WOMEN are bearing the brunt of exploitative zero-hours contracts, which are “hindering progress towards gender equality,” according to research by the TUC released today.

The union body found that women are 34 per cent more likely than men to be working under such precarious terms, with black and minority ethnic (BME) and disabled women among the worst affected.

Publication of the findings came after trade unionists gathered in central London yesterday at the annual TUC’s Women’s Conference.

Women are overrepresented in eight of the 10 occupations with the highest number of zero-hours contract workers, the report says.

They are also more likely than men to be stuck on exploitative zero-hours contracts for longer than a year.

On average, women on zero-hours contracts earn nearly £10 less an hour compared with men not employed on such contracts.

The TUC said the stark gender divide was partly the result of women tending to be employed in sectors characterised by high levels of insecurity and high prevalence of zero-hours contracts, such as social care and hospitality. 

Meanwhile, BME women are 103 per cent more likely than white men to be on zero-hours contracts.

And disabled women are 49 per cent more likely than white men to be on zero-hours contracts.

The TUC warned that these contracts give employers complete control over workers’ hours and pay, making it difficult to budget, plan childcare or challenge poor working conditions.

The Employment Rights Bill — set to return to Parliament in the near future for the report stage — will play a crucial role in securing gender equality in Britain’s workplaces, as it will ban zero-hour contracts, the TUC said.

General secretary Paul Nowak said: “Everyone deserves security at work. But exploitative working practices like zero-hours contracts are holding many people back.

“As ever, women workers are bearing the brunt. They are more likely to be concentrated in sectors with endemic levels of insecure work.   

“The Employment Rights Bill will bring forward common-sense reforms to deliver more secure jobs for zero-hours contract workers and help bridge the gap in pay and rights between men and women.

“Those defending the broken status quo are opposing access to better jobs for women across the country.”