As a top ten University, we rely on the hard work, dedication and innovation of colleagues across our entire community. Developing a truly inclusive environment in which we can all succeed underpins everything that we do at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ. Ensuring that there is equality of opportunity is fundamental to our success. Changing our gender pay gap is a long-term strategy that is influenced by the speed, or not, of societal change. We are committed to influencing change within our º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ community.

The Gender Pay Gap

What the gender pay gap is

The gender pay gap is a measure of the difference between men’s and women’s average earning across an organisation.

The gap itself is the percentage difference (mean and median) between average hourly earnings for men and women across the university irrespective of grade, job family or work undertaken.

The figure is significantly affected by the distribution of staff across the grades. This means that an institution with a high gender pay gap will have a staff population that sees lower grades predominately occupied by women and higher grades predominantly occupied by men.

What the gender pay gap is not

The gender pay gap is not an indication of how much more male employees are earning than females doing the same work. This concept is called equal pay.

What underpins our gender pay gap

There are a few key factors that impact º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ’s gender pay gap.

Whilst we are not the only university to be impacted by these factors, the combination means that our pay gap is higher than a number of other, seemingly similar, universities.

STEM subjects. There are typically fewer female than male academics in STEM subjects. Universities with a strong STEM presence are likely to have a larger gender pay gap than those without STEM.
Insourcing at lower grades. There is typically a higher concentration of women in lower graded roles such as cleaning and catering. At º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ we believe that it is important to keep these functions in-house (as opposed to outsourcing them as others have done) as this means that colleagues benefit from º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ’s great terms and conditions. Where universities outsource roles at lower levels, this reduces their gender pay gap.
Unequal numbers of men and women at grade 1 and grades 7-9. The largest factor that influences our gender pay gap is the fact that at grade 1, the majority of staff are women, whilst at grades 7-9 the majority of staff are men. This is also the case at most other universities. The scale of the challenge here is greater for those universities with a large STEM element. Within the ‘Addressing the Gender Pay Gap’ section, you will be able to see a range of activity occurring to address the gender imbalance across grades at the University.

Our Gender Pay Gap data as of 31st March 2023

48% of our staff are men and 52% are women.

Our gender pay data has improved from 2022

Mean gender pay gap 

The mean gender pay gap is 17.04% which is a reduction from 21.99% in 2022

Median gender pay gap

The median gender pay gap is 16.56% which is a reduction from 25.43% in 2022

The proportion of women in each pay quarter

At º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, women occupy 37.3% of the highest paid jobs and 62.8% of the lowest paid jobs.

Bonus pay

Mean bonus pay

The mean bonus pay gap is 26.68% which means this has increased from 6.56% in 2022

Median bonus pay

The median bonus pay gap is 20.00% whereas in 2022 this was equal

The proportion of men and women receiving a bonus

The proportion of men receiving a bonus is 13% and the proportion of women receiving a bonus is 18%

Addressing the Gender Pay Gap

Our Human Resources Vision and Purpose outlines the University’s commitment to being an equitable and inclusive employer. University plans support the drive to increase the diversity of the workforce, including increasing the number of women in senior academic, management and leadership roles.

Find out what we are doing to reduce the gender pay gap