BDO LLP | UK GENDER PAY GAP
04
Trend 1: Gender Pay Gaps Direction of travel
Fig. 3: Gender pay gap changes
Approximately 83% of the companies in our analysis reported a positive mean hourly gender pay gap in 2022/23 in comparison to 89% of companies in 2017/18. As shown in Fig. 3 opposite, over half of the companies included in our analysis have made a positive move towards closing their mean or median GPGs between years 2017/18 and 2022/23.1 However, a significant number - over a third of all reporting entities – have experienced an increase to their mean or median GPGs when comparing year 2022/23 to 2017/18. With respect to bonus pay gaps, we also see a greater number of entities which experienced a narrower mean or median bonus gap in 2022/23 in comparison to 2017/18. A large proportion of entities reported no change to their bonus pay gap, but this is most likely due to bonus plans/payments not being in operation (and, therefore, the bonus pay gap was and remains at 0%).
Gap closing
Gap widening
No Change
1%
100%
4%
21%
28%
34%
80%
40%
32%
60%
29%
40%
65%
56%
47%
20%
42%
0%
Mean Hourly
Median Hourly
Mean Bonus
Median Bonus
It is important to note, however, that of all the entities within the data sample, only a very small proportion (c. 1%) indicated a constant year-on-year reduction in gender/bonus pay gap over the reporting period. This analysis gives rise to an important question. If more entities have reduced their pay gap between 2017/18 and 2022/23, why don’t we see a greater reduction in the overall average pay gaps? A contributing factor from a statistical standpoint may be found in the % movement we observe for entities that have experienced a pay gap closing or widening. Across all gender pay gap elements, we see companies experiencing comparable reduction/increase in their GPGs (on an average basis, in terms of absolute percentage points) which is likely to be the driver behind the insignificant overall movements.
Average change over the reporting period
Mean Hourly
Median Hourly
Mean Bonus
Median Bonus
Pay Gap Change
Gap closing
6.6%
7.3%
32.9% 30.8%
40.9% 48.8%
Gap widening
6.1%
7.1%
It should be noted that the average of the mean hourly pay gap for companies reporting a widening pay gap moved from 11.5% in 2017/18 to 17.6% in 2022/23, while the average pay gap for companies reporting a closing pay gap moved from 19.1% in 2017/18 to 12.5% in 2022/23.
1. Analysis excludes companies which had a negative GPG in both the first and last reporting year (i.e., females were paid more than males), or where negative GPG reported in first reporting year moved to GPG of 0% in the last reporting year, or vice versa.
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