partnership told us: My original claim was for sex discrimination, but from the outset I thought that unequal pay might also be involved, though staff were actively discouraged from discussing pay as it was seen as a ‘taboo’ subject. For the last few years in my position, there was an active campaign by high-level management to degrade and hold me back even though II was one of the few team members with advanced professional training, had received an employer-nominated excellence award and had good performance reviews. I was consistently refused or sidelined from formal or cross-skills training, particularly on newly introduced technology. There was also a failure (in reality, a refusal) by my employer to update my contract, which had been done for other team members doing the same or similar work, and which I was consistently promised would happen for over five years. No doubt this was an attempt to justify why, when I pursued the claim through the Fawcett/Leigh Day initiative, I had been paid less, a position they ultimately failed to defend. Sarah went on to say that 'transparency' and proper support at work would've been 'life changing' and that work environments need to be just, equal and fair Need facts, quotes or briefings? Download: What is the Gender Pay Gap? – Explainer PDF Download: Policy Briefing Want to talk? Please contact the press office on [email protected] or call 07540 800757 Manage Cookie Preferences