As pay growth in the UK hits its highest level since 2007, Glassdoor Employment Confidence Survey reveals only 27% of women are confident of getting a pay rise in the next 12 months, compared to 40% of men 

Only a quarter of UK women (27 percent) feel confident that they will receive a pay rise within the next 12 months. This figure has decreased by three percentage points in the last quarter and is far lower than the proportion of men that expect a higher salary (40 percent). Just 37 percent of employed women are positive about the future outlook for their company compared to 41 percent of men, and only 32 percent of women think that it likely that they could find another job if they were to lose their current job – again, this is lower than men at 37 percent.

The Glassdoor UK Employment Confidence Survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive among UK employees, monitors four key indicators of employee confidence: job security, salary expectations, job market optimism/re-hire probability and business outlook optimism. In addition, the survey also explored what employees appreciate and value when it comes to managers, and how a perceived low salary relates to employees leaving their job. 

When it comes to what employees value in a manager, 63 percent of women appreciate a line manager who is ‘supportive’ compared to just 52 percent of men. Fifty three percent of women want a boss that makes them feel valued compared to 45 percent of men. In fact, men are more concerned with having a boss that motivates them (46 percent) and listens to their ideas (30 percent). When it comes to women’s status as managers in the workplace, only 14 percent of employees would prefer to have a female boss, compared to 25 percent who would prefer a male. Sixty one percent of employees have no preference either way.

Other interesting differences between genders include the extent to which salary is a factor for resigning from a company. Women are less likely to leave a job because of low salary than men – 30 percent of women said that low salary had been the major factor behind them moving on from jobs in the past, compared to 39 percent of men.

Jon Ingham, Glassdoor career and workplace expert comments: “Salaries are starting to move up but women risk getting left behind if more men than women get a pay rise. While the economic news generally is more positive, this is a worrying development if it means that female employees are being held back in their career and men are being treated more favourably. This is particularly concerning since it is widely accepted that women are less likely to be as assertive in negotiating when they get a job offer, so if they start low and stay low, then we’ve got a serious case of workplace inequality on our hands that is only going to get worse.” 

Other key findings from the report:

– Thirty nine percent of employees believe that their company’s business outlook will improve in the next six months, up slightly from 36 percent in Q1 15

– A quarter of employees (29 percent) are concerned that they may be made redundant, a marginal increase since last quarter at 27 percent.

– Of employees surveyed who reported a positive change at their organization:

– Fifty seven percent said that they were awarded new company benefits, such as flexible working hours or casual dress code, which is a jump of 12 percentage points since Q1 15.