Further to our recent article, the deadline for voluntary organisations and private sector gender pay reporting closed on the 4th April 2019. Whilst the data showed that the overall median gender pay gap in favour of men has narrowed slightly from 9.7% to 9.6%, it also showed that in 45% of organisations, the median gender pay gap has widened in favour of men since last year.
Deadline Passes For Private Sector Gender Pay Reporting
With the deadline for voluntary organisations and private sector gender pay reporting having passed, an analyses of the data reveals the following:-
- 78% of the organisations pay men more than women. This is unchanged since last year
- 14% of organisations pay women more than men, again unchanged since last year
- 8% of the organisations stated that there was no gender pay gap. As before, this is unchanged since last year
- Across all of the organisations that reported, there was a 9.6% median pay gap in favour of men. This has fallen by 0.1% since last year
- The median gender pay gap in favour of men has widened in 45% of organisations since last year, fallen in 48% of employers, and is unchanged in 7% of organisations
- Amongst those who had the largest gender pay gaps were: Countrywide Services – 60.6%, Ryanair - 64.4%, Intrahealth - 57.4%, Independent Vetcare – 48.3%, Sheffield United Football Club - 48.2%, and Easyjet – 47.9%.
- Amongst those organisations with the largest increases in their median gender pay gaps year on year in favour of men were Huddersfield Town FC (increased from 20.9% to 39.6%) and Dyfed-Powys Police (increased from 8.0% to 22.5%). Kwik Fit went from a position in which their was a 15.2% median gender pay gap in favour of women last year, to one in which their is now a 14% median gender pay gap in favour of men.
- The areas of the economy with the largest median pay gaps in favour of men are construction and Finance/Insurance. Those areas of the economy with the largest median gender pay gaps in favour of women are accommodation/food, and health. Manufacturing and real estate have more or less no median gender pay gap.
- 10,428 organisations reported their data on time (around a quarter reported in the last 36 hours before the deadline passed), whilst at the time of writing a further 121 have reported their data after the deadline had already passed. Some organisations have yet to report.
Reaction
Sam Smethers, the Chief Executive at The Fawcett Society, stated: "One year on, it is disappointing, but not surprising, that there are so many employers in the UK with large pay gaps and that these pay gaps aren't being closed. The regulations are not tough enough. It's time for action plans not excuses. Employers need to set out a five year strategy for how they will close their gender pay gaps, monitoring progress and results. Government needs to require employers to publish action plans that we can hold them accountable to, with meaningful sanctions in place for those who do not comply."
Rebecca Hilsenrath, the chief executive at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, added: "The causes of the gender pay gap are complex and deeply entrenched. Meaningful change will take time and concerted effort, with some changes potentially increasing gaps in the short term, such as employing more women at junior levels before they rise into more senior positions. That is why it is vital that employers publish action plans to explain their figures and highlight where they will be targeting any inequality in their workplace."
