Graphs at a glance: On average women in the UK do brainier work than men and yet get paid 15% less

Women are bearing the brunt of all the belt-tightening in more ways than just cuts to public services. 

In March 2014 the Sunday Times reported that female ministers have smaller offices than their male peers. 

"A survey of ministerial offices has found that female members of the government have offices that are on average 230 sq ft smaller than those of male counterparts. 

The disadvantage even extends to cabinet ministers. Half the female secretaries of state have offices that are smaller than those of their male underlings."

A graph from the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows how this lack of respect for the efforts of our female brethren in Britain extends from the topmost (well, according to the Sunday Times apparently not quite the topmost) office to the most humble operative. 

A common excuse for low pay is it is the reward for lower skills. The OECD report, "OECD Skills Outlook 2013", shows that in Britain this is in fact not a fact.

It shows the average British female employee does a higher level of brainwork than the average male employee. The gap is greater in Britain than in any other OECD nation. 

In spite of the greater intellectual demands, women in the UK are paid on average 15% less than men. A bigger gap than in any other OECD nation other than Austria; the Czech and Slovak Republics; Korea; Japan; Estonia.