Youth workforce report reveals gender pay gaps

A Picture Worth Millions, sponsored by the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) and the Children's Workforce Network, reveals that more than 775,000 people work in paid employment with young people, while more than 5,272,000 volunteer.

The report found that the gross annual pay of all full-time youth workers averaged £24,219 annually. The average for males was £25,022 and females £23,567, which equates to a gender gap of 6.2 per cent.

The average annual pay of all careers advisors and vocational guidance specialists was £27,984 annually. For males and females it was £29,360 and £27,222 respectively, which equates to a gender gap of 7.9 per cent.

Women make up the majority of the young people's workforce. In playwork, 95 per cent of workers were found to be female, as were 91 per cent of parenting skills advisers and 55 per cent of outdoors staff. In youth work, 49 per cent were female and 51 per cent were male.

The report found that 363,000 paid workers were employed in sport and recreation, 153,000 in health services for young people and 77,000 in youth work.

Around 3.4m volunteers work in sport and recreation with young people, 1.15m in outdoors activities and more than half a million in the youth voluntary sector.

Deirdre Quill, director of integrated workforce at CWDC, described the report as a "breakthrough document".

"This is an astonishing amount of human resource that is mobilised across the country to support our young people," she said. "The evidence in this report will help us at a local and national level to develop this workforce further so it is less fragmented and more integrated. As workforce planners and managers we must support and nurture these six million people."