Evidence library

Briefing on Low Pay in the thrid sector, based on Living Wage Foundation analysis of the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).

Key findings

• Around a fifth (17 percent) of all third sector workers earn less than the real Living Wage. This compares with 26 per cent in the private sector and 6 per cent in the public sector.
• In all three sector groups, part time workers are at a greater risk of earning below the Living Wage.
• Women are considerably more likely than men to earn below the Living Wage across all sector groups. The largest distinction is in the private sector, with 34 per cent of women earning less than the Living Wage compared to 19 per cent of men.
• In the third sector, 19 per cent of women earn below the Living Wage, compared to 13 per cent of men.
• Women make up a much larger proportion of third sector workers – (1.4m compared to 900,000 men). Consequently, the number of low paid women in the third sector is more than double that of men (269,000 and 117,000 respectively).
• When both men and women are in part time work, they face a similar risk of earning below the Living Wage across these three main sectors. That said, women take up around 75 per cent of all part time jobs across the UK as a whole, and so the risk of earning below the Living Wage for part time workers impacts them disproportionately.