London is officially the worst place in the UK to be a working woman – and finance is to blame
London, the UK’s economic powerhouse and global financial hub, is also the worst place in the country for working women, a new report from PwC shows.
The professional services giant’s annual report ranks London dead last in its regional index for gender parity in the workplace. The city fell one spot from last year, dragged down by sky-high female unemployment and one of the widest gender pay gaps in the nation.
At 5.2%, London’s female unemployment rate is the highest of any UK region, the report finds. That’s well above the national average, which itself ticked up to 4.2% in 2024 from 3.5% the year before, marking the biggest annual jump since PwC started tracking in 2011. Young women are hit hardest, with their unemployment soaring from 9.5% to 11.8%.
Sectoral differences
PwC points the finger squarely at the city’s sectoral makeup. Dominated by finance, education, and professional services – industries notorious for persistent gender pay disparities – London offers fewer equitable opportunities for women compared to other regions.
“These are sectors that tend to have the highest gender pay gaps,” the report states, highlighting how the concentration of high-paying but male-dominated roles in finance exacerbates inequalities.
Investment banking and asset management are two industries in particular, where women often face glass ceilings, longer hours that clash with family responsibilities, and cultures that have been slow to evolve despite diversity pledges.
By comparison, regions like the South West top the index, buoyed by growing job opportunities that draw more women into the workforce.
Northern Ireland and Scotland also perform strongly, thanks to a higher share of public sector jobs, which typically offer better work-life balance, more flexible hours, and supportive policies like generous parental leave.
Broader challenges for the UK
The findings come amid broader challenges for women in the UK labor market. PwC’s OECD-wide index shows the UK sitting mid-pack at 17th out of 33 countries, behind leaders like Iceland and Luxembourg, which excel due to robust childcare and parental leave systems.
Globally, women are returning to work in droves amid cost-of-living squeezes, but economic slowdowns have curbed full-time roles and pushed up unemployment.
Looking specifically at the UK, the report spotlights a worrying rise in young women classified as NEET – not in education, employment, or training. Poor educational outcomes and health issues disproportionately affect them, with 25% of young women lacking formal qualifications ending up NEET, versus 19% of young men.
Minority ethnic backgrounds add another layer of risk, and compounded disadvantages, like health conditions paired with low GCSE scores, make women four times more likely to fall into this category.
PwC estimates that slashing NEET rates back to 2021 levels could inject £3 billion into the UK’s GDP.
