As an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and wellbeing we are working to reduce our pay gaps year on year. We have a public duty to report our gender pay gap to the Government Equalities Office and to do so, we compare the pay of our male and female employees and the distribution of gender by pay quartile. Bonus payments are included in the report, as a percentage of employees receiving bonuses by gender, and the gender gap on these bonuses.
This year, our gender pay gap has narrowed. Our mean gender pay gap is 8.4%, a reduction of 3 percentage points from last year and our median gender pay gap is 11.1%, a decrease of nearly 7 percentage points from previous reporting. While our figures remain lower than the national average of 14.9% and the sector average of 16.2%, we are not complacent. Efforts to support female career progression through the Aurora Leadership programme and the Athena Swan Charter ensure that gender equity remains a high priority for the University.
As part of our commitment to Inclusion we also report our ethnicity pay gap and, from this year, our disability pay gap. There is no current public duty to report on ethnicity or disability, so we use the same methodology as the gender pay gap to calculate the ethnicity and disability pay gaps. In this report, the ethnicity pay gap is defined as the difference between the average pay of employees from all ethnic minority groups, and ethnically white employees. The disability gap is defined as the difference between the average pay of employees with a declared disability and non-declared.
Our ethnicity pay gap data takes into account differences between ethnic minority groups, and shows a pay gap in the negative. The mean ethnicity pay gap is -4.5% and the median is -9.2%. The minus figure demonstrates that on average our ethnic minority employees earn a higher hourly rate. In comparison with the region, where the average ethnicity pay gap is 7.6%, the University fairs well. Efforts to support career progression through the Diversifying Leadership programme and the Race Equality Charter ensure that race equity remains a high priority for the University.
This is the first year that we have reported our disability pay gap. Our mean disability pay gap is 6.2% and our median is 0.2%. The Office for National Statistics says the average pay gap for people with disabilities in the UK is 13.8%, twice that of the University’s. Our Inclusion strategy ensures that we promote opportunity for all our employees in an accessible environment.
Pay gap reporting is an important step towards addressing imbalances within the workplace. As an organisation we are working together to continue to close all gaps and we continue to look for opportunities to increase our focus and attention.
Professor Kathryn Mitchell
Vice-Chancellor & Chief Executive
Definitions
The aim of gender pay gap reporting is to help organisations understand if they have a gender pay gap and the reasons for that gap, provide transparency, and help identify any actions to help close the gender pay gap in future.
To ensure that we are compliant with the statutory data requirements, the report uses several metrics:
- The mean (average) hourly gender pay gap (%) of all full pay relevant employees
- The median (midpoint) hourly gender pay gap (%) of all full pay relevant employees
- The mean gender bonus pay gap (%) of all full pay relevant employees
- The median gender bonus gap (%) of all full pay relevant employees
- The proportion (%) of men and women who receive bonus pay
- The proportion (%) of men and women on 4 equal population quartiles according to pay bands
Bonus payments
The University makes performance-related bonus payments to its employees. Bonus payments are not consolidated into basic salary.
Pay Quartiles
Quartile 1 represents the lowest pay band and Quartile 4 is the highest pay band. Each pay quartiles represent the distribution of pay from the lowest to the highest.
We use the same methodology to calculate the ethnicity and disability pay gap data for this report.
Ethnicity
We refer to ethnicity by specific group, all ethnic minority groups, all ethnic minorities or ethnically white.
Disability
We refer to disability by specific group, declared disability and no declared disability.
It is important to understand that there is a difference between the gender pay gap and the issue of equal pay.
Equal pay means that men and women in the same employment performing equal work must receive equal pay (Equal Pay Act 1970).
Gender Pay Gap identifies the difference between the average earnings of men and women across the organisation or labour market.
Working to close the gap
The University welcomes and supports pay gap reporting and is committed to reducing its gaps year on year. We take a number of steps:
- There is a negotiated pay and grading structure across the employee cohorts.
- We undertake robust job evaluation processes that underpin pay grades and reinforces equal pay.
- We recognise that our employees require time to develop expertise.
- We use the gender decoder within the recruitment process to challenge bias where it exists.
- We ensure reviews of pay and reward include consideration of bonus payments.
- We build on our achievement of the Athena Swan Chartermark Bronze Award.
- Our membership of the Race Equality Charter ensures we prioritise race equity.
We undertake several initiatives that support equity, inclusion and wellbeing that positively impact on the pay gap. They include:
- Actively encourage all women to seek promotion opportunities through the professorial routes: Associate Professor and Professor.
- Centrally fund places for female employees to attend the women in leadership programme, Aurora.
- Centrally fund places for ethnic minority employees to attend the Advance HE Diversifying Leadership programme.
- Retain female experience in the workplace by offering Menopause Seminars and Cafes to support those experiencing the menopause and raise awareness in those managing others going through this life event.
- Actively celebrate role models and allies for minority groups.
- Enable governance and oversight of all work taking place in the equity and inclusion spaces, ensuring all reports are freely available for employees to access.
- Consult with Inclusion employee networks to embed best practice through active listening and collaboration.
- Provide a varied and vibrant blended approach to employee development, including mentoring and coaching.
- Implement actions from our charter marks, Athena Swan, Race Equality Charter, Stonewall and Disability Confident.
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