This week we have official confirmation: most construction companies pay women on average less than men. And the reason for what the prime minister has dubbed “this burning injustice”? Men, according to the government’s gender pay gap data, get promoted to senior, higher-paying construction roles, whereas women are grouped into admin and support roles that are lower paid.

It’s the same in many sectors, financial services being one, but construction is particularly bad because women are so woefully underrepresented, at just under 14% of the workforce. The underlying reasons for this are many and complex and have roots in society’s different pressures on, and expectations of, men and women. This much we already knew, so what does this data collection exercise add to our understanding?

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