Northern Ireland climbs two places in PwC’s Women in Work Index

• Northern Ireland ranks second overall, up two places from fourth position in 2024, as Scotland retains top spot.
• Northern Ireland has the lowest female unemployment rate and the lowest gender pay gap.
• The UK slips from 17th to 18th in the Index ranking, down from 10th in 2020 - the steepest post-pandemic decline amongst OECD countries - with Iceland, New Zealand and Luxembourg the best performing.

Northern Ireland has risen from fourth to second among the UK’s nations and regions for women’s employment outcomes, according to PwC’s annual Women in Work Index, with the lowest gender pay gap of any part of the UK. 

The region’s Index score  improved between 2022 and 2023, largely driven by improvements in its female labour force participation rate. The gender pay gap in Northern Ireland has stayed at 7.5%, the lowest gap across all UK regions, and significantly lower than the UK average of 14%. The region also has the lowest female unemployment rate of 1.6%, compared to the UK average of 3.5%. The female full-time employment rate in Northern Ireland, 60.7%, is also higher than the UK average (58.6%). However the region has the lowest female labour force participation rate of 71.8% (although this has improved by 2.1% since 2022’s value of 69.7%). 

First launched in 2011, the Index is a weighted average of five indicators that reflect women’s labour market outcomes and assess progress made towards achieving gender equality at work. 

Cat McCusker, Regional Market Leader for PwC in Northern Ireland, said:

“While it is promising to see Northern Ireland rise two places in the index, there is still more work to do, particularly around female labour force participation, and we need collaboration between business leaders and policy makers to address this. This will not only help to address equity, but also help to alleviate the labour and skill shortages we are seeing in the region.

“Women in Northern Ireland face numerous challenges, with a major issue being the lack of a comprehensive childcare policy in the region, which trails behind the rest of the UK. Immediate attention is needed to address the high cost of childcare so that financial barriers do not hinder women's participation in the workforce. 

“These findings come at a crucial time, as policymakers and businesses are designing strategies to boost economic growth through a focus on long-term measures that will enhance productivity and stimulate investment. Our priorities should be increasing workforce participation and supporting skills and education in areas with the greatest potential for lasting impact.”

Regional inequalities in the UK

Half of the UK regions (six out of 12) recorded improvements in their Index score year-on-year. Scotland placed first for the second year running, improving its female participation rate, and its wage gap narrowed significantly from 11.8% in 2022 to 8.3% in 2023. The North East was the most improved, moving up six places to fourth, due to much better female participation, lower unemployment, and wage gap improvements. Five regions experienced a deterioration, most notably in the East and East Midlands.

Overall, the gap between the worst and best performing regions has widened, by approximately seven points year-on-year. The contributing factors for this have been the impact of slow regional growth in certain parts of the UK, and varying degrees of both implementation of the ‘Levelling Up’ agenda and proactive efforts of devolved governments in supporting female employment. 

The UK's performance in the Women in Work Index has varied since its inception in 2011, averaging 16th place over the years since. It peaked at 10th in 2020, in large part due to the Covid-19 furlough scheme. The latest result (which covers 2023) is the lowest the UK has ranked in over a decade, when it ranked 19th in 2012. For the first time since 2019, the UK is no longer ranked number one among the G7 economies, and is now second behind Canada.  

Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland has seen significant progress in all indicators, recording the biggest annual improvement in the OECD. It rose from 12th place in 2022 to 6th place in 2023, with a notable wage gap decrease from 6.7% to 3.7% in 2023.

Gender equality boosts GDP

Related PwC research identifies a positive link between female workplace participation and a country’s economic performance. Specific focus was given to analysing the impact of the female participation rate on increased productivity, and the resulting boost to productivity of OECD countries.

The findings indicate a correlation between increased female participation and productivity and GDP growth across OECD countries from 2011 to 2023, leading to an annual increase of USD $0.19 in GDP per hour worked for the average OECD country. This translated into an average GDP boost of USD $4.5bn per OECD country a year. If progress toward full gender equality in the workplace were to continue at the same pace for the next five years, total productivity gains by 2030 could amount to $54.5bn (£43.5bn) in UK GDP, $31.6bn for the average OECD country and $105.5bn for the average G7.

Phillippa O’Connor, Chief People Officer at PwC UK, said:

"The positive link between gender equality in the workplace and economic growth shows that investing in gender equality isn't just the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do. The benefits of a larger and more diverse workforce are translating directly into GDP gains, as well as enriching economic diversity, reducing income inequality, and providing a stronger overall skills base.

“As our research shows, increasing the workplace participation rates of women has the potential to significantly boost the UK economy and help solve the productivity puzzle – providing a valuable pathway to achieving sustainable growth.”