The Apprentice star Baroness Karren Brady has called for faster action to close the gender pay gap, which stood at 6.9% last year.
Ahead of International Women’s Day on Sunday, the Conservative peer said the world of work rewards unbroken career progression while women who shoulder care for their children and families are put at a disadvantage.
Labour former trades union chief Baroness Frances O’Grady of Upper Holloway also said bolstered support for young families could “turbocharge” efforts to close the gap between men and women’s earnings.
The gender pay gap among full-time employees was 6.9% in April 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), with women’s median hourly earnings at £18.87 against £20.27 for men.
Trades Union Congress (TUC) analysis of the data found the gap for women aged 50-59 was 19.7%.
Lady Brady, 56, said this meant women her age “work the equivalent of 72 days a year for free”.
She continued: “So, from the very start of this year until next Friday, March 13, we’re effectively working for free.”
She said this gap “compounds over a lifetime”, contributing to a gender pension gap.
Lady Brady also told the Lords: “Why does this persist?
“Because we still operate systems that penalise women for caring for their children, for their families, for older family members, while rewarding uninterrupted career progression.”
The vice-chairwoman of West Ham FC, author and TV star warned “culture still reverberates with assumptions about who belongs in leadership because when job titles and pay packets are decided, old biases queue up to decide who gets the corner office”, and added: “Light without follow-through leaves too many shadows untouched.”
She had earlier said: “When I reflect on the path that brought me here, being the youngest person to run a public company in the UK and the first woman to run a football club at 23, I was walking corridors where I was frequently the only woman.
“I learned early on that being capable is not the same as being accepted, that strength and resilience often have to speak louder than credentials in environments designed by and for someone very different to me.”
Lady O’Grady, who was previously the TUC’s general secretary, said: “I want to see a better deal for new parents.
“I want young dads to know that as a society, we are on their side too and that we can do better than a paltry two weeks paid paternity leave so they get proper paid time to bond with their babies and support their partners.
“The TUC has calculated that at the current rate of change, it will take another 30 years to close the gender pay gap, but we can turbocharge progress by boosting support for young families who want to share care more equally but currently simply can’t afford to.”
Opening the Lords’ International Women’s Day debate on Friday, minister Baroness Liz Lloyd of Effra said the Government has “much more to do to further women’s rights and opportunities in the UK and around the world”.
She said the Government is “putting in stronger protections for pregnant women and new mothers at work and tackling maternity inequality”.
Lady Lloyd added: “We are also improving the system of parental leave, making flexible working more easily available through our plan to make work pay.
“We are taking the first steps towards requiring employers to publish an action plan alongside their gender pay gap reporting through the Employment Rights Act.
“And we are tackling violence against women and girls with a focus on education and prevention, pursuing perpetrators and supporting victims through our landmark strategy.”
