Women in Hackney and Haringay overtake men in terms of pay for the first time ever

London boroughs are two out of four places where this is the case

Women in Hackney and Haringay have overtaken men in terms of average salary for the first time ever, according to new figures from the Office of National Statistics.

The East London boroughs are two out of only four places in the country where that is the case.

A woman's annual salary in Hackney is £30,760 on average, compared with £30,565 for men.

The median figure for Hackney women is £677 greater than the London-wide figure, although men in Hackney are taking home £4,058 less than their peers. The figures show a 2.3 per cent increase in women's pay in Hackney but a 10 per cent fall for men.

Hackney North MP Diane Abbott said: 'It’s good news that women continue to close the pay gap to men, but certainly curious that in Hackney women earn more than men.

'Full credit should go to Hackney’s women who should be proud. We know that if you are to earn a good wage you need a good education. Girls are doing better than they have previously done in schools in Hackney and look to be reaping rewards later on.

'However, I think a big factor is that the talents of young men are being lost. The unemployment rate for young, black men in the area is 55 per cent – that means many who have a contribution to make are not being given a chance.'

Speaking to the Hackney Gazette, Dr Jane Holgate, a senior lecturer in work and employment relations from Stoke Newington, said: 'I think it’s excellent news that the gender pay gap is starting to reduce. It’s been decreasing for a while although we’re still a long way from gender equality.

'In terms of the disparity in Hackney, we are close to the city and have women who are extremely highly paid as well as women who are extremely low paid.

'We have disparities between extreme wealth and extreme poverty.

'If you look at the public sector, there’s less of a pay gap compared to the private sector. If we have a high number of public sector workers that would also skew the figures.

'The main employers in the borough are the council and Homerton hospital, which because they are public sector, have more pay equality. However, we would need to know the breakdown of occupation of the population before we could say for definite.'

According to the report, men earn almost 10 per cent more than women across the country, despite equal pay legislation.

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