Plumbers in the UK have the second-largest gender pay gap within the trade industry. Despite earning one of the highest average trade salaries (£53,824 per year), there is a significant disparity between the earnings of male and female plumbers.
This is according to a new pay gap report from Magnet Trade which revealed self-employed plumbers have the second-highest gender pay gap at £7.78 an hour.
On average, female plumbers earn £18.10 per hour, while male plumbers earn £25.88 per hour. This results in a loss of over £16,182 per year for women in the plumbing trade compared to their male counterparts.
Top ten self-employed trades with the largest gender pay gaps
| Ranking | Trade | Male hourly rates | Female hourly rates | Hourly gender pay gap |
| 1 | Electrician | £26.51 | £18.54 | £7.97 |
| 2 | Plumbing | £25.88 | £18.10 | £7.78 |
| 3 | Joinery | £25.73 | £17.99 | £7.74 |
| 4 | Insulation | £24.12 | £16.86 | £7.25 |
| 5 | General construction | £23.65 | £16.54 | £7.11 |
| 6 | Bricklaying | £23.37 | £16.34 | £7.03 |
| 7 | Painter and decorator | £23.31 | £16.30 | £7.01 |
| 8 | Steel and timber frame erection | £22.19 | £15.52 | £6.67 |
| 9 | Surfacing contractors | £21.85 | £15.28 | £6.57 |
| 10 | Specialist trades | £21.60 | £15.10 | £6.49 |
Meanwhile, self-employed men earn £700,000 more in a working lifetime compared to women in the same industry. Magnet Trade’s data found that, with women earning 43% less than men in self-employed jobs, estimates show that, for trade jobs, men charge £7 more an hour on average than women. In terms of the hourly rate, on average, this is £23 for self-employed men compared to £16 for women.
Across all industry trades, men earn an average of £700K more across a working lifetime compared to women.
When looking at just one year, men earn £14K more compared to women in the self-employed trade industry. Therefore, says Magnet Trade, self-employed tradeswomen would have to work five extra months per year to match a man’s salary across trade roles.
