Transparency data

DCMS gender pay gap report 2021

Published 27 January 2022

Foreword from the Permanent Secretary

Closing the gender pay gap is an important part of our ambition for DCMS to be the most inclusive government department by 2025, and we have made some significant progress since pay gap reporting began five years ago.

DCMS aspires to be an exemplary government department. We continue to manage our workforce to ensure there is a good gender balance at all levels of the organisation, and this latest report shows that we have now eliminated our median pay gap - the only government department to achieve this. The mean gap continues to fluctuate as our workforce changes - women are still over-represented at the most junior grade and this contributes to the gap in the mean - so there is still more to do.

I am proud to lead an organisation in which women are represented, recognised and rewarded on an equal footing. The building and maintaining of an inclusive culture in an organisation remains a key focus for us, but closing our gender pay gap brings us a step closer to this ambition.

Sarah Healey

Principal Accounting Officer and Permanent Secretary

Introduction

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has prepared this report as part of the legal requirement for public authorities to publish their gender pay gap on an annual basis. Our report is also in line with the recommendations made from the Inclusive Data Taskforce report published in September 2021.

In 2017, the government introduced world-leading legislation that made it statutory for organisations with 250 or more employees to report annually on their gender pay gap. Government departments are covered by the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, which came into force on 31 March 2017.

These regulations underpin the Public Sector Equality Duty and require the relevant organisations to publish their gender pay gap data by 30 March annually. This includes the mean and median gender pay gaps; the mean and median gender bonus gaps; the proportion of men and women who received bonuses; and the proportions of male and female employees in each pay quartile.

The gender pay gap shows the difference in pay between men and women in the workforce. If a workforce has a particularly high gender pay gap, this can indicate that there may be a number of issues to deal with, and the individual calculations may help to identify what those issues are.

The gender pay gap is different to equal pay. Equal pay is a statutory requirement for employers rendering it unlawful to pay men and women different salaries, who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value.

This report fulfils the department’s reporting requirements, analyses the figures in more detail and sets out what we are doing to close the gender pay gap in DCMS.

Building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the people we serve is one of the Civil Service’s top workforce priorities. The Civil Service should create opportunities for all in a truly meritocratic way and reward all civil servants fairly, regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other personal characteristics.

Gender pay gap data 2021

-0% Median Reduced from 10.6% in 2020

5.1% Mean Increased from 2.7% in 2020

DCMS has seen a significant decrease in the median and a slight increase in the mean gender pay gap since 31 March 2020. Based on the analysis that we have conducted, we can see that our middle earning male and female in the department are both earning the same salary, resulting in a 0% median gap. We believe that the gap in mean earnings recorded this year is due to the department having more women than men in the lowest quartile of earnings and in our Band C grade, as well as a higher proportion of men being internally promoted within the more senior and higher earning grades.

Figure 1: Pay quartiles

Gender	Male	Female	Total
All staff	46.30%	53.70%	100%
Q1 (lower)	39.20%	60.80%	100%
Q2	47.90%	52.10%	100%
Q3	47.40%	52.60%	100%
Q4 (upper)	50.70%	49.30%	100%

The pay quartiles above (Figure 1) are calculated by listing our department’s hourly wages in ascending order and then splitting the department into four equal parts and showing the gender balance at each quartile. Those with the lowest hourly wages can be found at Q1 and those with the highest hourly wages can be found at Q4.

These pay quartiles demonstrate that in comparison to our overall gender distribution, there is a disproportionate number of women in the lowest quartile 60.8% up from 58.6% in 2020.

Figure 2: DCMS gender pay gap trend

GPG	Mean GPG	Median GPG
2019	5.60%	16.60%
2020	2.70%	10.60%
2021	5.10%	0.00%

Figure 2 demonstrates the trend in our mean and median pay gaps. The mean gender pay gap is the difference between the average pay for women and average pay for men.

The median gender pay gap is the difference between the hourly rate of pay for the middle female and the hourly rate of pay for the middle male.

From 2019 to 2020 the mean was showing a downward trend, however it has increased in 2021. The median on the other hand has decreased consistently over the last 3 years.

Figure 3: DCMS gender bonus gap trend

GPG	Mean bonus GPG	Median bonus GPG
2019	17.30%	0.00%
2020	0.20%	-14.30%
2021	-14.70%	-38.10%

N.b. A minus percentage gender pay gap means that the gap favours women i.e in this instance, on average women are receiving higher bonus payments than men.

We have observed a further widening of the mean and median gender bonus gaps from 2020.

This year the bonus pay gap median is -38.1% which means the middle female employee received a 38.10% higher bonus than the middle man. The mean bonus gender pay gap increased to -14.7% and on average females received a bonus worth 14.7% more than received by males (Figure 3).

DCMS offered both in-year and end-of-year reward and recognition schemes for delegated grades and a separate scheme for Senior Civil Servants during 2020 - 2021. DCMS has a non-discriminatory pay strategy and continuously aims to ensure a strong gender balance in the values and proportion of those receiving non-consolidated bonuses.

Gender bonus gap data 2021

-38.1% Median Increased from -14.3% in 2020

14.7% Mean Increased from -0.2% in 2020

N.b. A minus percentage gender pay gap means that the gap favours women i.e in this instance, on average women are receiving higher bonus payments than men.

The department’s end of year performance awards are paid as a set value depending on grade and performance level, irrespective of gender. The higher the grade, the higher the award. End of year performance awards were given to all staff who receive an ‘exceeded’ rating in their annual appraisal.

In-year awards are paid to staff, regardless of working hours, to recognise performance which is commendable, exceptional or outstanding. These can be cash payments or vouchers.

Our analysis has highlighted that between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021:

• Women received proportionally more in-year bonuses^{[footnote 1]}

  • 52.7% of in-year bonuses were awarded to women.

• End-of-year bonuses were awarded proportionally overall to men and women

  • 55.7% of end-of-year bonuses were awarded to women.

• Of the total bonuses awarded, 52.4% were awarded to women and 47.6% to men

  • 52.9% of men and 49% of women in DCMS received a bonus.

Organisational structure

Figure 4: Departmental gender distribution

Staff	Male	Female	Total
All staff	46.3%	53.7%	100%
SCS	47.0%	53.0%	100%

DCMS’ headcount for all employees in scope for the calculations on the 31 March 2021 snapshot date was 1708 employees. Of this headcount, 1704 employees were identified as ‘full pay relevant employees’, as set out in the regulations, and included in the calculations. This included 53.7% women (Figure 4).

On the same date, the department had 116 Senior Civil Servants (SCS), 52.6% of whom were women. The proportion of women in the Senior Civil Service has decreased since our last report in 2020 where they accounted for 54.2% of the SCS. DCMS has no Executive Agencies. We have non-ministerial departments that will report their gender pay gap data separately.

Gender balance

As observed in 2020, DCMS has a higher proportion of women than men overall (Figure 5) and the department has maintained a higher representation of women than men at SCS, with more women than men in 3 out of the 4 grades at this level.

Figure 5: Gender balance at each grade

Staff	Male	Female	Total
All staff (1708)	46.19%	53.60%	100%
D (9)	66.67%	33.33%	100%
C (174)	31.03%	68.97%	100%
B (639)	46.64%	52.90%	100%
A (577)	48.70%	51.30%	100%
A(U) (193)	49.74%	50.26%	100%
SCS PB1 (84)	47.62%	52.38%	100%
SCS PB2 (27)	48.15%	48.15%	96.3%
SCS PB3 (4)	25.00%	75.00%	100%
SCS PB4 (1)	0.00%	100%	100%

Please note that some staff have gender categorised as gender unidentified and have been excluded from the gender pay gap calculations^{[footnote 2]}.

What the figures show:

• DCMS is close to achieving 50:50 representation between male and female staff in grades B to SCS2. Our largest Band (B) is showing 52.9% of women to men which is pleasing and reflects the overall departmental ratio.

• However, we continue to have higher representation of women than men at Band C with an increase from 63% to 69% between 2020 and 2021.

• As outlined in (figure 1) DCMS has an overrepresentation of women in the lowest quartile (60.8%) and this has contributed to widening the department’s mean gender pay gap.

Figure 6: Distribution of women by grade from 2020 and 2021

Distribution of female by grade	2020 Distribution	2021 Distribution
D	0.28%	0.33%
C	14.27%	13.11%
B	36.36%	36.94%
A	30.49%	32.35%
A(U)	11.33%	10.6%
SCS1	5.31%	4.81%
SCS2	1.54%	1.42%
SCS3	0.28%	0.33%
SCS4	0.14%	0.11%

We have seen an increase in the proportion of women in Grade A between 2020 and 2021 (from 30% to 32% respectively), although their distribution at A(U) and SCS1 has decreased over the same period.

To better understand the gender balance, we identified the men and women who were included in both the 2020 and 2021 calculations. We then compared any individual changes in grade between the two calculations (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Promotions between March 2020 and March 2021

Grade promoted from	Male	Female
C	14	22
B	33	48
A	19	14
A(U)	7	5
SCS PB1	2	1

This identified that between March 2020 and March 2021, 54.5% of internal promotees were women. A higher proportion of women were promoted from Band C (61%) and Band B (59%) however a greater proportion of men were promoted from Band A and A(U) at 58% and 59% respectively. The promotion of women from lower grades has contributed to the reduction in the median gender pay gap. However, the greater proportion of men being promoted into senior grades has contributed to a widening of the mean gender pay gap.

DCMS consists of three business groups, each headed by a Director-General (DG): Strategy & Operations, Digital & Media and Culture, Sport & Civil Society. DCMS has an ambitious location strategy to move 50% of its roles outside London by 2025 and as of August 2021 the department introduced National pay scales aligned to the standard Civil Service grading.

Last year the median male salary fell at the bottom of Band A whereas the median female salary was at the top of Band B - Finance. This year, both the median male and female are in the lower quartile of Band A contributing to the narrowing of our median gender pay gap.

Gender pay and bonus gap analysis

2021 marks the fifth year that DCMS has reported on its gender pay gap and analysed the influential factors. Although we should be held accountable to our headline figures, the calculation tells only part of the story and it is important that we interrogate the data to create targeted and evidence-based action plans.

In 2020, we identified that we had successfully reduced our gender pay gap by:

• Increasing transparency on pay and promotion processes including bonuses.

• Adjusting our pay bands to reduce the pay difference between those at the top of Band B and bottom of Band A.

• Promoting the uptake of Shared Parental Leave and flexible working patterns using our Senior Civil Servants as role models and our D&I Ambassadors as champions.

Following on from this, our main actions for 2021 to combat the increase in our pay gap were:

• To review our recruitment policies and practices to ensure they promote diversity and inclusion throughout.

• To continue careful consideration of salaries and bonuses awarded to Senior Civil Servants and introduce quarterly deadlines for in-year bonus spending and encourage reflection on diverse characteristics when nominating staff.

• To improve the support mechanisms for those taking parental leave.

Whilst these actions have been completed since our 2020 report, there is more work to be done to continue reducing our gender pay gap. Our most recent analysis identifies the following areas for focus:

• We will focus on achieving parity in the representation of men and women across the majority of grades in the department.

• We will continue to monitor our recruitment and promotion practices in order to encourage more women into A(U) and SCS roles and continue efforts to reduce the overrepresentation of women in junior grades, paying particular attention to Band C roles and providing development opportunities for women at that Grade to improve their chances of progression/promotion.

• We will move to a 100% In Year Reward scheme for delegated grades. The scheme will improve transparency, introduce a spot rate for reward values, with clear and consistent criteria for awards, quarterly voluntary peer reward panels and an inclusive approach to nominations.

• We will monitor the recruitment of men and women to national and London pay scales to ensure parity across the scales.

Comparison to the wider Civil Service

The 2021 Civil Service Gender Pay Gap data was published in July this year, as part of the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES). This year ACSES has adopted the same methodology for calculating GPG as that already used by departments, in line with legislation.

DCMS fares favourably in comparison to the Civil Service gender pay gap with the ACSES report recording a 8.1% mean and 7.8% median, down from 10.5% and 9.3% respectively in 2020. Furthermore, the DCMS median GPG of 0% is the lowest in comparison to the 23 ministerial departments and our mean GPG of 5.1% is 10th lowest.

Summary of actions

DCMS is committed to reducing the gender pay gap, and our approach to pay and bonuses seeks to reward all staff fairly, regardless of gender. With the analysis and knowledge in this report, DCMS is better equipped to closing the gender pay gap.

In addition to the actions and initiatives raised in our 2019 report and 2020 report, we launched the DCMS Diversity & Inclusion Strategy in 2020 which contains a range of actions to promote gender balance and drive change.

1. We will continue to review and improve our recruitment policies and practices to ensure they promote diversity and inclusion.

The recruitment team work closely with an external partner Vercida, who support in the attraction of female applicants to all opportunities at DCMS. We promote senior opportunities across the department through dedicated email campaigns to these individuals. We ensure the use of gender neutral language in all job descriptions and adverts. All interview panels are mandated to have a gender balance. Our 2020/21 annual diversity in recruitment deep-dive review highlights that more females were posted into the department than males, despite there being a higher % of male applicants.

2. We will encourage more consistency in reward spend with greater transparency.

DCMS will introduce a 100% In Year Reward scheme utilising spot rate reward values and removing reward value ranges. Implementation of quarterly voluntary peer reward panels will also ensure consistent and diverse decision making regarding reward. The new scheme will reduce the barriers to nomination allowing anyone to submit a reward nomination.

3. We will actively manage the DCMS talent pipeline to ensure fair and equal outcomes in career progression.

We are creating a D&I A(U) talent offer and will conduct more robust monitoring of the talent pipeline perspective to ensure representation is maintained. We will evaluate and take action from the findings of the Diversity Sponsorship scheme we recently piloted with women.

Declaration

We confirm that data reported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport is accurate and has been calculated according to the requirements and methodology set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017.

Sarah Tebbutt, Director for People and Workplace

Sarah Healey, Permanent Secretary

Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

4th Floor, 100 Parliament Street

London

SW1A 2BQ

www.gov.uk/dcms

November 2021

1. Based on the snapshot date 31 March 2020, 53.5% of DCMS employees in scope were female. ↩

2. The total % for the gender balance at Band B and SCS PB2 (Figure 5) is less than 100% as some individuals have gender categorised as gender unidentified. ↩