What Is Gender Pay Gap Reporting?
Since April 2017, companies residing in England, Scotland or Wales with more than 250 employees have been legally required to publicly report on their gender pay gap figures each year. This reporting requirement was implemented to highlight discrepancies in gender pay, and create the pressure needed to work towards closing any gaps.
Public sector companies need to publish their reports by 30 March each year, and companies within the private or voluntary sectors need to publish theirs by 4 April each year.
Candidates may wish to review gender pay gap reporting for prospective new employers as part of their decision-making process when considering a new role.
What is gender pay gap?
A gender pay gap has been defined as the difference between the average (mean or median) earnings of men and women across a workforce. This is not to be confused with unequal pay - if someone is paid less than another for doing the exact same work, this would be known as unequal pay, and would be illegal and a form of discrimination.
What's the difference between mean and median gaps?
A mean gender pay gap is the percentage difference in average pay of men and women across a workforce. This is calculated by adding up all the hourly pay rates for all women employees and dividing it by the number of women. The same is then done for the men and the difference is compared.
A median gender pay gap is calculated by listing all men and women employees’ wages from highest to lowest, and comparing the number that sits in the middle for each gender. To help explain further, imagine all the women in a workplace standing in one line, from lowest paid by hour to highest, and all the men doing the same in another line. The median gender pay gap is the percentage difference in hourly pay between the woman in the middle of the line, and the man in the middle of the line. Hourly pay used for the calculation includes leave and any shift premiums, but not overtime worked.
Neither of the mean or median calculations account for age, previous experience or difference in job roles, however the median gender pay gap is generally viewed as the most representative calculation.
What is included in a gender pay gap report?
A gender pay gap report includes the following gender pay gap figures:
• Mean gender pay gap for hourly pay
• Median gender pay gap for hourly pay
• Mean bonus gender pay gap
• Median bonus gender pay gap
• Proportion of men and women receiving a bonus payment
• Proportion of men and women in each hourly quartile band (a pay quartile is calculated by listing the hourly rates for everyone across a business, then dividing them into four equal sized groups. The percentage of men and women in each group is then calculated).
In addition to the above figures, companies generally provide a written statement that’s signed by a senior employee confirming that the calculations are accurate. This could also include a narrative of why a gender pay gap is present and what they intend to do to try to close it.
The report needs to be published somewhere accessible on a company’s own website and on a government website for the public to view.
What can cause a gender pay gap?
Gender pay gaps can be caused by many factors including:
• Unusual and disproportionate high salaries of certain employees
• Occupational segregation – offering certain jobs to people based on their gender
• Certain employees having to balance work with domestic and caring responsibilities
• A company culture that contributes to unconscious bias and discrimination – paying someone more money because of their gender
Achieving fair pay across the UK
At Blue Arrow, we welcome the opportunity to report on our gender pay gap figures each year. It helps us assess the ongoing impact of our action plans and the effectiveness of our Gender Equality strategy by enabling us to monitor trends, identify patterns and demonstrate progress to closing any gaps.
To help us create an inclusive business, all Blue Arrow consultants take and have access to training via our online learning system to help them understand, identify and address unconscious bias when recruiting candidates for our job vacancies.
If you ever believe that you are being paid unfairly, raise the matter with your manager or Blue Arrow recruitment consultant.
