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Equality, diversity and inclusionGenderPublic sectorGender pay gap

Department for Education is first government department to publish gender pay gap

by Jo Faragher 28 Jun 2017
by Jo Faragher 28 Jun 2017 Tolga Akmen/LNP/REX/Shutterstock
Tolga Akmen/LNP/REX/Shutterstock

The Department for Education (DfE) has published its gender pay gap figures, becoming the first government department to do so.

Its mean pay gap – the difference in average salaries for men and women – is 5.3%, and its median pay gap is 5.9%.

Gender pay gap resources

How to measure and report a gender pay gap

Gender pay gap reporting: five questions from HR

Publishing gender pay gap information

This compares favourably to the UK’s national average gender pay gap, which is 18.1%, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The department, which employs 5,430 civil servants, said that more than half of its employees were female and a higher proportion of women than men were in its top pay quartile. However, there were also more women than men in the lowest pay quartile, which contributed to the gap.

Justine Greening, who is both Education Secretary and the Minister for Women and Equalities, said she was proud that her department was setting an example to other employers.

She said: “The UK’s gender pay gap is at a record low, but we are committed to closing it. As one of the UK’s largest employers, the public sector has a vital role to play in leading the way to tackle the gender pay gap, which is why the DfE’s step to publish our gender pay gap matters.

“Through transparency we can find out what the situation is, where there is best practice and create pressure for more progress.”

All public-sector employers must report their gender pay gap by 30 March 2018, and private-sector employers’ deadline is 4 April 2018.

The DfE outlined a number of initiatives it has undertaken to reduce the difference in average pay between men and women, including:

  • better support for women returning to work, such as shared parental leave, job sharing or part-time opportunities;
  • supporting women’s career progress through talent management schemes such as its Positive Action Pathway;
  • networks and upskilling events;
  • monitoring pay more closely; and
  • anonymising the application process to reduce unconscious bias and training interviewers to recognise and address unconscious bias.

In terms of bonuses, the DfE reported a very slight mean bonus pay gap of 0.8%, while there was no median bonus pay gap whatsoever.

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So far, 19 employers have uploaded their gender pay gap reports to the Government’s portal.

They include financial services company Virgin Money, which reported a mean gender pay gap of 32.5%, and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, where the mean gender pay gap was 33.1%.

Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

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