Gender pay gap report 2021 What the findings tell us
We have analysed the gender pay gap by contract type and grade to provide a more granular overview of the data. These figures are shown in Appendix 1.
The figures identify a mean gender pay gap of 20.2% (as compared to the 20.7% reported in March 2020) and median gender pay gap of 18.1% (as compared to 15.1% reported in March 2020). The mean average pay gap is therefore slightly reduced from the previous year. The median average pay gap however has deteriorated by three percentage points.
Understanding the median gender pay gap
Over the course of 2021, the global Covid-19 pandemic resulted in significant changes in our staffing requirements, with substantial reductions in the quantity of staff employed on flexible contracts, particularly in front line positions where facilities were closed as a result of the pandemic or when reopened the service, due to limitation on numbers, could be serviced fully by salaried staff. While the overall University staff headcount dropped by 150, the headcount of our workers on flexible contracts dropped by 302. As a result, the percentage of the total University workforce on flexible contracts has dropped from 23.5% in 2020 to 16.1% in 2021.
Flexible contracts typically represent the lowest paid members of our workforce, particularly those with a flexible professional services contract. The number of female staff on flexible professional service contracts dropped 27.9% while the number of male staff on flexible professional service contracts dropped 33.3% over the same period. This change has resulted in significant changes to the average hourly wage of staff on flexible contracts. The removal of a greater proportion of the lowest paid male workers compared to female workers has contributed to the greater increases to male mean and median hourly rates, resulting in a widening of the median pay gap.
The median has fluctuated over the last few years, largely because there is polarisation in the male population. Female grades cluster (broadly) across the mid-range of grades, whereas males are either at the lower end of the grading structure, or at the high end. That volatility impacts the median more so than the mean. The last couple of years have been particularly impacted by a decrease in casual contract usage during the pandemic (i.e. less male staff being brought on casual contracts for facilities and trades work).
Gender pay gap comparators
Due to methodological differences and time discrepancies in calculating the gender pay gap, it is difficult to provide a direct like-for-like calculation against which to benchmark our gender pay gap.
Advance HE’s staff statistical report (2021), on the basis of the 2019-2020 year, reported that in UK higher education, the median gender pay gap was 11.1 percentage points and the mean gender pay gap was 15.7 percentage points. In Scottish HE the median gender pay gap was 16.2 percentage points and mean gender pay gap was 16.6 percentage points. According to the October 2021 Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) figures, the median gender pay gap for the UK economy stood at 15.4%.
Pay quartiles
The pay gaps identified derive, in part, from a disproportionately small number of women in more senior University roles and the disproportionately large number of women in less senior roles. The majority of our staff in the lower pay quartiles are women (65% in the lower and 58% in the lower middle), while only 38% of staff in the upper quartile are women. The Upper middle quartile has more equal gender distribution, as was the case in 2019 and 2020.
There has been little significant movement in the quartiles. In the lower quartile men saw a one percentage point decrease (from 36% in 2020 to 35% in 2021). In the upper middle quartile women gained a one percentage point increase (from 50% in 2020 to 51% in 2021). In the upper quartile women lost one percentage point from 39% in 2020 to 38% in 2021. The lower middle quartile saw no movement.
Gender pay gap at senior levels
There is however, still a significant gender pay gap at the most senior levels, and in the case of Grade 9 professional services, the gender pay gap is very significant. The analysis of the gender pay gap by employment grade indicates a widening of the gender pay gap at grade 9 (10.9%). However, there is an important diversion between academic and professional services: the gender pay gap for grade 9 academics was 8.6, whilst the gender pay gap for grade 9 professional service staff was 23%.
When aggregated, the Grade 9 gender pay gap becomes distorted due to the diverse range of roles in this cohort. However, to address this and provide a more nuanced analysis, the University introduced a sub-grade pay banding structure within Grade 9, consisting of three sub-bands (9A, 9B and 9C). Whilst some colleagues remain on legacy Grade 9 contracts, and therefore remain outside of the sub-grade banding structure, the structure provides a better like for like comparison across similar sized roles and removes the distortion created with the current length of the band. This undertaking has not eliminated the pay gap but provides clarity on the areas where action needs to be taken.
We have developed our understanding of the underlying reasons for the gender pay gap and have introduced measures to reduce it. We are now considering a range of further interventions to more actively address the gender pay gap in our institution.