How to tackle a large Gender Pay Gap

The Financial Services sector has one of the worst gender pay gaps in the UK and, according to recent figures, is still making very slow progress in closing it. The gender pay gap is a measure of the difference between men and women’s average earnings across an organisation. In October 2021, the ONS survey shows that the overall gender pay gap in the UK was 15.4%. We have just gone passed the annual 4 April reporting date under the Gender Pay Gap Reporting Regulations whereby all employers with more than 250 employees must report on their gender pay gap. The Financial Services industry, on average, has a pay gap of 26.6%. Reuters has recently collated pay gap data from 21 major institutions and found the average mean pay gap was 32.1%, slightly more than 1% narrower than the previous year with Goldman Sachs still with the largest gap amongst those surveyed of 51.3% slightly down on 51.8% the previous year.

One effective way organisations can seek to tackle their large gender pay gap is to undertake a voluntary equal pay audit. An audit can help to identify whether there are any issues and if so, the reasons for any pay differential. If your organisation is interested in undertaking an equal pay audit or you would like any further information please do contact Emily Chalkley, Senior Associate, Charles Russell Speechlys Emily.chalkley@crsblaw.com