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Gender pay gap: hundreds of companies file reports on final day - live Gender pay gap: hundreds of companies file reports on final day - live
(35 minutes later)
Philip Paget, partner and head of employment at Yorkshire law firm Gordons, said there was a great deal of misinformation about what a pay gap indicates.
It is vital to understand that the gender pay gap doesn’t measure an employer’s compliance with equal pay for equal work legislation.
An employer delivering equal pay may still have a large pay gap and an employer with no pay gap may be breaching the law.
The figure is affected by a range of factors. In the health, education and retail sectors, which currently employ two-thirds of women over 50 in lower paid positions, the ‘average’ hourly rate between male and female staff is likely to be significant simply due to the arithmetic of averages.
Where the reason for the gap is sex discrimination, then certainly this is a ‘burning injustice’ as Prime Minister Theresa says. But to draw conclusions about unequal pay from GPG figures alone is very dangerous.
If you look at these statistics in isolation and without the more detailed explanations, which companies can and should put in, it could give an unfair and inaccurate picture.
Charlotte Gascoigne, director of research and consultancy at Timewise, the UK’s first flexible jobs marketplace, said research has shown that there are four key reasons why the gender pay gap exists. She has written about the possible solutions.
Reason 1: There are more men in senior roles than womenSolution: Design senior roles to work for all
Reason 2: Caring responsibilities and part-time roles are shared unequallySolution: Create quality flexible jobs that allow women and men to balance ambition with caring responsibilities
Reason 3: Women choose to work in low-paid roles and sectorsSolution: Open up all sectors to part-time and flexible working
Reason 4: Women are paid less than men for the same roleSolution: Stop paying women less than men for the same role
The UK operations of Hollywood studios Sony, Warner Bros and Turner have reported large gender pay gaps.The UK operations of Hollywood studios Sony, Warner Bros and Turner have reported large gender pay gaps.
The median gender pay gap at Sony is 25.8%. This rises to 70.2% in terms of bonuses. “We will pro-actively be looking into what steps we can take over the next year to achieve this,” Sony’s Head of HR for UK & Ireland Andrew Beaumont told Deadline.The median gender pay gap at Sony is 25.8%. This rises to 70.2% in terms of bonuses. “We will pro-actively be looking into what steps we can take over the next year to achieve this,” Sony’s Head of HR for UK & Ireland Andrew Beaumont told Deadline.
Warner Bros. Entertainment UK reported a gender pay gap of 30.9%. This increases to 67.3% in terms of bonuses. The company said this reflected the greater number of men in senior management roles. “We are determined to continue to address areas in our business where women are under-represented and to identify any barriers to progression,” said Steve Mertz, Statutory Director of Warner Bros. Entertainment UK.Warner Bros. Entertainment UK reported a gender pay gap of 30.9%. This increases to 67.3% in terms of bonuses. The company said this reflected the greater number of men in senior management roles. “We are determined to continue to address areas in our business where women are under-represented and to identify any barriers to progression,” said Steve Mertz, Statutory Director of Warner Bros. Entertainment UK.
“We will monitor the different stages of our employee life cycle, from recruitment through development, promotion and annual pay reviews, to help us identify relevant actions throughout the company to reduce our gender pay gap.”“We will monitor the different stages of our employee life cycle, from recruitment through development, promotion and annual pay reviews, to help us identify relevant actions throughout the company to reduce our gender pay gap.”
Turner reported a gender pay gap of 28.6%. In terms of bonuses, this grows to 55.8%.Turner reported a gender pay gap of 28.6%. In terms of bonuses, this grows to 55.8%.
Karen Gill, the co-founder of everywoman, an organisation that works to advance women in business, said the gender pay gap issue is critical as it highlights the lack of women working in higher paid roles and “identifies to organisations where they need to focus their efforts and resources to ensure a balanced and more economically productive workforce”.Karen Gill, the co-founder of everywoman, an organisation that works to advance women in business, said the gender pay gap issue is critical as it highlights the lack of women working in higher paid roles and “identifies to organisations where they need to focus their efforts and resources to ensure a balanced and more economically productive workforce”.
Gill said she anticipates female talent to shift higher up the business agenda following tonight’s deadline. “We expect this to positively affect female talent as companies acknowledge the business benefit of having more women in senior positions and concentrate resources on the talent pipeline,” she said.Gill said she anticipates female talent to shift higher up the business agenda following tonight’s deadline. “We expect this to positively affect female talent as companies acknowledge the business benefit of having more women in senior positions and concentrate resources on the talent pipeline,” she said.
If real change is to take place it believes all businesses must adopt the following three actions:If real change is to take place it believes all businesses must adopt the following three actions:
1. Maintain the new transparency which is obliging companies to accept and take seriously the scale of the gap.1. Maintain the new transparency which is obliging companies to accept and take seriously the scale of the gap.
2. Put in place action plans; policies are important, but without implementation and accountability they are meaningless.2. Put in place action plans; policies are important, but without implementation and accountability they are meaningless.
3. Address learning and development requirements to reduce the skills gap as we know this grows engagement and helps women to aspire to more senior roles.3. Address learning and development requirements to reduce the skills gap as we know this grows engagement and helps women to aspire to more senior roles.
The midnight deadline for Britain’s largest companies to publish the median pay gap between female and male employees is only hours away. Last year the World Economic Forum found, globally, the gap widening across professions for the first time since it began collating data on gender and pay in 2006. Here Agence France-Presse presents a series of photos of women whose jobs have traditionally been done by men in their country.The midnight deadline for Britain’s largest companies to publish the median pay gap between female and male employees is only hours away. Last year the World Economic Forum found, globally, the gap widening across professions for the first time since it began collating data on gender and pay in 2006. Here Agence France-Presse presents a series of photos of women whose jobs have traditionally been done by men in their country.
Corinna, who works from home and lives in London, said: “For me personally, my experience is that because I’m quite strong-willed, I feel I haven’t suffered as much as some other women. The problem here is that you never really know what your counterparts are making. All you can do is use things like [jobs website] Glassdoor, and try to figure out what other people in your industry are making, and then try and go for more.Corinna, who works from home and lives in London, said: “For me personally, my experience is that because I’m quite strong-willed, I feel I haven’t suffered as much as some other women. The problem here is that you never really know what your counterparts are making. All you can do is use things like [jobs website] Glassdoor, and try to figure out what other people in your industry are making, and then try and go for more.
“In my industry there are no tranches of pay - it’s very hard to determine what you should be getting. When I actually worked for a firm, I tried to get as much as I possibly could. I was quite masculine ... I’m a real feminist, but I was utilising masculine ways of speaking and asking for things. You have to adopt those sorts of things.”Eloise Hall, 21, a student living in London, said: “Quite a lot of it is kept under wraps unless you work there... It’s happening all over the place, and it has for ages. It’s significant, but in comparison to some problems, it’s less of a concern.“In my industry there are no tranches of pay - it’s very hard to determine what you should be getting. When I actually worked for a firm, I tried to get as much as I possibly could. I was quite masculine ... I’m a real feminist, but I was utilising masculine ways of speaking and asking for things. You have to adopt those sorts of things.”Eloise Hall, 21, a student living in London, said: “Quite a lot of it is kept under wraps unless you work there... It’s happening all over the place, and it has for ages. It’s significant, but in comparison to some problems, it’s less of a concern.
“It’s a large problem but it’s on a wider scale of inequalities. I actually think there are larger issues at the moment - everyone has the right to the same level of fairness and being treated equally. There are bigger issues, unfortunately - there are definitely wider problems that need to be covered.”“It’s a large problem but it’s on a wider scale of inequalities. I actually think there are larger issues at the moment - everyone has the right to the same level of fairness and being treated equally. There are bigger issues, unfortunately - there are definitely wider problems that need to be covered.”
My colleague Rupert Jones has been out on the streets of London asking people what they make of the gender pay gap.My colleague Rupert Jones has been out on the streets of London asking people what they make of the gender pay gap.
Lucy Barter, a freelance stage manager who lives in north London, said: “I’m a freelancer but I still suffer from it an awful lot. I work in theatre and events, and people on the same level as me... the women definitely get offered less money.Lucy Barter, a freelance stage manager who lives in north London, said: “I’m a freelancer but I still suffer from it an awful lot. I work in theatre and events, and people on the same level as me... the women definitely get offered less money.
“It’s annoying and frustrating. I’m in my late 40s, and I don’t think it’s got better in all the years I’ve been working.”“It’s annoying and frustrating. I’m in my late 40s, and I don’t think it’s got better in all the years I’ve been working.”
On the media reporting of the gender pay gap, she said: “It’s certainly bringing it more to people’s attention, and that can’t be a bad thing. The more things are out in the public eye, the more there’s the pressure to make change.”On the media reporting of the gender pay gap, she said: “It’s certainly bringing it more to people’s attention, and that can’t be a bad thing. The more things are out in the public eye, the more there’s the pressure to make change.”
On whether it would affect which businesses she would give her custom to, she said: “It would make a difference. If I saw there was a large gender gap [at a company], I might consider not using them, and using an alternative if I felt it was a fairer option. I have to say, in terms of Ryanair [which revealed a gender pay gap of 72%], I wouldn’t choose to fly with them unless I had to.”Karen, who works for a construction company and lives in London, said: “Realistically, I’ve never been too bothered about it - if I’m willing to do a job [and accept] what I’m offered, I’ve never really thought outside that. But all this chat [about the gender pay gap] has definitely put it at the forefront of our minds.On whether it would affect which businesses she would give her custom to, she said: “It would make a difference. If I saw there was a large gender gap [at a company], I might consider not using them, and using an alternative if I felt it was a fairer option. I have to say, in terms of Ryanair [which revealed a gender pay gap of 72%], I wouldn’t choose to fly with them unless I had to.”Karen, who works for a construction company and lives in London, said: “Realistically, I’ve never been too bothered about it - if I’m willing to do a job [and accept] what I’m offered, I’ve never really thought outside that. But all this chat [about the gender pay gap] has definitely put it at the forefront of our minds.
“I work for a construction company, and it appears ours is at the bottom - we’re one of the worst. I don’t lose sleep over it, but it’s definitely worth addressing, and it’s also about trying to understand why.“I work for a construction company, and it appears ours is at the bottom - we’re one of the worst. I don’t lose sleep over it, but it’s definitely worth addressing, and it’s also about trying to understand why.
“Childcare has got a lot to do with it. I’ve got two kids - I’m heading home now as we’ve got nursery issues... Even if men want to do it [childcare], I don’t think it’s an accepted practice.”“Childcare has got a lot to do with it. I’ve got two kids - I’m heading home now as we’ve got nursery issues... Even if men want to do it [childcare], I don’t think it’s an accepted practice.”
Theresa May today said that Britain’s gender pay gap is a “burning injustice” that must be tackled.Theresa May today said that Britain’s gender pay gap is a “burning injustice” that must be tackled.
In an article for the Telegraph, the Prime Minister said the figures made for “uncomfortable reading” and compared today’s battle for workplace equality to the struggle for universal suffrage a century ago. She wrote:In an article for the Telegraph, the Prime Minister said the figures made for “uncomfortable reading” and compared today’s battle for workplace equality to the struggle for universal suffrage a century ago. She wrote:
A hundred years ago, some women first won the right to vote. But for all the welcome progress in the decades since, major injustices still hold too many women back. When I became prime minister, I committed myself to tackling the burning injustices which mar our society. One such is the gender pay gap.A hundred years ago, some women first won the right to vote. But for all the welcome progress in the decades since, major injustices still hold too many women back. When I became prime minister, I committed myself to tackling the burning injustices which mar our society. One such is the gender pay gap.
The difference in the median hourly wages earned by men and women in Britain currently stands at 18%. This is a historic low, but progress in shrinking it remains far too slow. We need to act if we are to close the gap for good within a generation.The difference in the median hourly wages earned by men and women in Britain currently stands at 18%. This is a historic low, but progress in shrinking it remains far too slow. We need to act if we are to close the gap for good within a generation.
Ryanair, not a stranger to making headlines, was revealed as having, by some distance, the worst gender pay gap in airline industry having reported a 71.8% median hourly gap and male-dominated top quartile (it is 97% male).Ryanair, not a stranger to making headlines, was revealed as having, by some distance, the worst gender pay gap in airline industry having reported a 71.8% median hourly gap and male-dominated top quartile (it is 97% male).
EasyJet’s figures don’t make for easy reading either. The company has reported a 45.5% median gap with men making up 89% of employees in the highest quartile. FlyBe has a median gap of 41% (although sister company Flybe Aviation Services has a lower, 11.7% gap).EasyJet’s figures don’t make for easy reading either. The company has reported a 45.5% median gap with men making up 89% of employees in the highest quartile. FlyBe has a median gap of 41% (although sister company Flybe Aviation Services has a lower, 11.7% gap).
British Airways, by comparison, has reported a gap of just 10%, a great outcome if you compare it to the others. But it’s worth keeping in mind that its subsidiaries haven’t fared quite as well. Overnight the company released figures for British Airways Holidays which shows a 27% pay gap and British Airways Maintenance Cardiff, which carries maintenance of long haul Boeing aircraft, reporting a 20%.British Airways, by comparison, has reported a gap of just 10%, a great outcome if you compare it to the others. But it’s worth keeping in mind that its subsidiaries haven’t fared quite as well. Overnight the company released figures for British Airways Holidays which shows a 27% pay gap and British Airways Maintenance Cardiff, which carries maintenance of long haul Boeing aircraft, reporting a 20%.
BA CityFlyer, which mainly flies scheduled passenger services at London City Airport with a staff of 502 filed a 42% gap. Conversely Gatwick Ground Services, which employs 281 people in ground handling and aircraft cleaning at Gatwick Airport has a 9% gap in favour of women.BA CityFlyer, which mainly flies scheduled passenger services at London City Airport with a staff of 502 filed a 42% gap. Conversely Gatwick Ground Services, which employs 281 people in ground handling and aircraft cleaning at Gatwick Airport has a 9% gap in favour of women.
The Conservative Party has published its pay gap figures outside the government’s gender gap portal (because the party does not meet the 250 baseline staff requirement that would otherwise have required it to file by midnight).The Conservative Party has published its pay gap figures outside the government’s gender gap portal (because the party does not meet the 250 baseline staff requirement that would otherwise have required it to file by midnight).
The party says it has a 12.7% gap in favour of women. The party also reported a small bonus gap of 2.9% in favour of men.The party says it has a 12.7% gap in favour of women. The party also reported a small bonus gap of 2.9% in favour of men.
The Labour Party reported its gender pay gap last month, reporting a median hourly gap of 4% with no bonus gap.The Labour Party reported its gender pay gap last month, reporting a median hourly gap of 4% with no bonus gap.
A spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats said the party did not have to report on the basis that it employs fewer than 250 people but had done so voluntarily last year and would be doing so again in due course.A spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats said the party did not have to report on the basis that it employs fewer than 250 people but had done so voluntarily last year and would be doing so again in due course.
On a rainy lunchtime break in Glasgow, a couple of Santander workers admitted that they only had a vague awareness of gender pay gap discussions or any anger around it, and no sense of where their own employer stood.
“There’s been no discussion of it in the office and no emails about it,” one woman said. Her friend, who works in complaints, added that she is more used to dealing with angry customers, but resolved to take a look at the company’s rating online this evening.
“A woman at the top of a company can make a huge difference to the way women employees are treated at all levels”, said a Zurich Insurance worker, whose female boss Tulsi Naidu has been in place since 2016.
“I’ve seen all the news about the pay gap but I think my own firm is pretty equal. We know the different grades of job and it’s fairly transparent.”
Barclays gets a similarly positive report from a couple of staff members sheltering from the sleet. “The pay gap has been discussed everywhere and that is long overdue, but in fact in the sector we work in, banking, is not so bad,” one said.
“For as long as I’ve can remember they have been flexible about women returning to work after having children and in comparison our pay differential is not that bad.”
Another said: “There is definitely a lot of anger out there since the figures have been published. But I don’t agree with men having their salaries dropped.
“Women should be brought up to the same level. We also need to remember that in fields all salaries have been overinflated because of the market at that time, which also has to be taken into account.”
According to the government website, the gender pay gap at “Santander UK PLC” is 29.1%. At Santander UK Technology Limited” it’s 9.7%. At “Santander Consumer (UK) PLC” it’s 22.1% and at “Santander UK Operations Limited” it’s 5.8%.
At “Zurich Employment Services Limited” the median gender pay gap is 33.7% and at “Zurich UK General Services Limited” it’s 25.9%.
The gender pay gap at “Barclays Services Limited” is 29.9%. At “Barclays Bank PLC” it’s 43.5% and at “Barclays Bank UK PLC” it’s 14.2%.
Employees at RBS in central Manchester leaving the office for lunch this afternoon did not seem preoccupied by the gender pay gap announcements.
“I heard that Ryanair is the worst,” said one man. “I’ve read reports about that, but I think generally, in the banking industry, it’s OK. I don’t think it’s an issue. It doesn’t need to be highlighted. I think everyone is treated equally.”RBS’s median gender pay gap is 36.5%, the lowest of the UK ‘big four’ banking groups, but significantly higher than the national average of 18.4%.
“I think [the gender pay gap] is important, but the way that it’s being reported at the moment doesn’t help,” said another man, who did not want to be named. “What is important is that it drives the right improvements. It’s good that companies are doing the work to understand the gaps and the reasons for them and that they have action plans.”
Laurie Connolly, who has only been working at RBS a few weeks, said she doesn’t know what the company’s gender pay gap is and that she is unsure of what to make of all the recently published figures. “It’s not clear how much women taking breaks in their careers to have children would impact on it,” she said.
“I’d hate to think that it is due to some inherent gender bias by employers, but, of course, that’s the worry. I sometimes do look around at my colleagues and think, ‘are men being promoted more than me?’, but that’s probably just a selfish paranoia.”
Connolly used to work for the Coop and says there was a lot of motivation there to tackle gender inequalities within the work force. Asked if she thinks she has ever been paid less because she is a woman, she said: “Probably not, but who knows?”
Sheltering from the rain by the RBS building in Manchester’s Spinningfields, HR recruiter Nathan Dobosz said: “I think there’s a general confusion about the gender pay gap and equal pay, which are being lumped together… I think it’s creating a lot of unnecessary negativity.
“I know lots of organisations where they aren’t necessarily doing their best in terms of the gender issue as a whole, but have reported pretty good [gender pay gap] results. And there are organisations that I know that have more of a way to go [on the pay gap], but have more in place to support women within the work place.”
Thanks for all your comments and contributions today. I’m handing over the gender pay gap liveblog to my colleague Nadia Khomami.
We’ll be scraping the data again this afternoon to find out who really is filing the gender pay gap report at the very last minute, and hearing from reporters on the ground about the public’s reaction to the figures.
If you’d like to contact me on anything gender pay gap related please do get in touch. I’m on alexandra.topping@theguardian.com and @lexytopping.
As previously flagged schools - particularly multi-academy trusts and some of the country’s best-known public schools - have not covered themselves in glory during the gender gap reporting process.
As of 8.30am this morning just under half (49) of the 100 companies and organisations with a gender pay gap were schools or academy trusts, all of them with median hourly pay gaps of more than 50% meaning, company-wide, men’s median pay is double that of female staff.
The worst offender among the independent schools is the Royal Hospital School in Ipswich, which reported a median pay gap of 66% while, among the academy trust groups, the worst three are Sussex Learning Trust, the Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust and Schoolsworks Academy Trust which have all filed gaps of at least 61%.
Women. Like men, only cheaper. And in 2018 we are discovering by just how much. The introduction of mandatory reporting has transformed the debate about the gender pay gap from a little-discussed dry set of statistics directly into staffrooms and workplaces across Britain, with explosive effect. The data shows in black and white just how few women are progressing within organisations across every area of the economy – whether in the public or private sector, gender still too often predicts pay.
Now, if this isn’t the best data-driven interactive around the gender pay gap I will eat my notepad:
Please do note that figures do not compare equal pay for equal work or roles, as companies have not been legally required to release this information. We also know that women aren’t actually working “for free”, but as we mention in the piece there is a long history of campaigners using dates to highlight the gender pay gap and this interactive feeds into that.
Interesting comment from Apeiron below:
I am not sure why people are saying the Pay Gap is a useless indicator. It is important because it highlights the lack of women in senior positions. For example, see the Bank of England below.
Men and women are paid equally for doing the same job but the pay gap is 24%.
Mr Carney and all four deputy governors are men, as are the vast majority of senior BoE officials. There is only one woman on the nine-strong MPC, and there are none on the Financial Policy Committee, which comprises 11 members.
Of the 67 most senior roles in the central bank, just eight are held by women.
Interesting email from David Hopkins, a Reward Development Manager at a major UK employer (which he’s asked me not to name). He’s been deeply involved in the process and sent some reflections:
On waiting until the last minute:
My view is that that was a mistake on their part. We chose to publish some time before the due date, which allowed us to develop conversations about how best to address the gender pay gap, rather than the focus being on comparisons with our competitors
The data
I’d agree to some extent that the raw figures are not necessarily the be all and end all. That’s why we chose to focus on the opportunity the figures offered to engage staff in discussions around the reasons for pay differences and how best to address them, rather than on how they compared to other companies.
The process
Finally, the process of collating and publishing the figures, while time consuming, has proved to be very beneficial and an ideal opportunity to engage with staff on diversity and inclusion topics. The key for us was to engage wholeheartedly with the spirit of the regulations, not treat them as a burden.
Some readers suggesting that as well as reporting on their gender pay gap companies should also have to report the difference between pay at the top and the bottom of companies.
Wanda Wyporska of the Equality Trust got in touch to flag up their Pay Tracker, which ranks, among other things, the FTSE 100 in terms of CEO to average worker pay/minimum wage. She says:
Our new project will look at the FTSE 100, sector by sector in terms of GPG, CEO pay ratios (hopefully the next piece of pay disclosure legislation to come in soon), Living Wage, unionisation, etc. Our aim is to publicise these issues, so that employees and potential employees and consumers can use the findings to support ‘better’ businesses and unions can use the data in pay negotiations.
Guardian readers have been in touch to share their thoughts on their company’s gender pay gap reporting.L who works at VF Corporation, an apparel company that works with brands like Vans and Timberland, was surprised about their gap which reported the mean figure as 21.6% and 7.3% for the median: “We are mostly women in the department where I work, so I was really disappointed when I saw it. What’s missing is an action plan. We got an internal email which says something vague about actions being taken, but externally there is no action. Even if we know that some of our brands are really focused it’s no excuse. Today The North Face announced a campaign for more women in their adverts.”Commenter TabithaJean thinks the split between the top and the bottom of a company is key to understanding the figures: “We are pretty standard as men make up the majority of the high paid senior positions. I am classed as ‘unskilled’ in our jobs hierarchy, yet I have a ton of skills not demonstrated by those above, including getting up off my arse to find out how new systems work. It’s just that these skills are not quantifiable with a qualification. Everyone’s contribution needs to be reassessed without the lens of making profit to see better what the value would be to the company.“There is a willingness to aid women to get into higher paid roles, but I think this ignores the key fact that women are in the lower paid and lower regarded “support” roles. We need to examine why we don’t value this contribution to the company more, because the whole thing would grind to a halt without us.”For commenter LouisConn there is light at the end of the tunnel: “Our gender pay gap (university) was published a few weeks ago and looks like the standard gap for the sector. Almost all high faculty positions are occupiedby men, however, as more and more departmental office holders are now women in five to 10 years things might look different.”
You can share your views and experiences with us by filling in the form here or by contacting the Guardian via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44(0)7867825056.