Defra's gender pay gap report 2019
Published 23 January 2020
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1. Introduction
Gender Pay Gap legislation (developed by the Government Equalities Office) introduced in April 2017, requires all employers of 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap for workers in scope as of 31 March 2018. 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 the average pay between all men and women in a workforce. If a workforce has a particularly high gender pay gap, this can indicate 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 deals with the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value. It is unlawful to pay people unequally because they are a man or a woman.
Building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the people we serve is one of the Civil Service’s top workforce priorities. Our collective aim is to make the Civil Service the UK’s most inclusive employer by 2020. Our Diversity & Inclusion Strategy outlines how we plan to achieve this. 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 characteristic.
This report analyses our gender pay gap figures in more detail, makes comparisons with our 2017 and 2018 data where relevant, and sets out what we are doing to close the gender pay gap in our department.
For the purposes of gender pay gap reporting, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) includes the core government department and Civil Service agencies; Rural Payments Agency (RPA), Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA),Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS). Unless specified all references to Defra in this paper refer to Defra and the Executive Agencies.
Here in Defra we are committed to closing our gender pay gap through our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy – and with reference to good practices highlighted by the Government Equality Offices.
We’re pleased that our gender pay gap has narrowed for the second year in a row and that the proportion of women in senior roles continues to increase. However, to truly represent the communities we serve across all parts of Defra, we know we have further work to do.
Tamara Finkelstein
Permanent Secretary
2. Summary
A summary of ordinary pay and bonus gaps for 2018-19 and across all years since gender pay gap reporting commenced.
2.1 Ordinary pay gap
Proportion of male and female employees in each pay quartile 2019
| Quartile | Female % | Male % |
|---|---|---|
| Lower quartile | 63.42% | 36.58% |
| Lower middle quartile | 57.09% | 42.91% |
| Upper middle quartile | 54.19% | 45.81% |
| Upper quartile | 47.50% | 52.50% |
Mean and median gender pay gaps 2019
| Mean gender pay gap | Median gender pay gap |
|---|---|
| 8.4% | 9.4% |
Gender pay gap (2017 to 2019)
| Defra (including Executive Agencies) | 2017% | 2018% | 2019% | % Difference from 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean Gender Pay Gap - Ordinary Pay | 11.5 | 9.8 | 8.4 | -1.4 |
| Median Gender Pay Gap - Ordinary pay | 12.1 | 11.7 | 9.4 | -2.3 |
2.2 Bonus gap
Proportion of men and women who received bonuses 2019
| Proportion of males receiving a bonus payment | Proportion of males receiving a bonus payment |
|---|---|
| 49% | 47% |
Mean and median gender bonus gaps 2019
| Mean bonus pay gap | 11.6% |
| Median bonus pay gap | 14.2% |
Bonus gap (2017 to 2019)
| Defra (including Executive Agencies) | 2017% | 2018% | 2019% | % Difference from 2018 |
| Mean Gender Pay Gap - Bonus pay in 12 months ending 31 March | 20.6 | 10 | 11.6 | 1.6 |
| Median Gender Pay Gap - Bonus pay in 12 months ending 31 March | 16.7 | 19 | 14.2 | -4.8 |
| Proportion of male employees paid a bonus in 12 months ending 31 March | 47 | 39 | 49 | 10.0 |
| Proportion of female employees paid a bonus in 12 months ending 31 March | 45 | 35 | 47 | 12.0 |
3. Gender make-up of the department
Overall 56% of Defra’s workforce are female and 51% of DEFRA’s Senior Civil Service posts are now held by women. This is an increase of 1% and 5% respectively on the 2018 figures.
The following table shows the distribution of female and male staff by grade from junior roles to senior roles in Defra. It shows that women are over fifty percent of the workforce at all grades except Grade 6/7. As a result, Defra does not currently have targets for the representation of women across its workforce overall, or at senior (SCS) levels. However, it is mindful that one of the obstacle to closing the gender pay gap is the overrepresentation of women in more junior grades and will consider how best to address this.
| Grade (increasing seniority) | Number of men (% of men who work in this grade) | Number of women (% of women who work in this grade) | % female |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA/AO | 656 (16%) | 1,192 (23%) | 65% |
| EO | 790 (19%) | 1,165 (22%) | 60% |
| HEO/SEO | 1,738 (42%) | 1,961 (38%) | 53% |
| Grade 6/7 | 882 (21%) | 787 (15%) | 47% |
| SCS (centrally managed only) | 89 (2%) | 93 (2%) | 51% |
| Total (including those with unknown grade) | 4,155 | 5,198 | 56% |
In comparison, this table shows the representation of women at each grade in the Civil Service overall, taken from the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Dashboard, 2019:
| Grade (increasing seniority) | % of women who work in this grade |
|---|---|
| AA/AO | 57.2% |
| EO | 56.1% |
| HEO/SEO | 50% |
| Grade 7 | 47,5% |
| Grade 6 | 45.3% |
| SCS | 45% |
| Women in the Civil Service overall | 53.9% |
4. Hourly pay quartiles
The quartiles have remained roughly the same from 2018, the percentage of women in the quartiles reduces as the quartiles go up, this illustrates that the pay gap may be largely due to an over representation of women in more junior grades – see table below. This is particularly evident in the lower two quartiles.
| Quartile | Female % 2017 | Female % 2018 | Female % 2019 | Female % Difference | Male % 2017 | Male % 2018 | Male % 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First (lower) quartile | 63.93 | 64.17 | 63.42 | -0.75 | 36.07 | 35.83 | 36.58 |
| Second quartile | 57.14 | 56.56 | 57.09 | 0.53 | 42.86 | 43.44 | 42.91 |
| Third Quartile | 50.48 | 52.96 | 54.19 | 1.23 | 49.52 | 47.04 | 45.81 |
| Fourth (upper) quartile | 42.86 | 45.44 | 47.5 | 2.06 | 57.14 | 54.56 | 52.5 |
5. Gender pay gap
Defra uses Civil Service grades ranging from Administrative Assistants (administrative level grade) to Senior Civil Servant (executive level grade). Grades vary according to the level of responsibility that staff have. Each grade has a set pay range with pay gaps in between grades. In general staff move through the pay range for their grade, therefore the longer period of time that someone has been in a grade the more likely they are to earn more irrespective of their gender.
Due to the increase of women in more senior grades, the mean gender pay gap has reduced by 1.4% from 2018 when it stood as 9.8% and the median gender pay gap has also reduced, by 2.3% from the 11.7% 2018 figure – see table below.
| Defra including Executive Agencies – publication data | 2017% | 2018% | 2019% | % Difference from 2018 |
| Mean Gender Pay Gap - Ordinary Pay | 11.5 | 9.8 | 8.4 | -1.4 |
| Median Gender Pay Gap - Ordinary pay | 12.1 | 11.7 | 9.4 | -2.3 |
| Mean Gender Pay Gap - Bonus pay in 12 months ending 31 March | 20.6 | 10 | 11.6 | 1.6 |
6. Bonus pay gap
The proportion of both men and women receiving bonuses has increased since 2018 by 12% each.
The mean bonus pay gap has widened by 1.6% since 2018 whilst the median bonus gap has narrowed by 4.8% during the same timeframe – see table below. This could be due to normal fluctuations in bonuses coupled with high representation of women in lower grades, and because more women work part-time. Bonus gap calculations are based on individual employee bonuses and do not differentiate between the bonuses of employees working full-time or part-time. This is important because women are more likely to work part-time leading to pro-rata bonuses. Unlike ordinary pay gap calculations which lead to hourly pay comparisons, bonus gap calculations lead to individual employee bonus comparisons – irrespective of whether they work full or part-time.
Defra’s performance awards were paid as a set value depending on grade and performance level, irrespective of gender. Bonuses were pro-rated for staff who worked part-time which lowers the average bonus pay for part time women. Women make up 56% of the workforce with 29% working part-time. In contrast only 6% of men work part-time. Defra is considering taking action to calculate the hourly bonus gap between women and men to mitigate the impact of awarding bonuses on a pro-rata basis and give a more realistic appraisal of the gap. It will also encourage more men to take up part-time and other forms of flexible working.
| Defra including Executive Agencies | 2017% | 2018% | 2019% | % Difference from 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean Gender Pay Gap - Bonus pay in 12 months ending 31 March | 20.6 | 10 | 11.6 | 1.6 |
| Median Gender Pay Gap - Bonus pay in 12 months ending 31 March | 16.7 | 19 | 14.2 | -4.8 |
| Proportion of male employees paid a bonus in 12 months ending 31 March | 47 | 39 | 49 | 10.0 |
| Proportion of female employees paid a bonus in 12 months ending 31 March | 45 | 35 | 47 | 12.0 |
7. Action to close the gender pay gap
Defra is committed to supporting the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy which sets out how we will become the most inclusive employer in the UK. We are working to close our gender pay gap by delivering a number of initiatives through our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy, through the contributions made by our Women’s Networks and by implementing appropriate actions from the Government Equality Office’s recommendations to close the gender pay gap and improve gender equality[footnote 1].
An Executive Committee level Gender Champion will be accountable for taking forward the actions below, in collaboration with our Diversity and Inclusion Team, our Women’s Networks which include men, and our Pay and Reward Team.
We provide active support for women returning to work following maternity or adoption leave. We offer shared parental leave, job share, part-time opportunities and flexible working. We will conduct investigations into the take-up of flexible working by men to ensure they have equal access to fulfilling their caring responsibilities and to support closing the gender pay gap.
We help women to progress their careers through schemes such as the Positive Action Pathway (a talent programme for under-represented groups) and Crossing Thresholds (a year- long career development programme for Women in the Civil Service). In addition to this, we will continue to address the intersectionality between gender and other diversity characteristics by taking action to improve their career progression through interventions such the Ethnic Minority Women’s Leadership Programme delivered in 2019.
We support a range of employee led networks supported and championed by Defra’s senior management and Equality and Diversity and Inclusion teams. Defra’s women’s network aims to help women reach their full potential by providing advice and support, contributing to policy development and establishing good practices. In addition to the Women’s network, Defra also has a Job Share Network, Parental Leave Buddy Network and a Work Life Balance Network. We will take more action to encouraged men to join these networks.
We monitor pay to identify any pay differences and take targeted action to ensure our processes are fair and transparent. In addition, we will conduct an analysis of our bonus gap with a focus on identifying an hourly gap, which takes into account part-time pro-rata bonuses, to give a different perspective on the gap between women and men’s bonuses.
We have improved the recruitment process through anonymised application processes, ensuring that all interviewers have undergone unconscious bias training and using diverse interview panels for selection. Recruitment data is monitored through the attraction, recruitment and selection process to identify areas for further improvement in recruiting a diverse workforce. We will continue to review and refresh our approach to resourcing to ensure the recruitment of women and men at all levels is inclusive. This will include considering whether or not specific action should be taken to attract men into the more junior grades where women are currently overrepresented – and what if any targets should be set.
8. Declaration
We confirm that data reported by Defra 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.
Defra Permanent Secretary: Tamara Finkelstein