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But, according to a recent survey conducted jointly by Optician and CIBA Vision, the pay gap between male and female respondents was 21.37 per cent. Average earnings for males surveyed were £42,377 gross, compared to £33,320 for female respondents.
Bear in mind, though, that the pay gap found by the Women of Vision survey is based on an average (or mean) of earnings reported while that published by ONS is the median, the value of earnings below which 50 per cent of all employees fall.
This indicates how complex and confusing comparisons between national and occupational pay rates and earnings can be.
For example the 10.2 per cent median gender pay gap reported by the ONS is based on the earnings of full-time employees. When part-time employees are added to the mix, the national median gender pay gap was 19.8 per cent in December, down from 22 per cent in 2009.
Also the ONS figures show that women working part time earn more per hour than male part-timers. Their median hourly rate of £8 was 4 per cent higher than male part-timers' median rate of £7.69. However, male part-timers work longer hours than their female counterparts, which widens the overall pay gap in favour of men.
This is reflected in the Women of Vision survey where male respondents' average working week was 35 hours compared to females' 31 hours.
Commenting on the pay differentials revealed by the survey, David Craig, director of operations at the Association of Optometrists, says: 'It is interesting to note that women are more likely to be employed by a multiple than men and it would be more interesting still to know if those women employed by multiples get paid less than their male counterparts and the corresponding figures for independent practitioners.'
So, if naked figures on gender pay gaps are to be taken with a pinch of salt what do the Women of Vision survey results reveal?
If the hourly rate is considered then the pay gap shown by comparison of gross annual earning narrows considerably. The average hourly rate for male respondents is £25.22 and that for females is £22.39, giving a percentage difference of 11.22 per cent. This compares to national figures, as compiled by ONS, giving a 2010 median hourly rate figure for men of £13.01 and for women, £11.68. These figures are for full-timers and give a pay gap of 10.23 per cent.
But if the ONS hourly pay gap figures are calculated by the mean or average, then the national hourly pay gap for full-time employees is 15.5 per cent, for part-time employees 11.7 per cent and for all employees 19.3 per cent - all in favour of males. Thus, on the face of it, the hourly gender gap pay rate between male and female respondents to the Women of Vision survey is lower than the national difference.
The ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) gives earnings figures for the year to April 2010 by occupation. Based on 2,214 responses, it states that mean gross annual earnings for optometrists (rather than optometrists and dispensing opticians together, as in the Women of Vision survey) was £32,796. That for females was £29,171 and that for males, £36,265, giving a gender pay gap of 11.1 per cent.
For full-time male optometrists, ASHE says median gross annual earnings were £47, 399 while the mean was £49,895, the latter up 10.7 per cent on 2009. For females, the median figure is £35,962 and the mean £38,197, which is 13.9 per cent up on 2009. This gives a median pay gap of 24.13 per cent and a mean of 23.4 per cent.
ASHE gives no figures for part-time male optometrists but for females the annual mean was £21,621 in 2010, down 25.4 per cent on 2009. In comparison, the figure for part-time female pharmacists was £19,823, down 10.4 per cent on 2009. Although all these pay figures show variations they do indicate a significant gender pay gap among eye care professionals.
Charles Cotton adviser on performance and reward at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, says: 'The problem is that the pay gap is caused by a number of factors, some outside the direct control of employers, for instance, childcare or career decisions.
'It is possible for firms to try and do something about this, such as crèche/childcare vouchers, but if you're a small firm this could be very costly, so it's something that they will need to do in partnership or through their trade body.
'Regarding pay practices, employers could have smaller pay bands so women are able to catch up quickly if they're off on a career break. Alternatively, they could just have one rate for all employees within a certain grade and that rate only increases if the going rate for that job increases and they can recognise performance, behaviours, skills, etc, through a bonus.
'The advantage is that there would be no catch up in salary terms, but the firm would need to ensure that its bonus system wasn't discriminatory in what it was linked to or how it was assessed. In non-pay terms, flexible working could be feasible if it meets the needs of the employer and employee.'
Geography may also be a factor with anecdotal evidence indicating that more female optical professionals want to work closer to home than males. In the Women of Vision survey location was cited as the most important factor in choosing a new job, chosen by 84 per cent of respondents but by 88 per cent of women compared to 79 per cent of men.
At £43,810, south west England respondents' average pay was the highest while the lowest full time salary by region, and 17.92 per cent lower, was in the Midlands, at £35,960. Other regional average full-time earnings reported in the survey were: London £36,449 north west England £36,341 East Anglia £38,134.
However, in the £100,000 plus earnings category, East Anglia took the laurels with 6 per cent of respondents in that bracket, compared to 2-3 per cent in other regions bar south-west England where 5 per cent of those surveyed earned £100,000 or more.
Mark Thompson, associate director of pay and rewards specialist Hay group, says regional pay differences in the wider workplace can be very marked, with Lincolnshire a cold bed of low pay while London is a pay hotspot. He adds that it is 'vital for employers to heed pay gaps and to address any prejudices in the amounts people are paid. Why should there be a gender pay gap at all?' ?
? John Charlton is a freelance journalist who specialises in HR issues and was editor of Reward and Benefits Today and legal editor of Personnel Today