Gender Pay Gap

There are 1019 men and 1629 women included in the gender pay gap analysis.

Pay gap between men and women

This year, the University has seen an increase in both its mean and median gender pay gaps. The mean gender pay gap is 11.2%, a percentage point increase from 10.3% in 2020. The median pay gap is 17.8% and highlights a five percentage point difference compared to 12.8% in 2020.

Whilst the University’s pay gap data compares favourably with a national average gender pay gap of 15.4% (ONS, 2021), we are not content and have sought reasons to explain why our gender pay gap has risen.

Influence of the Pandemic

Student Employment Agency Staff, 2021

The circumstances of Covid-19 created fewer opportunities for atypical and temporary members of staff at the University. A reduced headcount impacts on where the median marker falls. This has been a contributing factor to the University’s gender pay gap increase, because many short-term, lower-paid roles, typically those undertaken by our students, have been less in number this year. Overall numbers of students employed through the Student Employment Agency are down by 33% since 2020.

A reduction in the number of lower-paid roles, those that would usually sit within quartile one (lowest pay quartile) has the effect of moving grade 4 down into the lowest pay quartile. This has an impact on the distribution of gender because more women work in these roles. As this has not been experienced before, data would suggest that Covid-19 has created a temporary influence. Like many workplaces, the presence of Covid-19 has inflated absence figures, which when considered alongside other ‘losses’ to headcount, explains why the pay gap may have slightly widened. The methodology for calculating the gender pay gap precludes sickness.

Furlough

The introduction of furlough during lockdown had no effect on the pay gap as the few employees who were paid through the furlough scheme were paid at full pay.

Bonus payments

As part of the gender pay gap analysis, a comparison of bonus payments is undertaken. The University made no bonus payments this year.

The mean and median hourly pay

Mean and median hourly pay by gender, 2021

The mean and median hourly rate for females is lower than for males. The University uses a robust job evaluation process and applies a pay grading scheme that ensures rigour is applied to salary settings. The pay quartiles by gender and headcount show that there is a higher number of males in leadership-level roles, increasing the average hourly rate for males and a higher number of females in junior roles, decreasing the average hourly rate for females.

Gender representation by quartile

2020

2021

The pay quartiles represent the distribution of gender by pay from the lowest to the highest.

The distribution of gender in Quartile one (lowest paid) shows 72% are female and 28% are male. This indicates that the University has a disproportionate number of females occupying Quartile one. In comparison to the previous year, this figure has increased by six percentage points from 66%. Similarly, the number of males in Quartile one has decreased by six percentage points from 34%.

When considered against the total staff headcount included in the analysis for this report, 29% of women undertake work that falls within Quartile one, compared to 19% of the men. There are many reasons why women are disproportionately represented in lower-skilled roles. Women, for example, undertake more temporary work than men (CIPD, 2021). While the University’s figures suggest a pattern that is consistent with the general population, it continues to look at measures to attract more males into junior positions.

The distribution of gender in Quartile four (highest paid) shows 51% are female and 49% are male. These figures compare favourably against the sector, where 43% of females and 57% of males are calculated in the highest pay quartile.

When considered against the total staff headcount included in the analysis for this report, 21% of women work in the highest-paid roles, compared to 32% of males. Although the University has a higher female headcount, the evaluation shows they are under-represented in leadership-level posts, which typically fall into Quartile four. Initiatives like Aurora support female career progression and actions associated with the work of Athena Swan, such as increasing the numbers of females in the Professoriate, ensure that gender equity remains a high priority for the University.