Employers’ understanding of the gender pay gap and actions to tackle it: a research report

Question 1

1. Executive summary

Accepted Answer

1.1 Introduction

The government has recently introduced new gender pay gap (GPG) transparency regulations,^{[footnote 1]} which are designed to encourage large employers to take informed action to close their GPG where one exists. These regulations came into force in April 2017 and affect over 9,000 GB employers across the private, voluntary and public sectors.

This research provides a baseline measure of large employers’ understanding of the GPG and the transparency regulations, and the actions they are taking to close their GPG.

The core research consisted of a telephone survey of 900 large employers (with 250 or more staff), and 30 follow-up qualitative interviews to explore the key issues in more detail. It took place between March and May 2017.

An additional phase of 22 brief qualitative interviews was conducted among employers who had stated an intention to publish their GPG results in quarter 1 2017 but did not upload their data to the portal during this time. This additional research took place in September 2017.

1.2 Understanding of the GPG

Awareness of the term ‘gender pay gap’ was extremely high (98%). Half (48%) of all respondents (typically HR directors or managers) felt they had a good understanding of what the GPG was and how it was calculated, and a further 41% believed they had a reasonable understanding but were not sure of the specifics of how it was calculated. However, the qualitative interviews found that some of those reporting a good understanding could not provide a detailed or correct explanation of the GPG when asked.

Around two-thirds (63%) of respondents (typically HR directors or managers) reported that they had a good understanding of the difference between ‘closing the GPG’ and ‘ensuring equal pay between men and women’. In most cases they were reasonably confident that this knowledge extended to the top levels of the organisation. Over half (54%) believed that their board or leadership team had a fairly good understanding of the GPG and how it differs from equal pay, and a significant minority (17%) felt they had a very good understanding.

In all of the above areas, self-reported understanding was highest among public sector organisations and those with 1,000 or more employees.

The qualitative research suggests that many employers had not engaged with the topic of GPG before the introduction of the new regulations. Therefore, levels of understanding were mixed and somewhat superficial. As mentioned above, some of those claiming a good understanding in the quantitative survey were not able to spontaneously provide a clear or correct definition of GPG. This was typically due to confusion between GPG and equal pay. To clarify, the Gender Pay Gap is a measure of the difference between the average hourly earnings of men and women. In contrast, equal pay deals with the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same work, similar work or work of equal value, and it is unlawful to pay men and women unequally based on their gender.

1.3 Measuring the GPG and other gender analysis

Almost one-third of organisations (31%) had measured their GPG in the previous 12 months, so prior to the new transparency regulations coming into force. The qualitative interviews suggest that many of these employers had done so as a ‘dry run’ in advance of the regulations coming into force, and incidence of ‘true’ voluntary GPG measurement (not driven by the regulations) was low. It should be noted that these employers had not always calculated their GPG in a way that was entirely consistent with the approach mandated in the new regulations.

The proportion of employers that had measured their GPG increased in line with organisation size, ranging from 23% of those with 250 to 499 employees up to 47% of those with 1,000 or more employees. It was also higher in the public sector (40%).

The majority (58%) of large employers had conducted other gender analysis in the past 12 months. The most common other analyses were calculating the proportions of male and female employees at different pay levels (41%), measuring the proportions paid bonuses (31%) and examining the differences in average bonuses paid (24%). Larger organisations with 1,000 or more employees were considerably more likely to have conducted each of these types of gender analysis, as were those that had also measured their GPG.

The results of the GPG or other gender analysis were typically communicated to senior levels of the organisation, with two-thirds (66%) sharing them with the leadership team or board and a similar proportion (62%) sharing them with senior management. This analysis has also prompted employers to take action, with 38% using it to inform or revise their HR practices and 26% developing plans or strategies to address gender issues.

However, relatively few (11%) had communicated or published the results of their gender analysis externally. This finding supports the move to mandate publication of GPG data through the new transparency regulations. It should be noted that public sector organisations were considerably more open in this respect, with 42% having communicated the results externally (compared to 11% of voluntary and just 4% of private sector employers). This may be linked to the Public Sector Equality Duty, which requires public bodies with over 150 employees to report on the diversity of their workforce, as some organisations had published gender pay gap data as part of this.

1.4 Reducing the GPG

Employer attitudes to reducing the GPG varied widely, with 24% allocating it a high priority, 37% a medium priority and 33% a low (or non) priority.

Those treating their GPG as a high priority were typically motivated by moral or ethical considerations, such as a desire to be fair, provide equal opportunities. However, one-fifth (20%) identified the new regulations as the key driver.

Employers that allocated a lower priority to reducing their GPG often did so because they believed they did not have a (large) gender pay gap. However, a significant proportion felt it did not apply because all their workers were already paid equally regardless of gender, suggesting a degree of confusion between GPG and equal pay.

The qualitative research found that although there was a wide range of attitudes towards GPG, the fact that it was often ‘new’ to employers and had not been given much consideration to date meant that a somewhat passive mindset was common. Many of the interviewed employers were waiting until they had measured and analysed their GPG data before thinking in detail about whether and how to address any gap.

Reflecting this, the majority of employers had not yet developed any plans to reduce their GPG, with 50% intending to do so but 20% having no intention to take any action. While one-fifth (21%) had developed a formalised GPG plan, only 6% had already undertaken any of the actions in this plan. The proportion that had already developed a formal plan was highest among 1,000 or more employee organisations (34%).

However, the qualitative interviews found that few of these plans had been put in place specifically to address GPG. They either related to broader gender equality strategies (not developed with GPG in mind) or referred to a range of ad hoc measures implemented for various purposes (for example, increasing staff retention, attracting more female staff).

The most common measures included in these action plans were offering or promoting flexible working (71%) and promoting parental leave policies that encouraged both men and women to share childcare (65%). Half (51%) involved trying to change the organisational culture and over one-third included voluntary internal targets (39%) and women-specific recruitment, promotion or mentoring schemes (35%).

There appeared to be some reluctance to publicise GPG reduction measures, with only one-third (33%) of those that had or intended to develop a plan indicating that they would publish this externally (for example, on their website, in their annual report).

The greatest perceived barrier to reducing the GPG was difficulty attracting women to the organisation or to certain roles, with 14% mentioning the challenge of recruiting or promoting women, 10% highlighting the male-dominated nature of their sector and 5% identifying the fact that women do (or apply for) different types of job. These issues were most prevalent in the construction, manufacturing and financial sectors.

1.5 The GPG transparency regulations

Awareness of the new GPG transparency regulations was high (88%). In terms of knowledge, over half (54%) stated that they understood what was required and how to do it, and a further fifth (20%) felt that they knew what was required but were uncertain of how to go about it. The level of understanding increased in line with organisation size.

Perhaps reflecting the fact that they still had a year before the GPG reporting deadline, half of employers had done relatively little preparation by the time of the survey (30% had reviewed the requirements but nothing more, 7% had not thought about them at all, and 11% were unaware of them). The remainder believed they were already in a position to meet the regulatory requirements (17%) or had developed a plan for how they would do so (32%).

The larger the employer, the more likely they were to have prepared for the regulations. 60% of those with 1,000 or more employees reported that they were already able to meet them or had drawn up a plan, compared to just 42% of those with 250 to 499 employees.

Readiness was also greater in the public sector, with 62% of these organisations able to meet the regulations or with a plan in place to do so.

Generally, those employers interviewed in the qualitative stage regarded complying with the regulations as a high priority, usually because it was a legal requirement and they were keen to avoid penalties. However, although important, they did not see it as an urgent matter (due to the reporting timescales). As such, they tended not to have firm timetables in place for the compliance process and these tasks were often fitted in around other commitments.

If employers needed assistance in complying with the new GPG transparency regulations, most stated they would contact Acas (30%), a legal professional or advisor (30%), an external consultant (23%) or GEO (17%). Over half (59%) had already read the GEO and Acas guidance on GPG reporting.

The most widely mentioned types of support required were guidance on how to report their GPG (19%) and on how to measure their GPG (18%). However, one-third of employers (32%) did not feel they would need any external assistance, and the qualitative research suggests that most employers found the process of collating data and making calculations to be straightforward. It should be noted that employers were yet to tackle the reporting and interpretation of their GPG data, which was anticipated to be the most challenging aspect.

The majority (57%) of employers had not yet decided on a publication date. Many of the qualitative interviewees indicated they were delaying publishing their gender pay data until others had done so, in order to see how other organisations presented and explained the data.

The quantitative survey was conducted in March and April 2017, and at this point a significant proportion of employers intended to publish their GPG data much earlier than the April 2018 deadline, with 18% planning to do so in the first 2 quarters of the 2017 to 2018 financial year. However, it should be noted that the proportion of employers who actually went on to report their results in this time period was significantly lower than implied by the survey results. The initial qualitative research found that employers’ publication plans were not set in stone, which may explain the lower than expected rate of early reporting. Most interviewees described general ambitions, rather than set dates, and there was evidence of these being pushed back in response to other priorities.

Further qualitative interviews among employers that had intended to publish in the first quarter of the 2017 to 2018 financial year confirmed that other issues or tasks had often taken priority over early compliance with the GPG regulations. In addition, these interviews found that some employers had found the process more involved than expected, others had delayed their activity due to circumstantial factors such as restructuring of the organisation or delays in receiving data from third party payroll systems providers, and a few had published their GPG results on their own websites but not on the government portal.

Just 1 in 5 employers intended to publish any additional information alongside the mandatory reporting, and in most cases this was a narrative commentary on the results (15%). Private sector organisations were least inclined to go beyond the basic requirements, with 83% either not planning to produce additional information or unsure as to whether they would do so.

A minority of organisations intended to adopt a comprehensive and active approach to communicating their GPG results (16% for employees and 11% for external stakeholders). However, most either indicated that this would depend on the results or were unsure as to their communication strategy.

Question 2

2. Introduction

Accepted Answer

This report provides the findings from a study commissioned by the Government Equalities Office (GEO) and carried out by OMB Research. The research provides evidence on large employers’ understanding of the gender pay gap (GPG), the action they are taking to close it, and their response to the new GPG transparency regulations.

The research used both quantitative and qualitative methodologies and was conducted between March and May 2017.^{[footnote 2]}

2.1 Background

The government has committed to eliminate the gender pay gap within a generation. The GPG is an overall measure which reflects differences in median^{[footnote 3]} hourly earnings and labour market participation by gender. Currently the overall gender pay gap for all employees (18.1%) is the lowest since records began.^{[footnote 4]}

Employers are well placed to tackle many of the issues that drive the GPG. In 2011, the government launched the Think, Act, Report initiative, a set of principles and suggestions on how to improve gender equality in the workplace. While over 300 businesses signed up to Think, Act, Report only a small proportion of these voluntarily published gender pay gap information.

New regulations introducing mandatory gender pay gap reporting for large employers should encourage employers to take informed action to close their GPG where there is one. These regulations came into force in April 2017 and require private and voluntary sector organisations with 250 or more employees to publish GPG statistics every year. The same requirements have been introduced for public sector organisations in England (and non-devolved authorities operating across Great Britain) by amending the Specific Duties regulations made under Section 153 of the Equality Act 2010.

The Government Equalities Office (GEO) commissioned OMB Research to develop a robust research programme to provide a baseline measure of large employers’ understanding of the GPG and the transparency regulations, and understand the actions they are taking to close their GPG.

The primary aims of the research were:

to provide insight on employers’ understanding of the GPG, including current levels of awareness of the GPG, understanding of the transparency regulations, ability to interpret GPG statistics and understanding of the factors that influence their GPG
to understand how employers are planning to comply with the regulations, including when they plan to publish their statistics and what support employers think they need to be compliant
to gather detail on the actions employers are planning or taking to address their GPG and employers’ experiences of taking action
to understand the perceived barriers to taking action

The core elements of this research took place between March and May 2017, so coincided with the introduction of the new GPG transparency regulations. We acknowledge that there was therefore heightened attention on GPG at the time of the survey, but do not expect this to have had a significant bearing on the results.

2.2 Methodology

The research consisted of a quantitative survey of large employers, supplemented by qualitative depth interviews with a selection of those interviewed in the main survey.

Quantitative survey

Telephone interviews were conducted with 900 large employers between 10 March and 28 April 2017, and covered private, voluntary and public sector organisations with 250 or more employees. Interviews lasted an average of 22 minutes and were conducted with HR directors or managers or other senior staff able to talk about their organisation’s strategy in relation to gender pay differences. The survey communications positioned the research as focusing on gender in the workplace but did not specifically reference GPG.

The sample was provided by the Office for National Statistics and was sourced from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), which has comprehensive coverage of large employers. All employers in Northern Ireland, and public sector organisations in Scotland and Wales, were excluded from the sample as they are not subject to the GPG transparency regulations.

Quotas were set on broad sector, size band and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code to ensure good coverage of the large employer population. While these quotas were largely representative of the target population, the voluntary and public sectors were over-sampled to allow robust sub-analysis. For example, voluntary sector organisations account for 13% of the large employer universe but made up 27% of the interviews conducted. This resulted in statistical confidence intervals of:

plus or minus 4.7% for the private sector
plus or minus 5.6% for the voluntary sector
plus or minus 5.5% for the public sector^{[footnote 5]}

Table 1 sets out the profile of all large GB employers subject to the GPG transparency regulations, and the profile of the achieved interviews.

Table 1: Universe and achieved interviews by sector and size

Sector	Size	Universe (ONS data): number	Universe (ONS data): %	Interviews: number	Interviews: %
Private	250 to 499 employees	3,659	39%	192	21%
Private	500 to 999 employees	1,801	19%	113	13%
Private	1,000 or more employees	1,651	17%	101	11%
Private	Sub-total: Private	7,111	75%	406	45%
Voluntary	250 to 499 employees	611	6%	133	15%
Voluntary	500 to 999 employees	303	3%	55	6%
Voluntary	1,000 or more employees	282	3%	55	6%
Voluntary	Sub-total: Voluntary	1,196	13%	243	27%
Public	250 to 499 employees	412	4%	87	10%
Public	500 to 999 employees	212	2%	46	5%
Public	1,000 or more employees	533	6%	118	13%
Public	Sub-total: Public	1,157	12%	251	28%
Total		9,464	100%	900	100%

Overall, 91% of the interviews were conducted with organisations based in England, 6% in Scotland and 3% in Wales. This exactly replicates the geographical distribution of the larger employer universe.

The final survey data was then weighted back to the true profile of large GB employers, with the weights applied based on a combination of size (employee numbers) and sector.

Qualitative depth interviews

In addition to the main survey, a total of 30 qualitative follow-up interviews were completed during May 2017. These depth interviews were conducted by telephone and lasted an average of 30 minutes.

The sample consisted of respondents to the initial quantitative survey who had given consent to be contacted for further GEO research on the gender pay gap. Interlocking quotas were set on level of engagement with GPG (derived from the survey data^{[footnote 6]}) and size of business. The quotas were intentionally skewed towards employers that were less engaged with GPG, in order to better understand why they did not consider it to be a priority.

The achieved interview profile is set out in the following table.

Table 2: Qualitative interviews by GPG engagement and size

GPG engagement	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees	Total
Already taking action or engaged	3	2	3	8
Planning or likely to take action	3	4	3	10
Not taking action or unengaged	4	4	4	12
Total	10	10	10	30

Further quotas were set on broad sector. Overall, 19 of the qualitative interviews were conducted with the private sector, 6 with the voluntary sector and 5 with the public sector. As far as possible within the constraints of the above quotas, a representative spread was also achieved by SIC and region (including coverage of the devolved administrations).

Following analysis of the main research findings, further qualitative interviews were then conducted among employers who had indicated an intention to publish their GPG results in quarter 1 of the 2016 to 2017 financial year, but who had not yet done so via the GPG reporting portal. The purpose of this additional stage was to understand the reasons for not publishing within the intended timelines. We conducted 22 qualitative interviews lasting 5 to 10 minutes among a cross section of these employers. Results from this additional stage have been referenced at various points in this report, and full details of the methodology, sample and key findings can be found in Annex B.

2.3 Analysis and reporting conventions

This report contains findings from both the quantitative survey and the qualitative follow- up interviews. Where results are based on the qualitative data, this is clearly identified.

Quantitative reporting

Throughout this report, references to ‘all employers’ and the ‘total’ column in the charts and tables refer only to the employer population sampled for the survey – GB private, public and voluntary sector organisations with 250 or more employees.

Unless explicitly noted, all quantitative findings are based on weighted data. Unweighted bases (the number of responses from which the findings are derived) are displayed on tables and charts as appropriate to give an indication of the robustness of results.

The quantitative data presented in this report is from a sample of large employers rather than the total population. This means the results are subject to sampling error.

Differences between sub-groups are commented on only if they are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level (unless otherwise stated). This means that there is at least a 95% probability that any reported differences are real and not a consequence of sampling error.^{[footnote 7]}

When interpreting the data presented in this report, please note that results may not sum to 100% due to rounding or due to employers being able to select more than one answer to a question.

Qualitative reporting

It should be noted that the qualitative phase of the research was based on interviews with a small sample of employers. Although the weight of opinion has sometimes been provided for clarity and transparency, these findings should be treated as indicative and cannot necessarily be extrapolated to the wider population.

Direct quotations have been provided as illustrative examples. However, in some cases these have been abbreviated or paraphrased for the sake of brevity and comprehension (without altering the original sense of the quote).

Question 3

3. Understanding of the GPG

Accepted Answer

This chapter explores employers’ awareness and understanding of the gender pay gap. More specifically, it covers:

awareness of the term “gender pay gap”
understanding of what the GPG refers to and how it is calculated
understanding of the difference between closing the GPG and ensuring equal pay between men and women

3.1 Awareness and understanding of the GPG

Overall, almost half (48%) of respondents felt they had a good understanding of what the GPG is and how it is calculated. Only 2% had never heard of the term “gender pay gap”. However, the qualitative interviews suggested that not all of those who claimed good knowledge of GPG actually had a full or correct understanding of this, as discussed later in this chapter.

Figure 1: Self-reported understanding of the GPG

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Never heard of it	2%	3%	2%	0%	4%	1%	1%
Heard term but don’t know anything about it	1%	1%	0%	0%	1%	2%	1%
Limited understanding of what it refers to	7%	8%	5%	5%	9%	8%	4%
Reasonable understanding but not of how it’s calculated	41%	41%	44%	38%	43%	42%	34%
Good understanding of what it is and how it is calculated	48%	47%	49%	58%	43%	47%	60%

Base: All respondents (Base, Don’t know). Total (900, 0%), Private (406, 0%), Voluntary (243, 0%), Public (251, 0%), 250 to 499 (412, 0%), 500 to 999 (214, 0%), 1,000 or more (274, 0%)

Public sector organisations and those with 1,000 or more employees were most likely to report that they had a good understanding of the GPG (58% and 60% respectively).

However, there were no differences based on the proportion of women on the senior management team, or in the organisation’s workforce as a whole.

Those claiming a good understanding of what the GPG is and how it is calculated were also more likely to have read the GEO and Acas guidance on the subject (76% versus 42% of those with less comprehensive understanding).

Qualitative insight

Evidence from the qualitative interviews provides further detail about levels of understanding of the GPG, how it is calculated and how to interpret it. While some of those claiming a good understanding of what the GPG is and how it is calculated could provide a detailed and accurate description, others were not able to correctly describe this. Their unprompted descriptions were sometimes vague, and sometimes incorrect (mostly due to a confusion between GPG and equal pay).

“It’s measuring the average pay of people doing the same job, making sure it is the same for men and women.” (250 to 499 employees, private sector)

Many explained that they had been unaware of the definition of the GPG before the new regulations were announced, and their understanding was primarily gained from either reading GEO and Acas guidance on the topic or from attending seminars or training courses run by law firms, recruitment agencies or professional bodies. Those reporting a good prior knowledge had often previously measured their GPG and other related gender statistics. Most were public sector organisations.

“Yes, it is the mean and median pay of men and women in the workforce. It is similar to what we have measured before, but the calculations have changed slightly with the new regulations.” (500 to 999 employees, public sector)

Those reporting limited or no understanding of the GPG and how it is calculated generally explained that they had not yet taken the time to fully engage with the new regulations and associated guidance. They were likely to confuse GPG with equal pay, or in some cases simply state that they were not sure what the GPG was beyond its connection to men and women’s pay.

“Well, that’s a difficult one. I am not sure exactly what it means. We haven’t really given it the time to find out yet.” (1,000 or more employees, voluntary sector)

The qualitative interviews also suggested a lack of understanding about how to interpret GPG data. Some respondents explained that they were unsure exactly what the different measures signified about their workforces and organisations. Others were particularly concerned about how best to present the data to protect their reputations as fair employers.

3.2 Understanding of difference between GPG and equal pay

Almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents believed they had a good understanding of the difference between ‘closing the gender pay gap’ and ‘ensuring equal pay between men and women’. A further 30% knew there was a difference but were not sure of the detail, and just 6% had either not heard of the GPG or did not know it differed from equal pay.

Figure 2: Understanding of the difference between ‘closing the GPG’ and ‘ensuring equal pay’

Response	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Not heard of GPG	2%	3%	2%	0%	4%	1%	1%
Didn’t know there was a difference	4%	4%	4%	2%	6%	4%	1%
Know there’s a difference but not exactly sure what this is	30%	31%	30%	22%	31%	30%	26%
Good understanding of how they differ	63%	60%	63%	76%	57%	64%	71%

Base: All respondents (Base, Don’t know). Total (900, 1%). Private (406, 2%), Voluntary (243, 0%), Public (251, 0%). 250 to 499 (412, 2%), 500 to 999 (214, 1%), 1,000 or more (274, 1%)

The proportion with a good understanding was highest among public sector organisations (76%). It also increased in line with size, ranging from 57% of those with 250 to 499 employees up to 71% of those with 1,000 or more employees.

Three-quarters (74%) of those that had read the GEO and Acas guidance on the GPG had a good understanding of how this differed from equal pay (compared to 46% of those not reading the guidance).

It should be considered that this data refers to respondents’ own perceptions of their understanding, and other evidence from this research indicates that this may not always be wholly accurate. A significant proportion did not see closing their GPG as a priority because they already paid equally regardless of gender (see Chapter 5.1), suggesting a degree of conflation between the concepts of GPG and equal pay. This is consistent with the qualitative findings, as discussed below.

Qualitative insight

During the qualitative interviews, when asked to provide a definition of GPG, most respondents included reference to equality of pay between men and women working in the same roles. The difference between GPG and equal pay was not always clearly described, and many respondents felt that the 2 concepts overlapped or explained that they were confused about exactly how they differ.

“It is the difference in pay between men and women, but I am not sure exactly. I think there is a real blurring between this and equal pay.” (1,000 or more employees, public sector)

However, a number of respondents were more informed and explicitly mentioned that GPG was not the same as equal pay.

“Gender Pay Gap is the difference in average pay between men and women, but not just those doing the same job…it is not the same as equal pay.” (250 to 499 employees, voluntary sector)

Some respondents expressed concern that their staff and prospective candidates would not understand the meaning of GPG or how it differs from equal pay. They were worried that if their organisation reported a significant GPG this could be interpreted as them paying men and women different amounts for doing the same job.

“It is definitely a confusing measurement. I am sure that most people would not know the difference between this and equal pay. I am worried about what the staff might think when the numbers are published, whether they will think it means we don’t pay men and women equally.” (1,000 or more employees, private sector)

Some added that without more comprehensive and impactful communication from government on this topic, there was potential for businesses to be viewed negatively by their customers and the public at large.

3.3 Leadership team’s understanding and engagement

When asked specifically about their leadership team or board, most (54%) felt that this group had a ‘fairly’ good understanding of the gender pay gap and the difference between this and equal pay. Only a minority (17%) described their leadership team as having a ‘very’ good understanding of this issue.

Table 3: Leadership team’s perceived understanding of GPG and the difference from equal pay

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Very good	17%	17%	15%	22%	14%	19%	22%
Fairly good	54%	53%	53%	57%	54%	52%	55%
Fairly poor	19%	19%	22%	14%	18%	21%	18%
Very poor	4%	4%	1%	2%	5%	4%	2%
Don’t know	4%	4%	5%	5%	6%	2%	2%
Not heard of the GPG	2%	3%	2%	0%	4%	1%	1%

Base: All respondents

Public sector organisations and those with 1,000 or more employees had the most confidence in their leadership team’s understanding of this issue, with more than three-quarters (79% and 77% respectively) judging this to be ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ good.

Qualitative insight

Qualitative exploration suggested that consideration of GPG as a specific issue had not been commonplace in the past. As such, senior management did not always have a clear understanding of the purpose of measuring GPG or the benefit to them or their employees. Engagement in the topic was therefore often said to be limited to, or focused on, how to comply with the regulations and the impact that publishing data would have.

In cases where the leadership team was said to have a strong understanding of the difference between GPG and equal pay, GPG had often been part of a broader strategy to measure and hit targets on diversity and equality. Respondents in these organisations also more commonly described senior leaders as the driving force behind both compliance with regulations and tackling GPG more generally.

“The board are all very aware of this issue, as with gender issues in general. They have implemented a range of policies and strategies in recent years.” (1,000 or more employees, private sector)

“Equality and diversity are really at the heart of everything we do here. The senior team are keen to make sure we measure this type of data and consider the diversity implications of all new policies and procedures.” (500 to 999 employees, public sector)

Some respondents explained that understanding of GPG was inconsistent within their leadership team. They noted that those in the leadership team with an HR or finance focus were more likely to be engaged in, and knowledgeable about, GPG.

HR managers sometimes reported that they had introduced GPG and the new regulations to their leadership team, who would otherwise have been unaware of it. However, a number felt that this information had probably been forgotten by most or all senior managers, and was not likely to be mentioned again until the GPG figures had been shared with them.

“I prepared a report on the dry run data a few months ago, so they know it is coming. But I don’t think they are giving it much thought at the moment.” (250 to 499 employees, private sector)

In some cases, respondents were unsure what senior manager understood about GPG. Some assumed that board members would have taken time to learn about the issue, while others were more sceptical. These more sceptical respondents explained that the leadership team were either disengaged with topics relating to gender equality in general, or were confident that they did not have a GPG and therefore were simply not concerned about it.

“This is a family business, run in a particular way. The board have lots of other things on their mind. They won’t have given this any thought yet.” (250 to 499 employees, private sector)

The qualitative interviews provide some evidence that a lack of understanding at board level can directly result in resistance to engagement with GPG and the new regulations. Some senior managers were concerned that their GPG might give the impression that their organisation did not pay men and women equally for doing the same work. They were not sure exactly what would be measured and how, leading to some ‘fear of the unknown’.

“I think some of the senior team were quite concerned about this when they first heard about the regulations. They were worried about being seen as paying unequal wages to men and women. I don’t think they fully understood it.” (500 to 999 employees, private sector)

Question 4

4. Measuring the GPG and other gender analysis

Accepted Answer

This chapter looks at the extent to which employers had previously conducted analysis to identify differences between men and women’s pay in their organisation. Specifically, it covers:

whether employers have calculated their GPG
whether the GPG was measured in a similar way to that required by the new transparency regulations
other types of gender analysis carried out
how the GPG or other gender analysis is communicated and used

4.1 Measuring the GPG

Almost one-third (31%) of organisations had measured their GPG in the last 12 months, although only half (52%) of these respondents knew what their GPG was at the last measurement.

The mean GPG among organisations that had measured it in the last 12 months (n=159) was 14%, compared to the national average of 18%. However, it may be that those voluntarily measuring their GPG prior to the regulations coming into force were more engaged with the topic and therefore not representative of the wider population of large employers. This is supported by the qualitative findings, as discussed later in this chapter.

Figure 3: Employers measuring their GPG in last 12 months

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
% measured GPG in last 12 months	31%	29%	29%	40%	23%	29%	47%
% of those measuring that knew their score	52%	50%	61%	55%	49%	57%	52%
Mean GPG (if measured)	14%	14%	12%	17%	18%	12%	13%

Base: All respondents (Base, Don’t know if measured GPG). Total (900, 7%). Private (406, 7%), Voluntary (243, 8%), Public (251, 3%). 250 to 499 (412, 7%), 500 to 999 (214, 6%), 1,000 or more (274, 7%)

Organisations with 1,000 or more employees were most likely to have measured their GPG (47%). Smaller organisations (250 to 499 employees) were least likely to have done so (23%), but reported the highest mean GPG (18%).

Public sector organisations were also more likely to have measured their GPG, and their mean GPG was higher (17%, compared to 14% for private and 12% for voluntary).

Again, it should be considered that those that had already measured this may not be reflective of all large employers, and may have lower than average GPGs.

There are a number of reasons why the public sector may be more engaged with the GPG issue. Firstly, public bodies with over 150 employees were already reporting on the diversity of their workforce under the Public Sector Equality Duty, and some of the interviewed employers may have undertaken gender pay gap analysis as part of this.

This was supported by the qualitative interviews, which found a particularly formalised and strategic approach to monitoring equality and inclusivity among public sector organisations. Secondly, early compliance with the regulations is arguably more important to the public sector from a reputational perspective.

Respondents who had calculated their GPG were asked a series of questions to determine whether they had done so in a way that was broadly consistent with the approach required under the new government legislation on gender pay transparency.

Four-fifths (80%) had calculated the median pay gap, two-thirds (69%) had presented the difference as a percentage of male average pay and a similar proportion (66%) had calculated it based on hourly pay (rather than annual salary).

Figure 4: Consistency in GPG reporting

80% calculated the median pay gap.

4% just calculated the median gap, and 75% calculated both the median and the mean.
8% just mean.
12% don’t know.

69% presented difference as percentage of male average pay.

9% other.
22% don’t know.

66% calculated on hourly pay.

52% calculated just on hourly pay, and 14% calculated on both hourly and annual pay.
26% annual pay.
8% don’t know.

Base: All that have measured GPG (Base). Total (291)

As this demonstrates, some organisations calculated their GPG in a way that is not entirely consistent with the mandated approach. However, when the mean GPG was analysed solely based on those using an approach that matches that set out in the regulations, it remained at 14%.

Qualitative insight

Among the qualitative sample, most of those interviewees who had measured their GPG in the previous 12 months had done so as a ‘dry run’ in advance of the regulations coming into force. This suggests that the incidence of ‘true’ voluntary GPG measurement (not driven by the regulations) may be low.

“We did a dip back in December, really just to see if there was anything that we needed to worry about…no, we would not have done that were it not for the regulations.” (500 to 999 employees, private sector)

The small minority of organisations that had measured their GPG for non-regulatory reasons were more focussed on gender and equality issues, and also reported that they were already taking action on GPG.

4.2 Conducting other gender analysis

Respondents were also asked whether their organisation had done any other gender analysis in the last 12 months.

Table 4: Other gender analysis undertaken in last 12 months

Top mentions only (5% or more)	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more emloyees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Proportions of males and females at different levels of pay hierarchy	41%	36%	47%	65%	32%	39%	59%
Proportions of males and females paid bonuses	31%	35%	22%	16%	25%	28%	46%
Difference in average bonuses paid to males and females	24%	27%	17%	13%	18%	21%	38%
Other analysis looking at differences between male and female employees	31%	27%	37%	50%	25%	32%	42%
Not done any other gender analysis	42%	46%	38%	24%	50%	45%	24%

Base: All respondents

Over half (58%) of large employers reported that they had had conducted other gender analysis in the previous 12 months. Two-fifths (41%) had analysed the proportions of male and female employees at different pay levels, one-third (31%) had measured the proportions paid bonuses, and one-quarter (24%) had calculated the difference in the average bonuses paid.

One-third (31%) of organisations had also conducted some ‘other’ type of analysis looking at differences between male and female employees. When asked to provide details, the most widely mentioned analyses were assessing the gender balance at different levels of seniority (8% of all organisations), detailed salary bands by gender (5%), the gender balance of new employees (5%) and promotion rates by gender (4%).

Larger organisations with 1,000 or more employees were considerably more likely to have conducted each of the types of gender analysis detailed in Table 4.

Public sector organisations were most likely to have measured the proportions of males and females at different pay levels and undertaken ‘other’ gender analysis. However, private sector organisations were comparatively more likely to have assessed the proportions paid bonuses and the average value of these bonuses. This was particularly true of private sector firms with 1,000 or more employees (54% had analysed the proportion paid bonuses and 46% had calculated the difference in the value of these bonuses by gender).

Those organisations that had measured their GPG in the past 12 months were significantly more likely to have also conducted other types of gender analysis (87% versus 45% of those that had not measured their GPG).

4.3 Communicating and using GPG and other gender analysis

When asked about how they had used any of their GPG or other gender analysis, the most commonly reported actions were sharing results with the leadership team or board (66%) or senior management (62%). A further 38% indicated that it had informed their HR policies or practices and 26% had developed a plan or strategy to address the issues identified.

However, relatively few employers (11%) had communicated or published the results of their gender analysis externally.

Table 5: How employers have communicated and used their GPG or gender analysis

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	597	240	154	203	233	138	226
Shared with leadership team or board	66%	62%	76%	79%	59%	74%	70%
Shared with senior management	62%	56%	70%	79%	58%	64%	65%
Used it to inform or revise HR policy and practices	38%	32%	41%	58%	33%	40%	42%
Developed formal action plan or strategy to address gender issues	26%	23%	25%	38%	19%	28%	32%
Shared with wider workforce	15%	9%	16%	43%	13%	16%	18%
Communicated or published it externally	11%	4%	11%	42%	8%	9%	16%
Other actions	4%	3%	5%	6%	2%	5%	5%
None of these	14%	15%	12%	8%	18%	9%	11%
Don’t know	3%	3%	1%	0%	2%	1%	4%

Base: All that have measured GPG or done other gender analysis

Smaller employers and those in the private sector were least likely to have shared the results of any gender analysis with internal audiences (for example, leadership team, senior management, the wider workforce) or to have amended their HR practices as a result.

Public sector organisations were considerably more transparent with their gender analysis, with 42% communicating the results externally and 43% sharing them with their wider workforce. In contrast, only 4% of private sector employers had published their results.

Question 5

5. Reducing the GPG

Accepted Answer

This chapter looks at the extent to which employers are seeking to reduce their gender pay gap, and the approaches they are adopting to do so. Specifically, it covers:

the degree to which reducing the GPG is a priority, and the reasons behind this
the extent to which employers have developed (and acted on) plans to reduce their GPG
the specific actions or measures developed to reduce their GPG
the extent to which the success of these measures is evaluated
the main challenges or barriers to reducing the GPG

5.1 Priority given to reducing the GPG

There was a broad spectrum of employer attitudes when it came to the perceived importance of reducing their GPG (or ensuring they continued to have no GPG in the long term). Overall, one-quarter (24%) considered this to be a high priority, one-third (37%) a medium priority, one-fifth (21%) a low priority, and 13% judged it not to be a priority at all.

Figure 5: Priority given to reducing the GPG

Response	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Not a priority at all	13%	14%	13%	5%	16%	13%	7%
A low priority	21%	22%	18%	18%	23%	22%	15%
A medium priority	37%	35%	38%	45%	32%	40%	43%
A high priority	24%	24%	25%	28%	24%	21%	29%

Base: All respondents (Base, Don’t know). Total (900, 5%). Private (406, 5%), Voluntary (243, 6%), Public (251, 4%). 250 to 499 (412, 5%), 500 to 999 (214, 4%), 1,000 or more (274, 6%)

Public sector organisations and those with 1,000 or more employees were comparatively more likely to allocate a high or medium priority to reducing their GPG (73% and 72% respectively).

Employers with greater female representation at senior management level were less inclined to treat the GPG as a high priority (13% of those where over three-quarters of the management team were female, compared to 26% of those where less than a quarter of the management team were female). This was largely because they did not believe they had a pay gap. This is consistent with the fact that, among those that had measured it, the average GPG was lower among those with a higher proportion of female senior management.

The figure below details organisations’ reasons for the priority given to reducing their GPG. This was captured via an open question, with responses coded into common themes. All reasons mentioned by 5% or more of respondents in each group have been shown.

Figure 6: Reasons for priority given to reducing the GPG (unprompted)

High priority:

Right thing to do or want to be fair or non-discriminatory – 34%
Important for us to provide equal pay or opportunities – 21%
Legal requirement or regulation – 20%
Important to address our GPG or already working to reduce (or maintain) it – 14%
Company reputation (for example, image, attracting staff) – 10%
Want to know reasons or extent of gap or address any issues – 8%
Have a GPG or gender imbalance in workforce (or certain areas) – 8%

Medium priority:

Our GPG is small or not a big issue – 14%
Don’t have a GPG or mainly female workforce – 13%
Haven’t calculated GPG yet or not sure if it’s an issue – 13%
Have a GPG or gender imbalance in workforce (or certain areas) – 10%
Other more important priorities – 9%
Important to address our GPG or already working to reduce (or maintain) it – 9%
Right thing to do or want to be fair or non-discriminatory – 9%
Legal requirement or regulation – 8%
All workers are paid equally regardless of gender – 7%
Nothing or little we can do (for example, nature of sector, few female applicants) – 6%

Low priority:

Don’t have a GPG or mainly female workforce – 24%
Other more important priorities – 19%
Nothing or little we can do (for example, nature of sector, few female applicants) – 16%
Our GPG is small or not a big issue – 15%
All workers are paid equally regardless of gender – 14%
Have a set pay scale or structure – 9%
We employ or pay based on ability not gender or other factors – 8%
Haven’t calculated GPG yet or not sure if it’s an issue – 5%

Not a priority at all:

Don’t have a GPG or mainly female workforce – 40%
All workers are paid equally regardless of gender – 23%
We employ or pay based on ability not gender or other factors – 14%
Our GPG is small or not a big issue – 9%
Other more important priorities – 9%
Have a set pay scale or structure – 8%

Base: All respondents. High (226), Medium (352), Low (176), Not at all (100). Top mentions (5% or more)

Among those allocating a high priority to reducing their GPG, this decision was primarily driven by moral or ethical considerations, such as a desire to be fair, provide equal opportunities. However, one-fifth of this group (20%) also highlighted the new regulations as a motivating factor.

Very few employers explicitly mentioned profit-related motives for addressing their GPG, suggesting that employers do not typically see a direct link between GPG and business performance. However, some of the more common motivations can be bridges to improved business performance (for example, company reputation).

The perceived lack, or small scale nature, of their GPG was the most significant reason given by those treating it as a medium, low or non priority. However, there also appears to be some confusion between equal pay and the GPG, with 23% of the non-priority and 14% of the low priority group indicating that this was because all their workers were already paid equally regardless of gender.

A significant proportion of employers also identified barriers to reducing their GPG as a reason for affording it a comparatively low priority (for example, there was little they could do due to the broader gender imbalance in their sector, a lack of female applicants, the fact that they had to follow a set pay scale).

Qualitative insight

The qualitative interviews further explored the level of priority afforded to reducing GPG, the reasons for this and who within the organisation was driving this.

In the vast majority of cases, respondents explained that the priority allocated to this issue was ultimately driven by the senior leadership team. HR staff were often said to be the driving force behind compliance with the regulations (see Chapter 6), and in some cases a push to improve opportunities for female staff. However, decisions to change policies and approaches on remuneration, recruitment, working conditions or contracts typically required approval from board members (or equivalent).

“I am not sure what the board will do. We will present the information to them, but it is up to them whether they take action.” (250 to 499 employees, private sector)

In a minority of cases, organisations (mainly public sector) reported that the strategic priority placed on closing GPG had been assessed along with a raft of other equality and diversity issues. They explained that these priorities were set on an annual basis, based on the perceived severity of the issue. They noted that going forward, the new GPG measurements required under the regulations would form an important source of evidence for these reviews.

The priority that employers placed on closing their GPG (or ensuring one did not develop) depended on a number of factors. These are illustrated in Figure 7 below.

Figure 7: Factors impacting priority placed on closing GPG

These factors are defined as follows.

Importance of being a fair and ethical employer

The degree to which organisations place importance on looking after their employees and giving them opportunities regardless of their gender or any other defining characteristic.

Awareness of GPG (and its size)

Whether an employer knows (or thinks) it has a GPG, its size, and what is causing it. This will determine its perceived negative impact on staff, reputation, recruitment and sales.

Perceived ability to close GPG

Whether an organisation believes there is anything (more) that they can do to reduce their GPG or avoid one opening up.

Perceived cost associated with closing GPG

What an employer believes the likely costs to them will be of closing their GPG (direct financial costs as well as time and resources associated with taking steps).

Opinion of GPG as a valid measure

Whether employers consider GPG as a ‘valid’ indication of how fair and ethical they are, and therefore whether they feel that closing their GPG is necessary or appropriate.

When considering these factors, it is also important to note that employers usually described multiple reasons for their current GPG priority. Furthermore, their views were often complex and multifaceted. For example, while an organisation might have a strong desire to be a fair employer and see the value in having a low (or no) GPG, it might also assume that it has no significant problem in this area, hence reducing the priority given to the issue.

In addition, the priority afforded to closing their GPG was always set against the relative importance of other issues, challenges and ambitions that the organisation faced. In this context, no employers in the qualitative sample described closing GPG as one of their top priorities overall.

5.2 Attitudes towards reducing the GPG

Qualitative insight

The qualitative research identified 4 broad groups in terms of employers’ attitudes to reducing their GPG, as summarised below.

Figure 8: Range of attitudes towards closing GPG

Actively engaged

A proactive attitude to addressing GPG was described in a minority of cases. These employers described a strong overriding desire to ‘do the right thing’ and be as fair and open as possible. This ambition was driven by the culture of the organisation and, in the case of some charities and public sector bodies, by the strategic priorities set out by senior leaders or trustees.

In some of these more proactive organisations (typically public sector or large employers), monitoring GPG as an indication of equality performance was considered important regardless of whether they had identified a large gap. Some explained that while they had no GPG, they considered it a priority to maintain this scenario (along with other related equality and diversity measures).

In a minority of cases, larger employers were highly motivated to deal with what they felt was an unacceptably high GPG within both their organisation and their sector as a whole. They described motivated senior leaders who were keen to deliver a shift in culture both internally and across the wider population. Others explained that they were keen to address some of the root causes of their GPG (higher rate of female staff turnover) for commercial reasons. For example, some in professional service sectors noted the high cost of training staff and the fact that this investment is ‘lost’ when these staff leave.

Passively engaged

As outlined previously, most employers had not considered GPG as a specific topic before the announcement of the new regulations, and most had not yet calculated and analysed their GPG. As such, many were unsure of the degree to which closing it would be a priority in the future, and described their attitude as one of ‘wait and see’.

These employers broadly accepted that GPG could be another useful measure of their performance in terms of being a fair and ethical employer. As such, they anticipated that were any GPG to exist (which many of this group felt was possible), it would be a priority to deal with it.

They generally recognised the potential benefits associated with reducing their GPG. In some cases, employers described these benefits in ‘altruistic’ terms, with a focus on delivering what is ethically the right thing to do. In others, the motivation to consider closing their GPG related to the potential commercial benefits associated with doing so. They explained the importance of being seen as an employer of choice, enabling them to attract and retain high calibre staff.

A minority anticipated that their (potential) customers were likely to become increasingly interested in knowing their GPG figures. Therefore, the potential to win business could be impacted if their GPG was high compared with the sector. They anticipated that this could have an impact on the priority placed on closing their GPG in the future.

Passively disengaged

Some employers described GPG as an issue that they had not considered before, but thought that they would (probably) not need to address it in the future, beyond meeting their regulatory reporting requirements.

In some cases, employers assumed that they had no GPG to deal with. A small minority had already measured their GPG, but others based this opinion on their high percentage of female employees (including at a senior level) or their rigid pay structure. Some also reported a considerable focus on equality and diversity at a general level, believing that this meant they did not have a GPG to be concerned about. It is important to note that a number of these employers displayed a limited understanding of GPG and how it differed from equal pay.

Other ‘passively disengaged’ employers described a lower GPG priority due to an assumption that they would not be able to close it. While they agreed that tackling GPG was a valid ambition, they argued that a lack of trained or interested female candidates meant that they were unable to address the issue. They often felt that they were already doing all they could to attract more female staff. As such they saw little point in prioritising a goal (reducing GPG) that they were not able to achieve. This attitude was most notable in the manufacturing and engineering sectors.

A lack of engagement with closing the GPG was attributed in some cases to a simple lack of interest in the topic among senior leaders. Some respondents in HR positions felt that their senior managers would simply not take much notice of the GPG data. They explained that their leadership teams were focused on delivering core commercial objectives, with issues relating to equality and diversity a relatively low organisational priority. Some reported that their senior leaders were unlikely to place any importance or urgency on closing their GPG unless they noticed an impact on sales or enquiries.

“If we start seeing that clients are asking about GPG it will become more of a priority.” (250 to 499 employees, private sector)

Actively disengaged

In a minority of cases, employers described a definitive and deliberate lack of engagement with closing their GPG. Some were not convinced about the validity of seeking to reduce their GPG ‘at all costs’. They felt that the measure failed to take into consideration broader factors such as the availability of women candidates in the sector or other valid reasons for differentials in average pay. They explained that their priority in relation to their (expected) GPG would be to explain rather than reduce it.

“We do not want to just reduce our GPG to get the number down. There can be legitimate reasons for a GPG.” (1,000 or more employees, private sector)

5.3 Approach to reducing the GPG

One-fifth (21%) of employers had developed a formalised action plan for reducing their GPG, but only one-third of this group (6% of all employers) had already implemented any of the specified actions. Half (50%) of all organisations intended to take action but had not yet developed any concrete plans, and one-fifth (20%) did not intend to do anything.

Figure 9: Employers’ current approach to reducing their GPG

Response	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
No plans to take any action to reduce GPG	20%	22%	17%	11%	25%	16%	14%
Intend to take action but not yet developed specific plans	50%	49%	52%	53%	49%	56%	45%
Developed formalised plan but not yet implemented actions	15%	14%	16%	20%	12%	13%	23%
Developed formalised plan and undertaken some or all actions	6%	6%	6%	8%	5%	5%	11%

Base: All respondents (Base, Don’t know). Total (900, 9%). Private (406, 10%), Voluntary (243, 9%), Public (251, 8%). 250 to 499 (412, 10%), 500 to 999 (214, 10%), 1,000 or more (274, 7%)

While still in the minority, large organisations (1,000 or more employees) were most likely to have already developed an action plan (34%). In contrast, one-quarter (25%) of those with 250 to 499 staff had no plans to take any action to reduce their GPG.

As might be expected, there was a correlation between the priority allocated to reducing their GPG and the degree of action taken to achieve this. Two-fifths (39%) of those treating it as a high priority had developed a formalised plan, compared to just 7% of those for whom it was a low or non priority. However, even among the high priority group, only 14% had already undertaken some or all of the actions in their plan.

Employers that had already measured their GPG or undertaken other gender analysis in the previous year were significantly more likely to have put together a formalised plan for reducing their GPG (27% versus 12% of those that had not done any gender analysis).

Those organisations that had or intended to take action to reduce their GPG were asked whether they would publish an action plan for this. As seen in the table below, half (48%) intended to publish this internally (to staff within their organisation) and one-third (33%) intended to make it available to external audiences. While only 16% reported that they definitely would not publish their action plan, a further 29% were unsure as to whether this would happen.

Table 6: Proportion of employers that will publish a GPG action plan

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	662	281	178	203	275	161	226
Yes – will publish externally (annual report, website)	33%	29%	37%	51%	28%	39%	35%
Yes – will publish internally (intranet, staff newsletter)	48%	46%	52%	60%	47%	52%	47%
No – will not publish action plan	16%	17%	16%	9%	19%	16%	10%
Don’t know	29%	31%	24%	20%	28%	24%	33%

Base: All that have, plan or intend to take action to reduce their GPG

Although not shown in the table above, one-quarter (23%) of those asked only intended to publish their plan internally (23%), with 7% only publishing externally and 25% doing both. Public sector organisations displayed the most willingness to publish their GPG action plan externally (51%), followed by voluntary sector organisations (37%).

As detailed previously, 21% of employers had developed a formalised plan or strategy to reduce their GPG. In most cases these plans included measures to offer or promote flexible working (71%) and to promote parental leave policies that encouraged both men and women to share childcare (65%).

Figure 10: Measures included in GPG action plan

Response	Percentage
Offering or promoting flexible working arrangements	71%
Promoting parental leave policies that encourage men and women to share childcare	65%
Making cultural changes within your organisation	51%
Voluntary internal targets	39%
Women-specific recruitment, promotion or mentoring schemes	35%
Other	12%

Base: All taken or planning action (Base, Don’t know). Total (204, 10%)

The minority of organisations (6%, n=59) that had developed a plan and already undertaken at least some of the specified actions were asked about how and when the impact of these would be evaluated. Most of this group (57%) planned to evaluate the impact as part of a formalised process rather than on an ad hoc basis, and 38% had already assessed the current impact of these actions.

When asked to assess the success of the actions implemented to date, the majority judged them to have been either very successful (23%) or fairly successful (38%). Most of the remainder were unsure or felt it was too early to say.

Qualitative insight

The qualitative sample was structured to cover employers that had or planned to take action to close their GPG and those that did not plan to do so (based on their responses to the quantitative survey). However, the qualitative interviews revealed some confusion and overlap between these 2 groups, often linked to limited knowledge and engagement with GPG.

Those taking or planning action

Qualitative exploration suggested that the level of formalised planning to take action on closing GPG may be even lower than the survey data suggests. Some interviewed employers in this group described plans which had been put in place specifically to address GPG within the organisation. However, others explained that the plans to which they had referred related to much broader gender equality strategies that had not been developed with GPG in mind.

Other employers interviewed in the qualitative stage explained that the action they were referring to (which may help close their GPG) was not part of any formalised plan as such, but rather a series of ad hoc measures. These had been implemented to address a number of issues, including attracting more female staff to the workplace and increasing staff retention in general, as well as promoting and increasing fairness and equality overall.

“We don’t have a specific plan for GPG, but we do a lot to make sure we have a balanced workforce.” (500 to 999 employees, private sector)

In some cases, the plans referred to in the quantitative survey were in fact not related to reducing their GPG per se. Some of these plans were related to complying with the GPG regulations (analysing and reporting the data) rather than reducing their GPG. Others were related to action aimed at eliminating unequal pay practices.

“We went through the process of moving the pay scales to single status a few years ago.” (250 to 499 employees, public sector)

Those not planning to take action

Although this group indicated in the quantitative survey that they were not planning any action to reduce their GPG, further discussion revealed that many had a number of measures in place which could potentially have an impact on GPG, but these were not designed with that purpose in mind. The most commonly mentioned of these measures included offering enhanced maternity or paternity leave and flexible working. However, the impact of these measures on their GPG had not yet been considered or measured.

“We have a good approach to flexible working, but that’s because we want to retain staff overall. We hadn’t thought about the impact on GPG before.” (250 to 499 employees, private sector)

After further discussion and consideration during the qualitative interviews, some agreed that these measures were likely to have had some impact on their GPG (although they had not yet measured this). Others were doubtful that these measures would have made any difference, suggesting that other factors (for example, lack of female candidates, slow turnover of senior staff) were likely to override any impact on their GPG.

Some employers explained that they did not expect to have a GPG and therefore had no plans to take action, but if they completed their calculations and discovered a (bigger than expected) GPG, they would reconsider.

“We have no plans to take action at the moment, but we will definitely approach this in the spirit it is intended and look at what is needed when we know more.” (500 to 999 employees, private sector)

Actions to reduce GPG

Employers described specific activities in relation to reducing their GPG. These closely mirrored those reported in the quantitative survey. They included the following.

Flexible working

Nearly all businesses in the qualitative sample offered flexible working of some kind. Doing so was often part of a general drive to retain staff or to attract and retain female employees. While only rarely described as a measure designed specifically to reduce GPG, a number of employers attributed their perceived low (or zero) GPG at least in part to these practices.

Offering enhanced maternity or paternity leave

Many employers in the qualitative sample offered enhanced maternity and paternity leave (with those who only offered statutory often explaining that this was due to a lack of available funding). They understood that such policies encourage women and men to share childcare responsibilities, and therefore enable women to return to work (sooner). However, shared parental leave was often described as being unpopular among employees and too complicated for them to take advantage of.

Making cultural changes

In a small number of cases, employers in the private sector were taking steps to encourage different attitudes and behaviour among mid-level management in relation to recruitment, professional development and negotiation of wages. They were providing information and guidance, as well as raising the topic in meetings and reviews. They wanted managers to think more about the equality and diversity implications of their staffing decisions. Some were keen to challenge what they considered to be unconscious biases towards hiring other men rather than women or considering men for promotion more readily. Some suggested that they would be able to use the GPG data as evidence to managers of the need for such a change.

Voluntary internal targets

A small minority of employers had put in place targets on the number of women employed in senior positions. The ratio of men to women targeted varied, depending on the starting point and sector (for example, a legal firm aiming for 30% of partners to be women, a voluntary sector care provider aiming for an equal split of men and women in senior positions).

Women-specific recruitment, promotion or mentoring schemes

Some employers had implemented equality or gender initiatives aimed at increasing opportunities for women to join, stay and progress.

A number had mandated that at least one woman should be invited for interview (if possible), while others insisted that there must be female representation on all interview panels. Some large employers also mentioned providing back to work interviews after maternity leave for their female staff.

Others had put in place mentoring programs aimed at encouraging junior female staff to aim for career progression through advice and guidance from women in senior positions in the organisation.

Reaching out to local education institutions was also mentioned. These employers were working with schools to raise awareness of their professions among female students. They felt that this long-term approach was important to combat one of the primary factors driving GPG.

“We try to have 50% women on all candidate shortlists…we insist on a 50/50 split in senior positions.” (500 to 999 employees, voluntary sector)

Measuring impact

The qualitative interviews pointed to a relatively informal approach to measuring the impact of actions to reduce GPG. Respondents were not able to describe any formal assessment processes linking GPG to specific actions or initiatives. They often explained that closing a GPG would take a considerable period of time, and that it would be difficult to attribute any success to specific measures.

However, where formalised plans were in place to encourage women back to work or to encourage more female applicants (both external and internal), employers were monitoring the direct impact on these particular objectives (rather than on GPG).

Furthermore, some explained that now that GPG measurement was mandatory, this would form part of the formalised assessment of these measures in the future.

5.4 Barriers to reducing the GPG

Respondents were asked to give details of the main challenge to reducing their organisation’s GPG, via an open questioning approach. The table below shows all reasons mentioned by 3% or more of respondents.

Table 7: Main challenge to reducing employers’ GPG (unprompted)

Top mentions only (3% or more)	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Recruiting or attracting or promoting more women	14%	15%	10%	12%	12%	16%	18%
Male dominated sector or business	10%	12%	5%	3%	11%	11%	8%
Financial constraints or cost	5%	4%	10%	8%	5%	5%	4%
Men and women do or apply for different jobs	5%	5%	5%	10%	5%	5%	6%
Gathering or analysing GPG data	5%	4%	6%	4%	3%	6%	7%
Changing organisational culture or educating staff	4%	4%	4%	3%	3%	3%	6%
Women more likely to take career breaks or require flexible working	3%	2%	3%	6%	2%	3%	4%
Lack of understanding or priority at senior level	3%	3%	1%	2%	2%	4%	3%
None – no barriers or challenges	7%	7%	10%	4%	7%	7%	6%
None – don’t have a (significant) GPG	15%	16%	14%	10%	18%	15%	11%
Too early to say or haven’t calculated GPG yet	9%	9%	10%	10%	8%	9%	10%
Don’t know	15%	15%	15%	18%	18%	13%	12%

Base: All respondents

A wide array of different challenges were identified by the surveyed organisations. However, the biggest issue related to difficulties in finding or attracting women to the organisation or to certain roles, with 14% mentioning the challenge of recruiting or promoting women, 10% highlighting the male-dominated nature of the sector and 5% identifying the fact that women do (or apply for) different types of jobs. This barrier was particularly prevalent in the construction sector, with 51% of private sector firms operating in this area giving one of these 3 reasons.

Almost one-quarter of employers (22%) do not envisage any barriers, typically because they do not believe they have a significant GPG. Reflecting the fact that many organisations had not previously examined their GPG, a further 24% were unsure as to whether they would face barriers or felt it was too early to know.

Half (51%) of those organisations that did not intend to take any action to reduce their GPG, and a similar proportion (54%) of those viewing it as a non-priority, did not envisage any barriers. This again illustrates that much of the inertia around the GPG is linked to a perception (correct or otherwise) among these employers that they do not have an issue.

Qualitative insight

The qualitative interviews confirmed that many employers did not anticipate barriers because they believed that they had no GPG. In addition, respondents explained that until they knew the size and root cause of their GPG, they could not anticipate how to go about closing it or any barriers to doing so. However, a number described specific barriers to taking (more) action to close any GPG, or to the success of any such actions.

Barriers to taking action

Many of these barriers reflected the overall priority placed on closing GPG (as described previously). The relative lack of importance of GPG compared with other issues and concerns about compromising the quality of new recruits through attempting to shift the balance of gender in the workforce were both mentioned.

In addition, some employers described more practical barriers to taking action. The most commonly mentioned was a lack of available funds. Some employers explained that they could not afford to offer enhanced maternity or paternity leave. Others thought that in order to close their GPG they would need to increase the pay of some (female) members of staff. Some noted that introducing initiatives and action plans costs time and money, and that this would not be approved by senior managers unless a clear commercial benefit could be demonstrated. Lastly, a small number of employers were unable to offer flexible working arrangements because it would not be operationally viable within their current business model.

Employers were not always sure exactly what action could be taken beyond making changes to the wages or bonuses of some members of their workforce. This reflects the fact that some employers view GPG through a narrow lens, focussing on financial solutions rather than broader measures to encourage recruitment, retention and career progression among women.

While none of the employers interviewed had sought external support about how to close their GPG, a number felt that this would be useful, suggesting that lack of access to support could potentially be a barrier. Some wanted examples of how other employers had closed their GPG without directly adjusting the salaries or bonuses of staff. Others felt that the government or unions should publish guidance on how to close a GPG (along with the requirements for complying with the regulations).

Barriers to success

During the qualitative interviews, some employers expanded on their perception that a lack of suitable female applicants was a key barrier to closing their GPG. Most attributed this to the sector in which they operated being traditionally male-dominated. They felt that this issue was largely outside of their control as individual employers, although some were attempting to help address it through engagement with local schools and colleges.

“It is really difficult as a big part of the business is a very male dominated area. This is a problem that is bigger than us, it is society.” (500 to 999 employees, private sector)

Some organisations reported a general lack of available candidates (of any gender) in their sector. They explained that this meant they were unable to aim for a particular profile of candidate and simply focused on capability to fulfil the role.

Some employers offered flexible working arrangements but reported low uptake among female employees with children. They explained that most preferred to leave the organisation or take long breaks from work after their children were born. They felt that cultural norms and traditional gender roles were still adhered to strongly. As such, these deep-rooted behaviours were considered difficult to overcome.

A number of employers said that differences in attitude between men and women in the workplace also constituted a barrier to closing their GPG. Some (typically smaller) employers thought that women were less likely than men to negotiate on their starting salaries, pay rises and bonuses.

“Women tend not to negotiate in the same way as men, it is in their nature I think. That is not something you can change.” (250 to 499 employees, private sector)

Others noted that although their HR team had attempted to raise awareness of the need to encourage more women into senior roles, this was not always adhered to by men in senior positions. Again, they felt that this was the result of the ingrained culture that existed in their organisations, sometimes exacerbated by low staff turnover.

Question 6

6. The GPG transparency regulations

Accepted Answer

This chapter explores employers’ understanding of the new gender pay gap transparency regulations and how they plan to comply with them. More specifically, it covers:

awareness and knowledge of the regulations
the extent to which employers have prepared for them
the type of support and assistance that would benefit employers in complying
employers’ plans for when they will publish the required gender pay data, what they will publish and how they will communicate the results

Please note that the quantitative survey was conducted between 10 March and 27 April 2017. The new transparency regulations for the private and voluntary sectors came into force in April 2017 (with these organisations required to publish their statistics by 4 April 2018) and the regulations for the public sector came into force in March 2017 (with these organisations required to publish their data by 30 March 2018).

6.1 Awareness and understanding of the regulations

Overall, 88% of all respondents were aware of the new regulations. In terms of knowledge, over half (54%) felt that they understood what was required and how to do it, and a further fifth (20%) believed they knew what was required but were less certain of how to go about it.

Figure 11: Understanding of the new GPG transparency regulations

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
% measured GPG in last 12 months	31%	29%	29%	40%	23%	29%	47%
% of those measuring that knew their score	52%	50%	61%	55%	49%	57%	52%
Mean GPG (if measured)	14%	14%	12%	17%	18%	12%	13%

Base: All respondents (Base, Don’t know). Total (900, 1%). Private (406, 1%), Voluntary (243, 1%), Public (251, 1%). 250 to 499 (412, 2%), 500 to 999 (214, 1%), 1,000 or more (274, 1%)

There were no significant differences in awareness levels by either sector or size. However, private sector organisations were less likely to have ‘full’ knowledge of the regulations (52% knew what was required and how to do it, compared to 58% of voluntary sector and 61% of public sector organisations). ‘Full’ knowledge also increased with size, ranging from 47% of those with 250 to 499 employees up to 65% of those with 1,000 or more employees.

Exposure to the GEO and Acas guidance on GPG was strongly associated with self-reported knowledge of the regulations. 71% of those that had read the guidance said that they understood what was required and how to do it, compared to just 27% of those who had not read it.

It was also the case that the greater the priority allocated to reducing their GPG, the better the reported understanding of the regulatory requirements. Two-thirds (64%) of those treating it as a high priority had ‘full’ knowledge of the requirements, compared to only one-third (36%) of those that did not view it as a priority at all.

6.2 Preparation for the regulations

Half of all organisations felt they were reasonably prepared for the regulations, in the sense that they either believed they were already able to meet the requirements (17%) or had developed a plan for how they would do this (32%). However, almost one-third (30%) had done no more than review the requirements, and a further 17% had not thought about the regulations or were unaware of them (prior to the survey).

Figure 12: Preparation for the GPG transparency regulations

Response	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Not aware of the new transparency regulations	11%	12%	8%	7%	11%	10%	11%
Not yet thought about them	7%	8%	3%	4%	10%	5%	3%
Reviewing requirements but nothing further	30%	30%	33%	26%	35%	29%	22%
Developed plan for how and when will meet requirements	32%	32%	33%	36%	26%	37%	40%
Already able to meet the requirements	17%	15%	19%	26%	16%	16%	20%

Base: All respondents (Base, Don’t know). Total (900, 3%). Private (406, 3%), Voluntary (243, 4%), Public (251, 2%). 250 to 499 (412, 3%), 500 to 999 (214, 3%), 1,000 or more (274, 4%)

The larger the employer, the more likely they were to be fully prepared for the GPG transparency regulations. 60% of those with 1,000 or more employees believed they were already able to meet them or had drawn up a plan, compared to just 42% of those with 250 to 499 employees.

Readiness was also greater in the public sector, with 62% of these organisations stating that they were able to meet the regulations or having a plan in place to do so.

6.3 Attitudes to complying with regulations

Qualitative insight

The qualitative interviews explored how employers were approaching compliance with the regulations. We asked respondents about how much of a priority compliance was and their progress towards publishing their results.

Level of priority given to the regulations

All employers interviewed in the qualitative stage were planning to comply with the regulations. In addition, the vast majority explained that they considered it an important priority to do so. However, this was generally because they placed importance on being compliant with all regulations, rather than due to a high priority towards GPG specifically.

Furthermore, among the qualitative sample, the motivation to comply commonly came from the HR team rather than senior leadership. In many cases, senior managers were not aware of GPG or the regulations before their HR teams had informed them of this. The majority of interviewed employers also agreed that had the regulations not been introduced, they would not measure their GPG. Therefore, in many cases, the underlying motivation to comply was the avoidance of any potential sanctions or penalties associated with not doing so.

While many employers agreed that compliance with the regulations was being driven by HR and a need to meet their obligations, they often went on to explain that their senior leaders were interested (or had become interested) in the process and its outcomes.

They reported genuine interest in understanding the GPG data and what it means for the business. In some cases, this was driven by a realisation that they might need to take action to address a GPG. This suggests that the regulations have encouraged decision makers in some organisations to consider the issue of GPG more closely.

In other cases, senior leaders were primarily interested in how best to present the data to avoid casting their organisation in a negative light. In these cases, the motivation was to remain compliant while minimising any detrimental impact on the organisation.

Other employers reported that the drive to comply with the regulations originated with the leadership team. Most of these organisations had measured their GPG in the past (or conducted other gender analysis). These employers welcomed the GPG regulations as another source of data for their overall equality and diversity agenda.

The compliance process

In the qualitative interviews, employers described their progress towards complying with the regulations, what they had done or planned to do and when. Figure 13 illustrates the main stages as described by the majority of employers.

Figure 13: Preparation for the GPG transparency regulations

Pre-stage – reviewing, researching and learning:

Reading requirements
Attending seminars
Reading ACAS and GEO guidelines
Speaking to legal and HR providers

(Dry run between pre-stage and stage 1)

Stage 1 – collating data:

Extracted from payroll system
HR or payroll team in house
Or external payroll provider

Stage 2 – making calculations:

HR or payroll team
Sometimes management level
Produces final key measures

Stage 3 – reviewing results and writing commentary:

Senior HR role
Shared and debated with senior manager

(Legal advice sought between stage 3 and stage 4)

Stage 4 – published:

Final version

At the time the qualitative stage was conducted, most of the interviewed employers had completed stage 1 (collating data), with a minority having completed stage 2 (making calculations). However, a small number were yet to take any action beyond reading guidance or attending seminars.

It is important to note that while they thought complying with the regulations was important, interviewed employers did not consider it to be an urgent priority due to the time available to comply. Other initiatives were often being given priority over GPG (including complying with other HR-related guidelines and regulations).

Therefore, while most employers had a ‘rough’ timetable, very few had planned activities in detail. Indeed, some described an approach which involved fitting the work in around other activities, as and when time allowed. The main exceptions to this somewhat fluid approach were some public sector bodies who were committed to publishing as part of their summer reporting cycles.

“We don’t have a set plan, but I am confident that in the next few weeks we will have a figure…I do not know when we will publish though.” (1,000 or more employees, voluntary sector)

A minority of employers had outsourced all or part of the compliance process. Some had handed the process to consultants or external HR experts to provide complete assurance that they were fully compliant. Others were using their external payroll providers to collate the necessary data, before conducting the calculations in house.

A small number of employers had conducted a ‘dry run’ of the data collection and calculations. They had typically completed these in late 2016 or early 2017. Employers conducted these in order to make sure that they were able to access the necessary information, to ‘practice’ making the calculations, and to see whether they were likely to have a notable GPG or not. Those who had conducted the dry run were all confident that they were able to repeat the process without any real difficulty.

Overall, employers who had started it described the process of collating data and making calculations as straightforward. Most had sought some external support or guidance in order to be completely clear on what was required, but generally agreed that the process itself was not particularly arduous or confusing. Those who were yet to start, but had already read guidance or attended seminars, were also generally confident about their ability to complete these stages.

The main (potential) difficulties reported were as follows:

knowing exactly which payments to include or exclude, particularly in relation to contracted employees and overtime payments
tracking down and pulling together disparate sources of data (for example, bonus payments for senior staff, contractor payments) which may not be part of the payroll

Some employers reported that their payroll software provider had updated their system to facilitate compliance with the regulations. Others explained that their providers were due to do this, and these employers were waiting until this update had occurred before proceeding with the compliance process.

The greatest challenge anticipated by employers was knowing how to interpret and present the results, and specifically what type of commentary to provide to explain them. It was for this purpose that some employers were planning to share their results (and in some cases their draft commentary) with external law firms or consultants. They wanted to ensure that they would not be opening themselves up for accusations of misrepresentation.

6.4 External support in complying with the regulations

If employers needed assistance in complying with the new GPG transparency regulations, the individual organisations they would most likely contact were Acas (30%) and the Government Equalities Office (17%). However, the survey was positioned as being on behalf of GEO, which may have put it more top of mind.

Approaching one-third (30%) would contact a legal professional or advisor and one-quarter (23%) would approach external consultants.

Table 8: Where employers would seek support with the regulations (unprompted)

Top mentions only (5% or more)	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Acas	30%	30%	36%	29%	32%	30%	27%
Legal professionals or advisors	30%	32%	30%	23%	27%	34%	34%
External consultants	23%	24%	24%	16%	24%	19%	24%
GEO	17%	16%	17%	21%	18%	16%	16%
Other government dept	17%	16%	16%	22%	18%	16%	16%
CIPD	13%	13%	13%	11%	12%	15%	12%
Government website	9%	9%	10%	9%	8%	10%	8%
Business or trade association or industry body	6%	4%	6%	16%	6%	6%	6%
Other or generic website	6%	7%	4%	5%	7%	7%	5%
Within the organisation (for example, HR, payroll)	5%	5%	2%	4%	4%	5%	5%

Base: All respondents

The pattern was broadly similar by sector, although public sector organisations were comparatively more inclined to approach other government departments or trade associations or industry bodies. In contrast, private and voluntary sector organisations were more likely to contact legal advisors or external consultants.

Employers were also asked about the type of support that would help them, as shown in Table 9. One-fifth of employers (19%) would benefit from advice on how to report their GPG and a similar proportion (18%) from advice on how to measure it. There was also some demand for software to calculate their GPG (9%), case studies (9%) and benchmarks (7%).

However, one-third of employers (32%) did not feel they would need any external support and a further fifth (20%) were unsure as to what they might need.

Table 9: Types of support that would help employers (unprompted)

Top mentions only (5% or more)	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Advice or guidance on how to report their gender pay data	19%	19%	24%	18%	18%	21%	19%
Advice or guidance on how to measure their GPG	18%	17%	26%	17%	16%	19%	22%
Downloadable software to calculate their GPG	9%	8%	11%	10%	6%	8%	15%
Case studies or examples from other organisations	9%	9%	9%	7%	7%	6%	13%
GPG benchmarks from other organisations or their sector	7%	7%	9%	6%	5%	7%	11%
Support or resource for HR or payroll	6%	7%	5%	4%	9%	4%	3%
None or do not need external support	32%	32%	31%	34%	34%	29%	31%
Don’t know	20%	21%	16%	18%	20%	24%	17%

Base: All respondents

It should be noted that in many cases the types of support requirements mentioned by survey respondents were already being provided by the government (for example, the joint GEO and Acas guidance on gender pay gap reporting).

The guidance on GPG reporting produced by GEO and Acas had successfully reached the majority (59%) of employers subject to the new regulations.

Figure 14: Proportion of employers reading the GEO and Acas guidance

Type of employer	Percentage
Private sector	55%
Voluntary sector	71%
Public sector	64%
250 to 499 emps	55%
500 to 999 emps	63%
1,000 or more emps	61%
Total	59%

Base: All respondents (Base, Don’t know). Total (900, 1%). Private (406, 1%), Voluntary (243, 0%), Public (251, 1%). 250 to 499 (412, 1%), 500 to 999 (214, 0%), 1,000 or more (274, 2%)

Qualitative insight

The qualitative interviews explored the external support that employers had used so far in the process of complying with the regulations. Most of the interviewed employers had accessed some form of information or guidance at the outset of the compliance process. Many felt confident in the requirements, and simply wanted to reassure themselves that they fully understood exactly what they needed to measure and publish. However, a minority were confused about what they were required to measure and wanted a more detailed and expansive explanation than they had read on government websites.

“I wasn’t really looking to find out anything specific, I just wanted to make sure that I knew what I had to do. It was good to have someone spell it out for me.” (500 to 999 employees, private sector)

Most of those who had read the Acas or GEO guidance felt that it was clear and comprehensive. However, a minority would have liked more detailed information and illustrative examples of exactly how to present their results.

Seminars were also described as useful sources of guidance and advice. Employers had attended seminars held by law firms, recruitment consultants and HR specialists. They welcomed the opportunity to hear an expert view on how to comply and the chance to network with other HR professionals.

Only a minority of employers in the qualitative sample felt that they had support needs that had not been met. These needs related to how to report their gender pay data. In particular, employers wanted to know the acceptable and expected way to present the information and the commentary around it.

“I really want to see an example of published information, so I can understand how it should be set out.” (250 to 499 employees, voluntary sector)

6.5 Publication and communication of results

Large employers will be required to publish their gender pay data by 4 April 2018 (or 30 March in the case of public sector organisations). Perhaps reflecting the fact that the survey was conducted around one year before this deadline, over half (57%) of employers had not yet decided on their publication date.

Among those that had an expected publication date, one-third (34%) intended to do this in Quarter 4 (equivalent to 15% of all employers). However, a significant proportion intended to publish much earlier than the deadline: 8% of all employers said they planned to do so in Quarter 1. Please note that, as discussed later in this chapter, the qualitative interviews suggested that the publication dates given in the quantitative survey tended to be ambitions rather than firm plans, and there were several reasons why they might be delayed. There was also evidence that some employers did not know they were required to publish their results on the government portal as well as on their own websites.

Figure 15: Planned publication date for GPG results

Response	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Not decided or don’t know	57%	60%	52%	43%	58%	57%	54%
Quarter 4: January to March 2018	15%	15%	15%	14%	13%	16%	16%
Quarter 3: October to December 2017	11%	10%	13%	12%	11%	9%	12%
Quarter 2: July to September 2017	10%	8%	15%	15%	10%	10%	9%
Quarter 1: April to June 2017	8%	7%	5%	15%	8%	8%	8%

Out of the 43% of all employers who had decided when to publish:

19% intended to publish in quarter 1 (April to June 2017)
23% intended to publish in quarter 2 (July to September 2017)
24% intended to publish in quarter 3 (October to December 2017)
34% intended to publish in quarter 4 (January to March 2018)

Base: All respondents (Base, Don’t intend to publish). Total (900, 0%). Private (406, 0%), Voluntary (243, 0%), Public (251, 0%). 250 to 499 (412, 0%), 500 to 999 (214, 1%), 1,000 or more (274, 0%).

Public sector organisations were significantly more inclined to publish their GPG data early, with 30% intending to do this by in the first 2 quarters of the 2017 to 2018 financial year (compared to 15% for the private sector and 20% for the voluntary sector).

Those employers that had calculated their GPG at some point in the previous 12 months (prior to the regulations coming into force) were also more likely to publish early, with 24% planning to do this by the end of Quarter 2.

The qualitative interviews indicated that employers’ plans for when they publish their gender pay data were generally not set in stone. Most described general ambitions, rather than set dates. Some described how these ambitions (for example to publish as soon as possible) had not been met because other priorities had taken precedence.

“I have had the data from the payroll team for a while, but I haven’t got around to sitting down and analysing it yet…But there is still plenty of time.” (250 to 499 employees, private sector)

In other cases, employers explained that although they planned to publish at a particular time, they were not yet fully aware of how complex or difficult the process of collating and interpreting the data would be. Therefore, they noted that their intended reporting date could potentially slip, particularly if they needed to seek support or advice from a third party or from their parent company on the matter.

It is also important to note that many employers said they were delaying publishing their gender pay data until other employers (in their sector) had done so. They wanted to see how other employers presented the data and the explanations they provided for any GPG they reported.

“We certainly don’t want to be the first to publish. It is a question of not putting your head above the parapet.” (500 to 999 employees, private sector)

Subsequent qualitative follow-up interviews were conducted with employers who had intended to publish their GPG results in quarter 1 of the 2016 to 2017 financial year, but who had not yet done so via the GPG reporting portal.^{[footnote 8]} This identified 4 reasons for this delay in publication:

The process of collating data and or or running calculations was more involved than expected, meaning that the process had been slowed.
Significant unexpected circumstantial factors had either made the process more complex, delayed receipt of relevant data, pushed early compliance down the list of priorities for the organisation, or led to a deliberate delay in publication.
Early compliance had become less of a priority since their participation in the original survey because other issues had taken precedence and the issue of GPG had become less ‘top-of-mind’.
Results had already been published on the employers’ websites, but they were not aware that they were required to publish on the government portal.

The quantitative survey also captured data on whether employers planned to publish any additional information alongside the mandatory reporting requirements. One-fifth (20%) intended to do so, with this most likely to be an accompanying narrative commentary (15%). Reflecting the fact that the vast majority of employers had not yet run the final analysis, at the time of the survey one-third (31%) were unsure whether they would publish any additional information.

Table 10: Whether plan to publish any additional information

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Plan to publish additional information	20%	17%	25%	32%	17%	18%	27%
- Narrative commentary on the results	15%	13%	21%	23%	12%	14%	22%
- Additional or more detailed breakdowns	6%	5%	8%	11%	4%	5%	9%
- Analysis of potential drivers of their GPG	6%	5%	6%	7%	5%	5%	7%
- New or revised GPG action plan	7%	5%	10%	13%	6%	6%	8%
- Other	1%	1%	1%	2%	1%	1%	1%
Do not plan to publish additional information	49%	53%	40%	38%	54%	49%	41%
Don’t know	31%	30%	35%	30%	29%	33%	32%

Base: All respondents

Private sector organisations were more likely to just provide the analysis required by the regulations but not publish any further information, with 83% either not planning to produce additional information or unsure as to whether they would do so.

The likelihood of publishing additional information increased among large organisations with 1,000 or more employees (27%), with almost one-quarter of this group planning to produce a narrative commentary (22%).

The qualitative interviews showed that those employers who intended to publish additional information fell into 2 groups.

The first group knew or were very confident that they would not have a GPG. They therefore wanted to produce a positive narrative to accompany the data. This intention was more common among public sector organisations, some of whom described a strong desire to promote their equality and inclusivity agenda to the public.

The second believed that they had a (large) GPG and were unlikely to be able to close it. These employers wanted to provide context and a rationale explaining the data, and in some cases provide an explanation of how GPG is calculated and how it differs from equal pay.

In addition, some of those not currently planning to publish additional information were open to the possibility of doing so, depending on the results of their GPG calculations. Most were waiting to see whether they felt it necessary to explain their results or not.

In the quantitative survey, employers were asked about their plans for how they would communicate their GPG results, both to current or potential employees and to external stakeholders such as clients, suppliers and investors. Communication strategies were similar for both groups, and in many cases the approach adopted will depend on the results of the GPG analysis.

Only a minority intended to adopt an active engagement strategy (16% for employees and 11% for stakeholders), but a further fifth would at least draw these audiences’ attention to the results (20% and 21% respectively).

Figure 16: Planned approach to communicating GPG results

Response	For current employees and potential recruits	For clients, suppliers, investors and other external stakeholders
Adopt a comprehensive and active engagement strategy	16%	11%
Draw their attention to it but nothing further	20%	21%
Not do any promotion or engagement activity	9%	13%
Communication approach will depend on the results	42%	39%
Don’t know	12%	16%

Base: All respondents (900)

Public (49%) and voluntary (43%) sector organisations were more likely than private sector (33%) employers to communicate their results to staff (adopt an active engagement strategy or draw their attention to the results).

Qualitative insight

Most employers in the qualitative sample were waiting to see their results before deciding how widely to communicate them. Overall, interviewed employers were more likely to be planning a wide and comprehensive strategy if they felt they had good news to share.

However, most had not considered exactly how they would go about this. Some (usually smaller private sector employers) described a general policy of protecting information about themselves, and avoiding data entering the public domain as much as possible. They therefore planned only the bare minimum in terms of publishing and distributing their gender pay data.

Employers across the qualitative sample were planning to share their results with staff by either publishing then on their intranets or via internal memos or newsletters. Some were also considering holding staff meetings to explain the results in full. They were concerned that staff may misinterpret them without a clear explanation.

Some public sector employers were planning to promote their results among their staff and the public as part of a wider strategy of openness. Others were considering how to use their GPG data internally to support women in their workforce and help them progress their careers (for example, by covering it at seminars and other events).

Question 7

7. Employer profile and practices

Accepted Answer

This chapter reports on the characteristics and practices of large employers (250 or more employees), with a particular focus on areas that are relevant to the gender pay gap.

These questions were primarily included in the survey to provide context to the key GPG findings. When interpreting the results in this chapter, it should be considered that the data was self-reported and respondents were not asked to prepare in advance. As such, the figures on workforce gender balance and take-up of parental leave are based on estimates provided during the interview and are unlikely to be fully accurate. For some of the areas covered in this chapter (for example, gender profile of workforce) there is likely to be more accurate and robust data available in the public domain.

Specifically, this chapter covers:

the gender balance of the workforce and senior management team
the types of flexible working practices offered
whether maternity, paternity and shared parental leave is paid at the statutory rate or an enhanced rate
the proportions of new mothers returning to work after maternity leave, new fathers taking full paternity leave and new parents taking shared parental leave

7.1 Gender profile of workforce and senior management team

The survey data suggests that females are slightly under-represented in large organisations, with 56% of employers reporting that women made up no more than 50% of their total workforce. Just 8% were female dominated (76% to 100% of employees are female), whereas 21% were male dominated (0% to 25% female).

Table 11: Proportion of employees that are women (respondent estimates)

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
0% to 25% are women	21%	27%	0%	3%	24%	20%	16%
26% to 50%	35%	40%	17%	20%	37%	36%	30%
51% to 75%	32%	23%	60%	61%	29%	32%	39%
76% to 100% are women	8%	6%	19%	13%	8%	9%	9%
Don’t know	3%	4%	3%	2%	3%	3%	6%

Base: All respondents

However, the above pattern was driven by the private sector, which accounts for 75% of all GB organisations with 250 or more employees. When looking at the voluntary and public sectors in isolation, women actually made up the majority of the workforce sectors (80% and 74% respectively reported that over half of their employees were female).

The larger the organisation, the more equal the gender balance of the workforce. Women accounted for over half of the workforce in 48% of 1,000 or more employee organisations, 41% of 500 to 999 employee organisations and 37% of 250 to 499 employee organisations.

The gender imbalance was significantly more pronounced when it came to the senior management teams of large employers. Just 18% reported that the majority of their senior management were women, and 43% indicated that women accounted for no more than a quarter of all senior positions.

Table 12: Proportion of senior management team that are women (respondent estimates)

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
0% are women	4%	5%	0%	1%	5%	4%	3%
1% to 25%	38%	46%	14%	17%	41%	42%	30%
26% to 50%	34%	32%	40%	40%	34%	31%	38%
51% to 75%	13%	9%	28%	27%	12%	12%	18%
76% to 99%	5%	3%	12%	6%	5%	6%	3%
100% are women	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%
Don’t know	4%	4%	4%	8%	3%	3%	8%

Base: All respondents

Again, the overall results were driven by the private sector, with half (52%) of these companies reporting that women made up no more than 25% of their senior management team (and 5% with no female representation at a senior level).

However, although women accounted for the majority of all voluntary and public sector employees, they were less well represented at senior levels in these organisations. Only 42% of voluntary sector and 34% of public sector organisations reported that more than half of their senior management team were women.

There was relatively little difference by employer size in this respect, although those with less than 1,000 employees were more likely to indicate that 0% to 25% of their senior management were female (46% compared to 33% of 1,000 or more employee organisations).

7.2 Flexible working practices offered to employees

The vast majority (99%) of large employers offered some form of flexible working arrangements to their staff. The most common was part time work (97%), but three-quarters (74%) allowed home working and two-thirds (64%) offered job sharing opportunities. The majority (70%) also adopted other flexible working practices, such as compressed hours, flexitime or annualised hours.

However, it should be considered that this data relates to the flexible working arrangements offered to any of their employees, and it does not necessarily follow that these opportunities are universally available – it may depend on job role or level.

Table 13: Flexible working arrangements offered to any employees

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Part time work	97%	96%	99%	100%	97%	97%	98%
Working from home	74%	71%	84%	83%	68%	74%	85%
Job sharing	64%	55%	88%	93%	57%	62%	80%
Other types of flexible working	70%	65%	85%	89%	67%	67%	80%
Don’t know	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	1%
None of these	1%	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%	1%

Base: All respondents

There was no difference by sector or size when it came to the proportion offering any flexible working arrangements. However, voluntary and public sector organisations and those with 1,000 or more staff tended to provide a greater range of different flexible working options.

7.3 Maternity, paternity and shared parental leave

Most employers paid maternity, paternity and shared parental leave at the statutory rate. Maternity leave was comparatively more likely to be offered at an enhanced rate, with 43% of employers doing this in some or all cases (compared to 34% for paternity and 25% for shared parental leave).^{[footnote 9]} The proportion of employers paying leave at an enhanced rate was highest in the public sector and among those with 1,000 or more employees.

Figure 17: Pay rates for maternity, paternity and shared parental leave

Proportion offering enhanced rate (or combination)	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Maternity leave	33%	65%	84%	36%	38%	64%
Paternity leave	26%	50%	64%	27%	30%	50%
Shared parental leave	18%	42%	45%	20%	20%	38%

Out of all employers:

55% paid maternity leave at the standard rate, 33% at the enhanced rate, and 11% a combination of these
64% paid paternity leave at the standard rate, 27% at the enhanced rate, and 7% a combination of these
69% paid shared parental leave at the standard rate, 19% at the enhanced rate, and 6% a combination of these

Base: All respondents (Base, Don’t know). Total (900, 2% to 6%). Private (406, 2% to 6%), Voluntary (243, 2% to 6%), Public (251, 3% to 10%). 250 to 499 employees (412, 3% to 8%), 500 to 999 employees (214, 0% to 5%), 1,000 or more employees (274, 2% to 5%).

Employers estimated that the majority of women (82%) returned to work after their maternity leave, and that two-thirds of fathers took their full paternity leave entitlement. They estimated that 3% of new parents took shared parental leave, but it should be noted that this was only an estimate and not all employees were necessarily eligible for the policy.^{[footnote 10]}

Figure 18: Return to work after maternity leave, and uptake of paternity and shared parental leave (respondent estimates)

82% of those who took maternity leave returned to work

63% of new fathers took full paternity leave

3% of new parents took shared parental leave

Base: all respondents (900). Mean proportions.

There are some issues to consider which may have affected respondents’ ability to provide accurate responses to the above questions. Firstly, employers will not necessarily be aware which of their male staff were new fathers if they did not request paternity leave, and hence would not be able to accurately estimate take-up rates.

Secondly, eligibility for shared parental leave depends on the employment status of both parents, so the employer will not always be aware which new parents were eligible.

The table below provides a more detailed breakdown of the proportion of women that employers estimated had returned to work after maternity leave in the last year. There was little difference in this respect by sector or size.

Table 14: Proportion returning to work after maternity leave (in last year)

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
None of them (0%)	2%	3%	0%	0%	4%	0%	0%
1% to 25%	4%	6%	1%	0%	5%	5%	1%
26% to 50%	4%	4%	5%	1%	3%	6%	2%
51% to 75%	11%	13%	10%	3%	9%	11%	15%
76% to 99%	33%	31%	39%	43%	28%	36%	40%
All of them (100%)	30%	31%	30%	28%	40%	29%	13%
Don’t know	12%	10%	15%	24%	4%	12%	28%
No maternity leave taken	2%	3%	0%	0%	4%	0%	1%
Mean	82%	80%	87%	91%	81%	82%	84%

Base: All respondents

As detailed below, uptake of paternity leave was greatest in the public sector, with an average of 77% of new fathers taking their full 2-week allocation.

Table 15: Proportion of new fathers that took full 2-week paternity leave (in last year)

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
None of them (0%)	4%	5%	4%	1%	6%	3%	2%
1% to 25%	18%	20%	15%	10%	19%	18%	16%
26% to 50%	8%	9%	5%	4%	7%	11%	6%
51% to 75%	5%	6%	4%	3%	6%	3%	6%
76% to 99%	10%	11%	9%	10%	10%	10%	12%
All of them (100%)	29%	28%	32%	34%	37%	26%	18%
Don’t know	23%	19%	27%	38%	13%	25%	39%
No new fathers	3%	3%	4%	1%	4%	3%	1%
Mean	63%	60%	66%	77%	64%	60%	61%

Base: All respondents

The proportion of new parents taking shared parental leave was extremely low across the board, irrespective of size or sector. This strongly suggests that the initial childcare burden is primarily falling on women, which has wider implications for the GPG as women are still taking longer career breaks than men.

Table 16: Proportion of new parents that took shared parental leave (in last year)

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
None of them (0%)	62%	66%	58%	47%	74%	62%	41%
1% to 25%	21%	21%	21%	20%	15%	24%	27%
26% to 50%	1%	1%	1%	1%	2%	1%	0%
51% to 75%	1%	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%	2%
76% to 99%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
All of them (100%)	1%	0%	3%	0%	1%	1%	0%
Don’t know	14%	11%	17%	31%	7%	12%	29%
No new parents	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	1%
Mean	3%	3%	5%	3%	3%	2%	4%

Base: All respondents

In three-quarters (74%) of 250 to 499 employee organisations and two-thirds (66%) of private sector companies, no new parents took shared parental leave.

Question 8

8. Annex A. Full survey results

Accepted Answer

This annex provides the results to each individual question in the quantitative survey. Results have been shown at the total level, by sector and by employer size.

8.1 S1b – Please can I take a note of your job title?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
HR Director or Manager	45%	45%	51%	44%	46%	44%	45%
HR Administrator or Advisor or Officer	16%	16%	14%	18%	18%	16%	12%
Payroll Manager or Administrator	10%	12%	5%	2%	10%	12%	6%
HR Business Partner or Consultant	4%	3%	7%	8%	3%	4%	6%
Rewards or Benefits Manager	5%	5%	4%	3%	1%	3%	12%
Finance Director or Manager	5%	6%	4%	1%	9%	4%	0%
Accounts Manager or Administrator	2%	2%	2%	1%	1%	3%	1%
Equality or Diversity or Inclusion Manager	1%	0%	2%	8%	0%	0%	5%
Head of People	1%	1%	2%	0%	0%	1%	2%
CEO or MD	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	0%	0%
General or Office Manager	1%	2%	0%	0%	2%	1%	0%
Operations Director or Manager	1%	1%	1%	0%	1%	0%	2%
Business Director or Manager	1%	1%	0%	1%	1%	2%	0%
Other	7%	6%	8%	14%	5%	8%	10%

Base: All respondents

8.2 S2 – Which of the following best describes your organisation?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
A private sector company that seeks to make a profit	75%	100%	-	-	78%	78%	67%
A charity, voluntary sector, or not-for-profit organisation	13%	-	100%	-	13%	13%	11%
A public sector organisation	12%	-	0%	100%	9%	9%	22%

Base: All respondents

8.3 S3a and S3b – How many employees does your organisation currently employ in Great Britain?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
250 to 499	49%	51%	51%	36%	100%	-	-
500 to 999	24%	25%	25%	18%	-	100%	-
1,000 or more	26%	23%	24%	46%	-		100%

Base: All respondents

8.4 S4a and S4b – What percentage of these employees are women?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
0% of your employees are women	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
1% to 25%	21%	27%	0%	3%	24%	20%	16%
26% to 50%	35%	40%	17%	20%	37%	36%	30%
51% to 75%	32%	23%	60%	61%	29%	32%	39%
76% to 99%	8%	6%	19%	13%	8%	9%	9%
100% of your employees are women	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Don’t know	3%	4%	3%	2%	3%	3%	6%

Base: All respondents

8.5 S5a and S5b – Now thinking just about those working in senior management positions, what percentage of these are women?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
0% of your senior management are women	4%	5%	0%	1%	5%	4%	3%
1% to 25%	38%	46%	14%	17%	41%	42%	30%
26% to 50%	34%	32%	40%	40%	34%	31%	38%
51% to 75%	13%	9%	28%	27%	12%	12%	18%
76% to 99%	5%	3%	12%	6%	5%	6%	3%
100% of your senior management are women	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%
Don’t know	4%	4%	4%	8%	3%	3%	8%

Base: All respondents

8.6 S6 – Thinking about your organisation’s employment practices, do you offer any of the following flexible working arrangements to any of your employees?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Part time work	97%	96%	99%	100%	97%	97%	98%
Working from home	74%	71%	84%	83%	68%	74%	85%
Job sharing	64%	55%	88%	93%	57%	62%	80%
Any other types of flexible working, for example, compressed hours or flexitime	70%	65%	85%	89%	67%	67%	80%
Don’t know	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	1%
None of these	1%	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%	1%

Base: All respondents

8.7 S14a – Do you currently pay the following to employees at the statutory rate or at an enhanced rate? – Maternity leave

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Statutory	55%	65%	33%	13%	62%	62%	34%
Enhanced	33%	24%	53%	69%	26%	27%	50%
Combination	11%	10%	13%	15%	9%	10%	14%
Don’t know	2%	2%	2%	3%	3%	0%	2%

Base: All respondents

8.8 S14b – Do you currently pay the following to employees at the statutory rate or at an enhanced rate? – Paternity leave

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Statutory	64%	73%	47%	30%	71%	69%	47%
Enhanced	27%	20%	42%	53%	22%	24%	39%
Combination	7%	6%	8%	11%	5%	6%	11%
Don’t know	2%	2%	3%	6%	3%	1%	3%

Base: All respondents

8.9 S14c – Do you currently pay the following to employees at the statutory rate or at an enhanced rate? – Shared parental leave

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Statutory	69%	76%	52%	45%	73%	75%	57%
Enhanced	19%	13%	34%	37%	16%	15%	28%
Combination	6%	5%	8%	8%	4%	5%	10%
Don’t know	6%	6%	6%	10%	8%	5%	5%

Base: All respondents

8.10 S13 – In the last year, approximately what percentage of those taking maternity leave returned to work?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
None of them	2%	3%	0%	0%	4%	0%	0%
1% to 25%	4%	6%	1%	0%	5%	5%	1%
26% to 50%	4%	4%	5%	1%	3%	6%	2%
51% to 75%	11%	13%	10%	3%	9%	11%	15%
76% to 99%	33%	31%	39%	43%	28%	36%	40%
All of them	30%	31%	30%	28%	40%	29%	13%
No maternity leave taken in last year	2%	3%	0%	0%	4%	0%	1%
Don’t know	12%	10%	15%	24%	4%	12%	28%
Mean	82%	80%	87%	91%	81%	82%	84%

Base: All respondents

8.11 S10 – In the last year, approximately what percentage of new fathers that you employ have taken their full 2-week paternity leave?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
None of them	4%	5%	4%	1%	6%	3%	2%
1% to 25%	18%	20%	15%	10%	19%	18%	16%
26% to 50%	8%	9%	5%	4%	7%	11%	6%
51% to 75%	5%	6%	4%	3%	6%	3%	6%
76% to 99%	10%	11%	9%	10%	10%	10%	12%
All of them	29%	28%	32%	34%	37%	26%	18%
No new fathers in last year	3%	3%	4%	1%	4%	3%	1%
Don’t know	23%	19%	27%	38%	13%	25%	39%
Mean	63%	60%	66%	77%	64%	60%	61%

Base: All respondents

8.12 S12 – In the last year, what percentage of new parents that you employ have taken shared parental leave?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
None of them	62%	66%	58%	47%	74%	62%	41%
1% to 25%	21%	21%	21%	20%	15%	24%	27%
26% to 50%	1%	1%	1%	1%	2%	1%	0%
51% to 75%	1%	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%	2%
76% to 99%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
All of them	1%	0%	3%	0%	1%	1%	0%
No new parents in the last year	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	1%
Don’t know	14%	11%	17%	31%	7%	12%	29%
Mean	3%	3%	5%	3%	3%	2%	4%

Base: All respondents

8.13 A1 – Before today, had you heard of the term “Gender Pay Gap”?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Yes	98%	97%	98%	100%	96%	99%	99%
No	2%	3%	2%	0%	3%	1%	1%
Don’t know	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%

Base: All respondents

8.14 A2 – Which of the following statements best describes your understanding of the Gender Pay Gap?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Not heard of the Gender Pay Gap	2%	3%	2%	0%	4%	1%	1%
You have heard of the term but don’t know anything about it	1%	1%	0%	0%	1%	2%	1%
You have a limited understanding of what it refers to	7%	8%	5%	5%	9%	8%	4%
You have a reasonable understanding of it but not of how it’s calculated	41%	41%	44%	38%	43%	42%	34%
You have a good understanding of what the Gender Pay Gap is and how it is calculated	48%	47%	49%	58%	43%	47%	60%
Don’t know	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%

Base: All respondents

8.15 A3 – Which of the following statements best describes your understanding of the difference between ‘closing the Gender Pay Gap’ and ‘ensuring Equal Pay between men and women’?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
You didn’t know there was a difference	4%	4%	4%	2%	6%	4%	1%
You know there’s a difference but are not sure exactly what this is	30%	31%	30%	22%	31%	30%	26%
You have a good understanding of how they differ	63%	60%	63%	76%	57%	64%	71%
Don’t know	1%	2%	0%	0%	2%	1%	1%
Not heard of the Gender Pay Gap	2%	3%	2%	0%	4%	1%	1%

Base: All respondents

8.16 A4 – Thinking about your organisation’s leadership team or board, how much understanding do you think they have of the Gender Pay Gap and the difference between this and Equal Pay?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Very good understanding	17%	17%	15%	22%	14%	19%	22%
Fairly good understanding	54%	53%	53%	57%	54%	52%	55%
Fairly poor understanding	19%	19%	22%	14%	18%	21%	18%
Very poor understanding	4%	4%	1%	2%	5%	4%	2%
Don’t know	4%	4%	5%	5%	6%	2%	2%
Not heard of the Gender Pay Gap	2%	3%	2%	0%	4%	1%	1%

Base: All respondents

8.17 B1 – Can I just check, in the last 12 months, has your organisation calculated its Gender Pay Gap?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Yes	31%	29%	29%	40%	23%	29%	47%
No	63%	64%	62%	57%	71%	65%	45%
Don’t know	7%	7%	8%	3%	7%	6%	7%

Base: All respondents

8.18 B2 – What was your organisation’s Gender Pay Gap when you last measured it?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	291	121	70	100	91	66	134
Zero (or negative) GPG	7%	7%	8%	3%	6%	14%	3%
1% to 5%	9%	8%	7%	16%	13%	4%	8%
6% to 10%	8%	6%	19%	10%	5%	14%	7%
11% to 15%	7%	7%	4%	8%	2%	4%	13%
16% to 20%	9%	9%	13%	7%	8%	8%	11%
21% to 25%	4%	5%	4%	2%	2%	6%	6%
Over 25%	8%	9%	6%	9%	13%	7%	5%
Don’t know	48%	50%	39%	45%	51%	43%	48%
Mean	14%	14%	12%	17%	18%	12%	13%

Base: All organisations that had measured their GPG

8.19 B3a – Did you calculate mean pay gap, median pay gap or both?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	291	121	70	100	91	66	134
Mean	8%	5%	12%	21%	5%	13%	9%
Median	4%	4%	8%	3%	4%	10%	2%
Both	75%	78%	71%	66%	80%	69%	74%
Don’t know	12%	13%	8%	10%	11%	9%	15%

Base: All organisations that had measured their GPG

8.20 B3b – Did you present this difference as a percentage of male average pay?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	291	121	70	100	91	66	134
Yes	69%	69%	67%	69%	59%	81%	71%
No	9%	7%	12%	18%	12%	8%	7%
Don’t know	22%	24%	21%	13%	29%	11%	21%

Base: All organisations that had measured their GPG

8.21 B3c – Did you calculate this based on hourly pay or annual salary?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	291	121	70	100	91	66	134
Hourly pay	52%	55%	50%	42%	53%	51%	52%
Annual salary	26%	22%	27%	39%	25%	28%	24%
Both	14%	15%	16%	12%	12%	19%	14%
Don’t know	8%	8%	7%	7%	10%	2%	10%

Base: All organisations that had measured their GPG

8.22 B4a – I’m now going to read out some other types of analysis you may have done in this area. For each one please could you tell me whether your organisation has done this in the last 12 months. So firstly, have you analysed the proportions of male and female employees that were paid bonuses?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Yes	31%	35%	22%	16%	25%	28%	46%
No	62%	58%	72%	77%	67%	65%	48%
Don’t know	7%	7%	7%	8%	8%	7%	6%

Base: All respondents

8.23 B4b – Have you calculated the difference in the average bonuses paid to male and female employees?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Yes	24%	27%	17%	13%	18%	21%	38%
No	68%	64%	78%	79%	75%	69%	53%
Don’t know	8%	8%	5%	8%	7%	9%	9%

Base: All respondents

8.24 B4c – Have you analysed the proportions of male and female employees at different levels of the organisation’s pay hierarchy

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Yes	41%	36%	47%	65%	32%	39%	59%
No	52%	56%	45%	29%	61%	53%	33%
Don’t know	7%	8%	7%	6%	7%	8%	7%

Base: All respondents

8.25 B5a – And have you done any other analysis looking at differences between male and female employees in your organisation in the last 12 months?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Yes	31%	27%	37%	50%	25%	32%	42%
No	63%	67%	55%	46%	69%	64%	52%
Don’t know	6%	6%	7%	4%	6%	4%	6%

Base: All respondents

8.26 B5b – What other gender analysis of this type have you done?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Gender balance at different levels of seniority	8%	6%	13%	12%	4%	12%	11%
Detailed salary bands by gender	5%	4%	7%	12%	3%	5%	8%
Gender balance of new employees	5%	4%	4%	9%	2%	6%	8%
Promotion rates by gender	4%	3%	4%	6%	1%	5%	6%
Uptake of flexible working by gender	3%	1%	5%	9%	1%	3%	5%
GPG analysis by age	3%	2%	5%	5%	2%	4%	3%
Analysis by job role or title or grade	3%	3%	3%	4%	2%	2%	6%
Length of service or employment by gender	2%	2%	4%	5%	1%	4%	5%
Retention rates by gender	2%	2%	2%	5%	0%	4%	5%
Starting salaries by gender	2%	2%	2%	4%	1%	1%	5%
Equality and diversity	1%	1%	2%	5%	1%	1%	2%
Uptake of paternity or maternity or shared parental leave	1%	1%	2%	2%	0%	2%	3%
Equal pay audit or review	1%	1%	1%	4%	0%	2%	2%
Overall gender balance	1%	1%	2%	1%	1%	1%	1%
Analysis by pay quartiles	1%	1%	0%	2%	1%	1%	1%
Analysis by full or part time or hours worked	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	0%	1%
Comparison with national statistics	1%	0%	2%	0%	1%	1%	0%
Training uptake	1%	1%	0%	2%	1%	0%	1%
Staff surveys	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	1%
Disciplinary or grievance by gender	0%	0%	0%	2%	0%	0%	0%
Sick leave or absence by gender	0%	0%	1%	1%	0%	0%	0%
Other	6%	5%	6%	7%	6%	2%	8%
Don’t know	2%	3%	2%	2%	3%	1%	3%
Not done any gender analysis	69%	73%	63%	50%	75%	68%	58%

Base: All respondents

8.27 B6 – Thinking about how you have used any of this Gender Pay Gap or other gender analysis, have you done any of the following?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	597	240	154	203	233	138	226
Shared it with your leadership team or board	66%	62%	76%	79%	59%	74%	70%
Shared with senior management	62%	56%	70%	79%	58%	64%	65%
Used it to inform or revise your HR policy and practices	38%	32%	41%	58%	33%	40%	42%
Developed a formal action plan or strategy to address gender issues	26%	23%	25%	38%	19%	28%	32%
Shared it with your wider workforce	15%	9%	16%	43%	13%	16%	18%
Communicated if published it externally	11%	4%	11%	42%	8%	9%	16%
Shared it with HR management or department	1%	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%	1%
Reviewed or audited pay levels	1%	1%	1%	1%	0%	2%	2%
Influenced diversity strategy	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	0%	1%
Used for further analysis	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	2%	0%
Shared it with trade union	0%	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	0%
Other	2%	1%	2%	3%	1%	1%	2%
None of these	14%	15%	12%	8%	18%	9%	11%
Don’t know	3%	3%	1%	0%	2%	1%	4%

Base: All that have measured their GPG or done other gender analysis

8.28 C1 – How much of a priority to your organisation is reducing your Gender Pay Gap?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
A high priority	24%	24%	25%	28%	24%	21%	29%
A medium priority	37%	35%	38%	45%	32%	40%	43%
A low priority	21%	22%	18%	18%	23%	22%	15%
Not a priority at all	13%	14%	13%	5%	16%	13%	7%
Don’t know	5%	5%	6%	4%	5%	4%	6%

Base: All respondents

8.29 C2 – Why is reducing the Gender Pay Gap a high priority for your organisation?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	226	96	60	70	93	47	86
Right thing to do or want to be fair or non-discriminatory	34%	34%	36%	29%	35%	41%	27%
Important for us to provide equal pay or opportunities	21%	19%	25%	23%	16%	23%	27%
It’s a legal requirement or regulation	20%	21%	14%	23%	21%	23%	18%
It’s important to us or working to address or maintain our GPG	14%	16%	13%	8%	14%	12%	16%
Important to our reputation	10%	9%	14%	13%	6%	10%	16%
Want to know reasons and extent of gap or address any issues	8%	10%	4%	7%	9%	3%	11%
We have a GPG or gender imbalance in workforce or certain areas	8%	9%	5%	3%	6%	9%	10%
Don’t have a GPG or workforce is mainly female	3%	2%	3%	9%	1%	7%	3%
Senior management are aware of or made it a priority	3%	3%	7%	1%	3%	6%	2%
A lot of publicity or attention about GPG	3%	3%	2%	4%	6%	0%	2%
All workers are paid equally regardless of gender	3%	3%	0%	4%	0%	8%	4%
Haven’t calculated our GPG yet or don’t know if it’s an issue	2%	2%	5%	3%	1%	9%	1%
We employ or pay on ability, not gender or other factors	1%	1%	0%	0%	2%	0%	0%
Long-term issue or take time to solve	0%	0%	3%	0%	0%	0%	1%
Don’t fully understand GPG or requirements	0%	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	1%
It’s a wider social or cultural issue	0%	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	1%
Limited resources or time	0%	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	0%
Our GPG is small or not a big issue	0%	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	1%
Other	7%	3%	14%	17%	6%	4%	9%
Don’t know	1%	0%	4%	3%	0%	2%	1%

Base: All where reducing GPG is a high priority

8.30 C2 – Why is reducing the Gender Pay Gap a medium priority for your organisation?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	352	146	92	114	147	85	120
Our GPG is small or not a big issue	14%	13%	18%	16%	15%	15%	12%
Don’t have GPG or mainly female	13%	13%	17%	11%	12%	16%	13%
Haven’t calculated our GPG yet or don’t know if it’s an issue	13%	14%	11%	10%	13%	10%	16%
We have a GPG or gender imbalance in workforce	10%	12%	6%	4%	8%	10%	12%
Other more important priorities	9%	5%	18%	15%	8%	11%	8%
It’s important to us or working to address or maintain our GPG	9%	8%	8%	10%	10%	5%	10%
Right thing to do or want to be fair or non-discriminatory	9%	10%	4%	7%	7%	11%	10%
It’s a legal requirement or regulation	8%	8%	9%	7%	11%	6%	7%
All workers are already paid equally regardless of gender	7%	7%	6%	4%	8%	9%	4%
There’s nothing or little we can do	6%	8%	0%	3%	6%	5%	6%
Important for us to provide equal pay and opportunities	4%	4%	7%	3%	5%	4%	2%
Want to know reasons and extent of gap or address any issues	4%	4%	3%	5%	5%	2%	4%
Important to our reputation	3%	3%	1%	3%	3%	2%	4%
We employ or pay on ability, not gender or other factors	3%	3%	2%	2%	4%	3%	0%
Have a set pay scale or structure	2%	1%	5%	5%	2%	3%	2%
Limited resources or time	2%	1%	1%	4%	1%	2%	2%
It’s a wider social or cultural issue	2%	2%	1%	0%	1%	2%	2%
Publicity or attention about GPG	1%	1%	2%	1%	2%	0%	2%
Long term issue or time to solve	1%	1%	2%	0%	1%	2%	0%
Senior management don’t see as priority	1%	1%	0%	3%	0%	0%	2%
Don’t fully understand GPG or requirements	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	0%	2%
Senior management aware or made priority	1%	1%	1%	0%	0%	0%	2%
Don’t see it as important	1%	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%
Other	6%	6%	2%	10%	2%	5%	13%
Don’t know	4%	4%	4%	3%	3%	6%	3%

Base: All where reducing GPG is a medium priority

8.31 C2 – Why is reducing the Gender Pay Gap a low priority for your organisation?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	176	87	44	45	92	44	40
We don’t have a GPG or workforce is mainly female	24%	22%	35%	29%	25%	18%	31%
Our GPG is small or not a big issue	15%	10%	33%	36%	11%	20%	22%
Other more important priorities	19%	21%	5%	15%	22%	10%	20%
All workers are already paid equally regardless of gender	14%	15%	11%	11%	11%	19%	14%
There’s nothing or little we can do	16%	18%	9%	2%	16%	25%	1%
Have a set pay scale or structure	9%	7%	14%	18%	11%	3%	12%
We haven’t calculated our GPG yet or don’t know if it’s an issue	5%	5%	9%	9%	5%	7%	4%
We employ or pay on ability, not gender or other factors	8%	8%	10%	0%	11%	4%	3%
It’s important to us or working to address or maintain our GPG	4%	3%	4%	7%	3%	3%	9%
It’s a legal requirement or regulation	3%	4%	2%	0%	4%	0%	4%
Don’t fully understand GPG or requirements	3%	4%	0%	0%	2%	6%	4%
Don’t see it as important	3%	3%	0%	2%	0%	4%	9%
Right thing to do or want to be fair or non-discriminatory	2%	2%	0%	2%	4%	0%	0%
Senior management don’t see it as a priority	2%	2%	0%	2%	4%	0%	0%
Important for us to provide equal pay or opportunities	1%	1%	2%	0%	0%	3%	1%
It’s a wider social or cultural issue	1%	1%	2%	0%	2%	0%	0%
Limited resources or time	1%	1%	0%	0%	0%	0%	4%
Long-term issue or will take time to solve	0%	0%	0%	2%	0%	1%	0%
Want to know reasons and extent of gap or address any issues	0%	0%	3%	0%	0%	1%	0%
Other	2%	2%	7%	0%	1%	3%	6%
Don’t know	1%	1%	0%	2%	0%	3%	1%

Base: All where reducing GPG is a low priority

8.32 C2 – Why is reducing the Gender Pay Gap not a priority at all for your organisation?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	100	56	32	12	60	25	15
We don’t have a GPG or workforce is mainly female	40%	35%	60%	59%	36%	41%	52%
All workers are already paid equally regardless of gender	23%	25%	22%	0%	24%	28%	13%
We employ or pay on ability, not gender or other factors	14%	16%	3%	0%	16%	5%	20%
Our gender pay gap is small or not a big issue	9%	9%	9%	8%	7%	12%	10%
Other more important priorities	9%	10%	7%	0%	14%	2%	0%
Have a set pay scale or structure	8%	5%	12%	42%	6%	14%	6%
There’s nothing or little we can do	4%	4%	4%	0%	5%	2%	0%
Senior management don’t see it as a priority	4%	5%	0%	0%	3%	11%	0%
Don’t see it as important	4%	4%	0%	8%	5%	0%	3%
We haven’t calculated our GPG yet or don’t know if it’s an issue	3%	3%	6%	0%	1%	11%	0%
Right thing to do or want to be fair or non-discriminatory	2%	2%	0%	0%	3%	0%	0%
It’s a wider social or cultural issue	2%	2%	0%	0%	3%	0%	0%
Don’t fully understand GPG or requirements	2%	2%	0%	0%	3%	0%	0%
Other	3%	2%	6%	16%	4%	2%	3%
Don’t know	3%	4%	0%	0%	5%	0%	0%

Base: All where reducing GPG is not a priority at all

8.33 C3 – Which of the following best describes your organisation’s current approach to reducing your Gender Pay Gap?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
You have developed a formalised plan or strategy and undertaken some or all of the specified actions	6%	6%	6%	8%	5%	5%	11%
You have developed a formalised plan or strategy that includes specific actions, but have not yet implemented them	15%	14%	16%	20%	12%	13%	23%
You intend to take action but have not yet developed any specific plans	50%	49%	52%	53%	49%	56%	45%
You have no plans to take any action to reduce your Gender Pay Gap	20%	22%	17%	11%	25%	16%	14%
Don’t know	9%	10%	9%	8%	10%	10%	7%

Base: All respondents

8.34 C4 – Have you or do you intend to publish an action plan for how you will try and reduce your Gender Pay Gap?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	662	281	178	203	275	161	226
Yes: publish it externally (for example, annual report, website)	7%	6%	9%	11%	6%	7%	9%
Yes: publish it internally (for example, intranet, staff newsletter)	23%	23%	23%	20%	25%	20%	22%
Yes: both externally and internally	25%	22%	28%	40%	21%	32%	26%
No	16%	17%	16%	9%	19%	16%	10%
Don’t know	29%	31%	24%	20%	28%	24%	33%

Base: All that have, plan or intend to take action to reduce their GPG

8.35 C5 – Still thinking about the formalised plan or strategy that you have developed to reduce your Gender Pay Gap, which of the following specific actions or measures does this include?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	204	83	52	69	64	43	97
Offering or promoting flexible working arrangements	71%	65%	84%	84%	70%	63%	75%
Promoting parental leave policies that encourage men and women to share childcare	65%	59%	84%	75%	53%	67%	75%
Making cultural changes within your organisation	51%	45%	67%	67%	37%	55%	62%
Voluntary internal targets	39%	39%	43%	37%	32%	35%	49%
Women-specific recruitment, promotion or mentoring schemes	35%	35%	25%	45%	31%	15%	49%
More audits or monitoring or reviews	1%	0%	4%	3%	0%	0%	2%
Gender neutral pay	1%	1%	4%	0%	2%	0%	1%
Training or education	1%	1%	0%	1%	1%	0%	2%
No action required or no GPG	3%	4%	4%	0%	6%	1%	2%
Other	5%	5%	6%	6%	8%	6%	2%
Don’t know	10%	12%	4%	9%	10%	10%	11%

Base: All that have, plan or intend to take action to reduce their GPG

8.36 C7 – Will the impact of these actions be evaluated as part of a formalised process or on a more ad hoc basis?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	59	25	15	19	19	10	30
Formalised process: at least annually	56%	52%	67%	68%	51%	40%	67%
Formalised process: less often	1%	0%	0%	5%	0%	4%	0%
On an ad hoc or less formal basis	25%	28%	14%	21%	29%	40%	16%
Do not plan to evaluate their impact	3%	4%	0%	0%	0%	15%	0%
Don’t know	15%	16%	19%	5%	20%	0%	16%

Base: All that have taken action to reduce their GPG

8.37 C8 – And have you already evaluated the current impact of these actions?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	59	25	15	19	19	10	30
Yes	38%	33%	41%	63%	37%	29%	43%
No	39%	40%	40%	32%	43%	25%	41%
Don’t know	5%	7%	0%	0%	0%	30%	0%
Do not plan to evaluate impact or Don’t know if will	18%	20%	19%	5%	20%	15%	16%

Base: All that have taken action to reduce their GPG

8.38 C9 – How successful do you think these actions have been to date?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	59	25	15	19	19	10	30
Very successful	23%	24%	13%	27%	33%	35%	10%
Fairly successful	38%	33%	61%	42%	37%	15%	48%
Neither successful nor unsuccessful	12%	16%	0%	5%	8%	30%	8%
Fairly unsuccessful	3%	4%	0%	0%	0%	0%	6%
Very unsuccessful	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Too early to say	11%	11%	6%	16%	4%	0%	22%
Don’t know	13%	12%	20%	10%	18%	20%	6%

Base: All that have taken action to reduce their GPG

8.39 C10 – In your view, what is the main challenge to reducing your organisation’s GPG?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Recruit or promoting more women	14%	15%	10%	12%	12%	16%	18%
Male dominated sector or business	10%	12%	5%	3%	11%	11%	8%
Financial constraints or cost	5%	4%	10%	8%	5%	5%	4%
Men and women tend to do or apply for different jobs	5%	5%	5%	10%	5%	5%	6%
Gathering or analysing or reporting the GPG data	5%	4%	6%	4%	3%	6%	7%
Changing organisational culture or educating people on the issue	4%	4%	4%	3%	3%	3%	6%
Women more likely to take career breaks or work part time or require flexible working	3%	2%	3%	6%	2%	3%	4%
Lack of understanding or priority at a senior level	3%	3%	1%	2%	2%	4%	3%
No autonomy on pay or pay scales decided by government	2%	2%	2%	6%	2%	2%	4%
GPG skewed by bonuses, commission, length of service, management salaries	2%	2%	2%	4%	1%	4%	2%
Ensure fair or equal or transparent pay	2%	2%	2%	2%	2%	4%	1%
Wider cultural or social attitudes	2%	1%	3%	2%	1%	3%	2%
Comparing or evaluating roles on a like-for-like basis	2%	2%	2%	2%	1%	2%	2%
Lack of time or resources	2%	2%	1%	3%	2%	2%	2%
Low staff turnover	1%	1%	3%	2%	0%	3%	2%
Limited pool of suitable applicants (any gender)	1%	1%	2%	2%	2%	0%	1%
Promoting or encouraging flexible working	1%	0%	1%	2%	1%	1%	1%
Too early to say or haven’t calculated or analysed GPG	9%	9%	10%	10%	8%	9%	10%
None: no barriers, challenges	7%	7%	10%	4%	7%	7%	6%
None: don’t have a GPG or pay men and women equally	15%	16%	14%	10%	18%	15%	11%
Other	10%	9%	12%	15%	8%	10%	14%
Don’t know	15%	15%	15%	18%	18%	13%	12%

Base: All respondents

8.40 D1 – Which of the following statements best describes how well informed you consider yourself to be about these new regulations?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
You were not aware of the new transparency regulations before today	11%	12%	8%	7%	11%	10%	11%
You have heard of them but know nothing about them	3%	3%	2%	2%	3%	5%	1%
You know about them, but aren’t sure what is required	11%	13%	8%	8%	15%	8%	8%
You understand what is required but not how to do it	20%	19%	24%	20%	23%	21%	13%
You understand what is required and how to do it	54%	52%	58%	61%	47%	55%	65%
Don’t know	1%	1%	1%	1%	2%	1%	1%
You do not think the regulations apply to you	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%

Base: All respondents

8.41 D2 – To what extent has your organisation prepared for these regulations?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
You have not yet thought about them	7%	8%	3%	4%	10%	5%	3%
You have reviewed the requirements but not yet done anything further	30%	30%	33%	26%	35%	29%	22%
You have developed a plan for how and when you will meet the requirements	32%	32%	33%	36%	26%	37%	40%
You are already able to meet the requirements	17%	15%	19%	26%	16%	16%	20%
Don’t know	3%	3%	4%	2%	3%	3%	4%
Not aware of the regulations	11%	12%	8%	7%	11%	10%	11%

Base: All respondents

8.42 D3 – If you needed support in complying with the new regulations, where would you look to for advice?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas)	30%	30%	36%	29%	32%	30%	27%
Legal professionals or advisors	30%	32%	30%	23%	27%	34%	34%
External consultants	23%	24%	24%	16%	24%	19%	24%
Government Equalities Office (GEO)	17%	16%	17%	21%	18%	16%	16%
Other government department	17%	16%	16%	22%	18%	16%	16%
Charted Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)	13%	13%	13%	11%	12%	15%	12%
Website – government	9%	9%	10%	9%	8%	10%	8%
A business association, trade association or industry body	6%	4%	6%	16%	6%	6%	6%
Website: other or generic	6%	7%	4%	5%	7%	7%	5%
HR department or payroll or internal	5%	5%	2%	4%	4%	5%	5%
Website – human resources (for example, Xpert HR)	2%	2%	4%	2%	3%	1%	1%
HMRC or DWP	2%	2%	1%	1%	1%	3%	2%
Local government or council	1%	0%	2%	7%	1%	1%	2%
NHS Employers or NHS England	1%	0%	0%	6%	0%	0%	2%
Our own management team	1%	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%	1%
Other	4%	3%	3%	10%	3%	3%	6%
Nowhere or would not need support	2%	2%	1%	4%	2%	3%	2%
Don’t know	4%	4%	3%	3%	2%	5%	7%

Base: All respondents

8.43 D10 – What, if any, external support or assistance would help you comply with the Gender Pay Gap regulations?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Advice or guidance on how to report their gender pay data	19%	19%	24%	18%	18%	21%	19%
Advice or guidance on how to measure their GPG	18%	17%	26%	17%	16%	19%	22%
Downloadable software to calculate their Gender Pay Gap	9%	8%	11%	10%	6%	8%	15%
Case studies or examples from other organisations	9%	9%	9%	7%	7%	6%	13%
GPG benchmarks from other organisations or their sector	7%	7%	9%	6%	5%	7%	11%
Support or resource for HR or payroll	6%	7%	5%	4%	9%	4%	3%
Financial support	3%	3%	5%	6%	2%	2%	6%
Training or workshops or seminars or webinars	3%	2%	6%	5%	2%	3%	4%
Legal advice	3%	4%	4%	2%	4%	4%	3%
Advice or guidance from Acas	3%	2%	2%	4%	4%	2%	1%
Advice or guidance from government	3%	3%	3%	2%	4%	2%	2%
Clearer regulatory guidance or reminders or deadlines	2%	2%	2%	3%	2%	3%	2%
Templates	1%	0%	1%	2%	0%	0%	2%
Helpline or point of contact	1%	1%	0%	2%	1%	1%	1%
External or independent checks	1%	1%	0%	1%	0%	1%	2%
Someone external undertaking GPG analysis or reporting	1%	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%	1%
Don’t know	20%	21%	16%	18%	20%	24%	17%
Other	2%	2%	1%	1%	2%	2%	1%
None or do not need external support	32%	32%	31%	34%	34%	29%	31%

Base: All respondents

8.44 D4 – Have you read the guidance on Gender Pay Gap reporting that has been produced by the Government Equalities Office and Acas?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Yes	59%	55%	71%	64%	55%	63%	61%
No	30%	32%	21%	28%	33%	27%	26%
Don’t know	1%	1%	0%	1%	1%	0%	2%
Not aware of the regulations	11%	12%	8%	7%	11%	10%	11%

Base: All respondents

8.45 D5 – The regulations require relevant employers to publish their gender pay data within 12 months of the 6 April 2017 (or 31 March for the public sector). When does your organisation intend to publish its results?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Quarter 1: April to June 2017	8%	7%	5%	15%	8%	8%	8%
Quarter 2: July to September 2017	10%	8%	15%	15%	10%	10%	9%
Quarter 3: October to December 2017	11%	10%	13%	12%	11%	9%	12%
Quarter 4: January to March 2018	15%	15%	15%	14%	13%	16%	16%
Don’t know	11%	12%	10%	10%	11%	12%	11%
Have not yet decided when you will publish the results	45%	48%	42%	33%	47%	44%	43%
Don’t intend to publish results	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	1%	0%

Base: All respondents

8.46 D6 – Do you plan to externally publish any additional information beyond that required by the regulations?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Yes	20%	17%	25%	32%	17%	18%	27%
No	49%	53%	40%	38%	54%	49%	41%
Don’t know	31%	30%	35%	30%	29%	33%	32%

Base: All respondents

8.47 D7 – What else do you plan to publish?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
A narrative commentary on the results	15%	13%	21%	23%	12%	14%	22%
Additional or more detailed breakdowns of your gender analysis	6%	5%	8%	11%	4%	5%	9%
Other types of analysis looking at potential underlying drivers of your gender pay gap	6%	5%	6%	7%	5%	5%	7%
A new or revised action plan or equivalent document on how you aim to address your Gender Pay Gap	7%	5%	10%	13%	6%	6%	8%
Equal pay audit or reporting	0%	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	0%
Include in annual reports or accounts	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Other	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%
Don’t know or undecided	1%	0%	2%	4%	1%	1%	2%
Do not plan to publish additional information	49%	53%	40%	38%	54%	49%	41%
Don’t know if will publish additional information	31%	30%	35%	30%	29%	33%	32%

Base: All respondents

8.48 D8 – Which of the following best describes your current or expected approach to communicating your Gender Pay Gap results to current employees and potential recruits?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Adopt a comprehensive and active engagement strategy	16%	14%	19%	23%	14%	17%	20%
Draw their attention to it, but nothing further	20%	19%	24%	26%	20%	23%	18%
Not do any promotion or engagement activity	9%	11%	4%	2%	11%	10%	6%
Communication approach will depend on the results	42%	43%	43%	37%	44%	39%	41%
Don’t know	12%	13%	10%	12%	11%	11%	15%

Base: All respondents

8.49 D9 – And how will you communicate the results to clients, suppliers, investors and other external stakeholders?

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
Adopt a comprehensive and active engagement strategy	11%	10%	12%	15%	10%	12%	13%
Draw their attention to it, but nothing further	21%	19%	21%	30%	21%	23%	19%
Not do any promotion or engagement activity	13%	15%	12%	5%	16%	13%	9%
Communication approach will depend on the results	39%	39%	44%	34%	38%	39%	42%
Don’t know	16%	16%	12%	16%	16%	13%	17%

Base: All respondents

8.50 SIC classification (IDBR data) - Private sector only

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	406	406	0	0	192	113	101
A: Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1%	1%	0%	0%	2%	1%	0%
B: Mining and quarrying	1%	1%	0%	0%	0%	3%	0%
C: Manufacturing	18%	18%	0%	0%	22%	15%	11%
D: Electricity, gas and air conditioning supply	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	2%
E: Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	1%	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%	1%
F: Construction	5%	5%	0%	0%	7%	4%	1%
G: Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	16%	16%	0%	0%	15%	18%	16%
H: Transportation and storage	5%	5%	0%	0%	1%	5%	12%
I: Accommodation and food service activities	9%	9%	0%	0%	8%	9%	10%
J: Information and communication	4%	4%	0%	0%	5%	3%	5%
K: Financial and insurance activities	5%	5%	0%	0%	4%	6%	6%
L: Real estate activities	2%	2%	0%	0%	2%	0%	4%
M: Professional, scientific and technical activities	8%	8%	0%	0%	8%	7%	10%
N: Administrative and support service activities	15%	15%	0%	0%	16%	15%	13%
P: Education	2%	2%	0%	0%	2%	3%	2%
Q: Human health and social work activities	6%	6%	0%	0%	6%	8%	5%
R: Arts, entertainment and recreation	3%	3%	0%	0%	2%	4%	3%
S: Other service activities	0%	0%	0%	0%	1%	1%	0%

Base: All private sector organisations

8.51 Government Office Region (IDBR data)

	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Base (unweighted)	900	406	243	251	412	214	274
East Midlands	7%	7%	4%	6%	8%	6%	5%
East of England	9%	8%	10%	14%	8%	12%	7%
London	19%	19%	22%	15%	18%	15%	24%
North East	4%	3%	2%	7%	3%	5%	4%
North West	10%	9%	9%	13%	8%	11%	11%
South East	16%	16%	17%	14%	18%	16%	10%
South West	9%	9%	7%	10%	8%	7%	11%
West Midlands	9%	9%	9%	11%	9%	10%	9%
Yorkshire and Humberside	8%	7%	8%	9%	8%	7%	8%
Scotland	7%	7%	9%	1%	7%	5%	7%
Wales	4%	5%	4%	0%	3%	6%	4%

Base: All respondents

Question 9

9. Annex B. Summary report of qualitative follow-up research on GPG reporting

Accepted Answer

9.1 B1. Background and objectives

In Spring 2017, OMB conducted research for GEO to further understand the attitudes of large employers towards compliance with the gender pay gap (GPG) transparency regulations. This consisted of a quantitative survey of 900 employers and in-depth qualitative interviews with 30 of those respondents.

As part of this research, employers were asked when they intended to publish their GPG data. Within the quantitative sample, 81 respondents said that they intended to publish their GPG results in quarter 1 of the financial year 2016 to 2017. If this is extrapolated to the whole population, we would expect that around 8% of all large employers would publish in quarter 1, which is higher than the number who actually published their results on the official GPG portal in quarter 1.

GEO therefore commissioned further research among those employers that expected to publish in quarter 1 to understand why this did not happen. This summary outlines the main findings from the follow-up research, conducted by OMB Research in September 2017.

9.2 B2. Methodology

A total of 22 qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with employers who had indicated an intention to publish their GPG results in quarter 1 of the 2016 to 2017 financial year, but who had not yet published via the GPG reporting portal. The sample consisted of participants from the main quantitative survey who had agreed to be contacted for further research. We conducted a brief interview (5 to 10 minutes in duration) to explore the progress they had made towards compliance, their overall perceptions of the process and what had delayed their progress. Where relevant, we also explored the impact of previous experience of measuring GPG on employers’ experiences of complying with the new reporting regulations (for example, had it made the process easier or more difficult, and why?).

We interviewed a spread of employers by size, sector and whether they had previously measured their GPG. The achieved interview profile closely matched the profile of all those employers reporting an intention to publish their GPG results in quarter 1 of the 2016 to 2017 financial year. The breakdown of the 22 interviews was as follows:

size: 10 employers with 250 to 499 employees, 4 employers with 500 to 999 employees, and 8 employers with 1,000 or more employees
sector: 10 public sector, 7 private sector, 5 voluntary sector
previously measured GPG: 12 yes, 10 no

We also achieved a geographical spread of employers across the sample.

9.3 B3. Summary of key findings

Progress towards compliance

Employers were at different stages on their compliance journeys. The vast majority had started gathering the data required for calculations and over half the sample had completed their calculations and were either in the process of writing supporting statements or had already done so. Of those who had already completed their calculations and supporting statements, 3 had already published their results on their own websites and the others were awaiting approval from their boards or other organisations within their group.

A number of employers were in the process of either checking what data to include, collating the data from their payroll and other systems or running the calculations. Only a small minority were yet to engage with the compliance process at all.

Experiences and perceptions of the data collation, calculation and interpretation process varied across the sample, and the impact of this on their progress also varied (explored in the next section). In some cases, the experience had been more arduous than expected, while others reported a relatively straightforward process. However, most explained that the process required diversion of resources which were also required elsewhere, meaning that GPG data collation and calculation were sometimes paused in order to allow staff to work on other tasks.

“It was quite tricky gathering the data. It was probably because it was the first time we had done it, and didn’t know what to expect. There are plenty of other things that we needed to do too, so we didn’t have as much time on this in the end.” (250 to 499 employees, private sector)

When considering reasons for not complying as early as initially intended, it is important to note that employers weigh up the amount of work involved in completing the compliance process against the negative impact of not doing so. Employers consistently explained that the relatively long-term deadline for compliance meant that they were less inclined to make additional effort to do so in the short-term, particularly when set against other, more time-pressured priorities.

“It has just ended up on the back burner. We know we don’t have to report on it until next year, so it has taken a back seat at the moment.” (1,000 or more employees, private sector)

Furthermore, some employers explained that as they approached the GPG deadline date, the urgency and priority given to compliance would increase.

Reasons for delayed compliance

We explored the degree to which employers felt they had ‘slipped’ in terms of their original publication intentions, and what they felt were the reasons for this. Four broad groups of employers emerged across the qualitative sample, summarised below in order of their prevalence:

Reason 1. A more involved process: A number of employers (across a range of sizes and sectors) explained that while they had the best intentions to publish early, and were initially optimistic that they would be able to do so, the process of collating data or running calculations was more arduous than they had expected. Most of these employers reported challenges at the early stages of data collation. Some explained that it had taken longer to identify and clarify exactly what figures to include in the calculations (for example, bonuses and other benefits).

“Once we started to look at it in detail, it took longer to understand exactly what type of data was required to do the calculations.” (250 to 499 employees, public sector)

Others reported a complex or difficult process of transferring and checking certain types of data. This was either the result of particular ways in which salaries and bonuses had been recorded in the past, or due to the complexity of the business (for example, multiple subsidiaries or departments with different systems in place).

“I had to extract some of the data by hand, which took ages.” (1,000 or more employees, private sector)

A minority were delayed by senior management seeking further clarification about the meaning of the results before agreeing to publish. These employers explained that the initial priority to publish early had been driven by the HR function, and that this was not fully shared by senior management, who were not as engaged in the topic and had a limited understanding of GPG (and how it differs from equal pay).

Reason 2. Circumstantial barriers: A second group of employers described more specific, often external, barriers or issues. These had either made the process of compliance considerably more complex, pushed compliance down the list of priorities for the organisation as a whole and for the HR function in particular, or led to a deliberate delay in publication.

In some cases, organisations had merged or acquired other operations, making the process of compliance more complex, and meaning that other tasks associated with the new working arrangements were deemed more important. In other cases, employers had been instructed to wait before publishing so that all organisations in a larger group could publish simultaneously. Lastly, some employers explained that their compliance process had been delayed by their payroll IT provider. They had not yet been provided with the data reports required to make calculations.

“Two colleges have merged, meaning that we have 2 sets of data to deal with now. We have pulled the stats together now, but there was a delay.” (500 to 999 employees, public sector)

“We didn’t have a firm plan of when to publish, but our best intentions were to do so quickly and get it out of the way…[but] we had a hic-up with the payroll provider not being able to run the report.” (500 to 999 employees, public sector)

Reason 3. Level of engagement reduced versus other priorities: In a minority of cases, employers did not describe any specific reasons for a delay in compliance. Rather, they explained that doing so had simply become less of a priority in the intervening weeks and months, with other more pressing issues taking precedence. They also explained that, at the time of the quantitative survey, the new regulations were more ‘top-of-mind’ due to PR coverage and communications about the topic. This had contributed to a degree of optimism and good intentions around compliance, which had subsequently diminished. Some expected further communication and publicity about the regulations as the deadline for publication becomes closer, and suggested that this would likely encourage them to push ahead with the compliance process with more urgency.

“We haven’t really got started, it’s just a lack of time. At the time the regulations came in there was lots of awareness and we wanted to get it out of the way, but we just haven’t had the time.” (500 to 999 employees, private sector)

Reason 4. Misinterpretation of ‘publishing’: Three employers in our sample (all from the public or voluntary sectors) said that they had already published their GPG results. When probed in more detail, all explained that by ‘publish’ they were referring to publishing on their own websites and not on the government portal. In one case, the employer was aware of the need to publish on the government site, but was not planning to do so until the deadline of the end of March 2018. However, the other employers were not aware that they were required to do this, and assumed that by publishing on their own website, they had already complied.

“We put this on our website as part of our Pay Policy Statement in April. It was straightforward really. I didn’t realise that we had to report it too.” (250 to 499 employees, public sector)

“Yes, we published online quite a while ago. We haven’t registered it yet as we do not have to do this until next year.” (250 to 499 employees, voluntary sector)

Understanding of publication requirements

Once the lack of understanding around the meaning of ‘publishing’ GPG results described above was first discovered, we explored perceptions and understanding of their publishing and reporting obligations in all subsequent interviews (covering a total of 20 of the 22 employers). The majority of employers in the sample were fully aware of their obligations to publish their GPG data on the government portal. However, 5 (including the 2 previously mentioned) employers assumed that they only had to publish on their own websites and a further 2 were unsure, but said that they would have checked again before the deadline.

All the employers in this qualitative sample who did not realise that they had to publish on the government portal were either voluntary or public sector organisations. Some local authorities had assumed that because they were publishing their data as part of other public-facing information about pay in general, no further action would be required. One voluntary sector employer thought that only public sector organisations were required to publish their data with central government.

“We will have to make it public, that is the requirement, so we will make sure it is on our internet site.” (1,000 or more employees, public sector)

“I didn’t realise that we would need to report it to the government too. I thought that was public sector only.” (1,000 or more employees, voluntary sector)

Impact of previous GPG measurement

Just over half the sample had previously measured their GPG in some way, with the majority of these having done so as a ‘dry run’ after being notified that they would be required to publish their GPG results under the new regulations. In most cases, the primary motivation for completing the dry run was to identify whether or not they had a significant GPG early on, in order to allow time to address this before publishing the official data. In many cases their focus was not on testing the exact approach to calculating the data, but rather on gaining a ‘rough idea’ of the results. Consequently, while the dry run had some positive impact in terms of preparing staff for what they would need to do to comply, in many cases it had not prepared them fully for what was required in terms of identifying and collating the precise data or interpreting the results.

“We did a rough dry run which made it a bit easier…at least we were not starting from scratch. But it didn’t prepare us for the challenges of getting all the information from our database.” (250 to 499 employees, voluntary sector)

In a minority of cases, public sector employers explained that they had already been collecting GPG data as part of their on-going policies on equality. Some explained that this had meant that they were very confident about collating the data for the new regulations, and had therefore completed this quite quickly. In some cases, these employers had already published on their own websites, with delays in ‘official’ publication related to a need for senior managers to sign-off on the portal submission.

In some other cases, employers felt that their past experience of calculating GPG had little impact on their ability to make the necessary calculations under the new regulations. They explained that their previous GPG measurements involved simpler calculations, meaning that they still needed to work out the best way to approach the new requirements. However, while it did not help them, they did not feel that their previous ‘habits’ (in terms of making calculations) had impeded their ability to carry out the new calculations either.

“We have done it before as part of our equality survey. It didn’t really make a difference either way. The only real difference was calculating the quartiles, but that was not a big problem to add.” (250 to 499 employees, public sector)

The views expressed in this report are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education.

‘The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017’ for the private and voluntary sectors and ‘The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017’ for the public sector. ↩
A stage of additional qualitative telephone interviews was conducted in September 2017. ↩
The median is used for the headline GPG figure, although the mean is also used in some cases. ↩
This is based on the Office for National Statistics analysis of median earnings for all employees (full and part time): The gender pay gap - what is it and what affects it? ↩
Calculated at the 95% level of confidence, and showing the ‘worst case’ scenario of 50% of the sample answering in the same way. ↩
Employers were allocated to an engagement band based on their responses to the following 2 questions in the quantitative survey: Which of the following best describes your organisation’s current approach to reducing your Gender Pay Gap? How much of a priority to your organisation is reducing your Gender Pay Gap? ↩
Strictly speaking, calculations of statistical significance apply only to samples that have been selected using a probability sampling design. However, in practice it is reasonable to assume that these calculations provide a good indication of significant differences for quota sampling (as used for this research). ↩
More detailed findings from this additional qualitative phase can be found in Annex B. ↩
In this context, ‘combination’ referred to cases where employers provided statutory rates to some staff and enhanced rates to others (for example, based on seniority or length of employment). ↩
Eligibility for Shared Parental Leave is contingent on employment history, and both parents must qualify. ↩

Response	Total	Private sector	Voluntary sector	Public sector	250 to 499 employees	500 to 999 employees	1,000 or more employees
Not aware of the new transparency regulations	11%	12%	8%	7%	11%	10%	11%
Heard of them but know nothing about them	3%	3%	2%	2%	3%	5%	1%
Know about them but not sure what is required	11%	13%	8%	8%	15%	8%	8%
Understand what is required but not how to do it	20%	19%	24%	20%	23%	21%	13%
Understand what is required and how to do it	54%	52%	58%	61%	47%	55%	65%

Cookies on GOV.UK

1. Executive summary

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Understanding of the GPG

1.3 Measuring the GPG and other gender analysis

1.4 Reducing the GPG

1.5 The GPG transparency regulations

2. Introduction

2.1 Background

2.2 Methodology

Quantitative survey

Qualitative depth interviews

2.3 Analysis and reporting conventions

Quantitative reporting

Qualitative reporting

3. Understanding of the GPG

3.1 Awareness and understanding of the GPG

Qualitative insight

3.2 Understanding of difference between GPG and equal pay

Qualitative insight

3.3 Leadership team’s understanding and engagement

Qualitative insight

4. Measuring the GPG and other gender analysis

4.1 Measuring the GPG

Qualitative insight

4.2 Conducting other gender analysis

4.3 Communicating and using GPG and other gender analysis

5. Reducing the GPG

5.1 Priority given to reducing the GPG

Qualitative insight

Importance of being a fair and ethical employer

Awareness of GPG (and its size)

Perceived ability to close GPG

Perceived cost associated with closing GPG

Opinion of GPG as a valid measure

5.2 Attitudes towards reducing the GPG

Qualitative insight

Actively engaged

Passively engaged

Passively disengaged

Actively disengaged

5.3 Approach to reducing the GPG

Qualitative insight

Those taking or planning action

Those not planning to take action

Actions to reduce GPG

Flexible working

Offering enhanced maternity or paternity leave

Making cultural changes

Voluntary internal targets

Women-specific recruitment, promotion or mentoring schemes

Measuring impact

5.4 Barriers to reducing the GPG

Qualitative insight

Barriers to taking action

Barriers to success

6. The GPG transparency regulations

6.1 Awareness and understanding of the regulations

6.2 Preparation for the regulations

6.3 Attitudes to complying with regulations

Qualitative insight

Level of priority given to the regulations

The compliance process

6.4 External support in complying with the regulations

Qualitative insight

6.5 Publication and communication of results

Qualitative insight

7. Employer profile and practices

7.1 Gender profile of workforce and senior management team

7.2 Flexible working practices offered to employees

7.3 Maternity, paternity and shared parental leave

8. Annex A. Full survey results

8.1 S1b – Please can I take a note of your job title?

8.2 S2 – Which of the following best describes your organisation?

8.3 S3a and S3b – How many employees does your organisation currently employ in Great Britain?

8.4 S4a and S4b – What percentage of these employees are women?

8.5 S5a and S5b – Now thinking just about those working in senior management positions, what percentage of these are women?

8.6 S6 – Thinking about your organisation’s employment practices, do you offer any of the following flexible working arrangements to any of your employees?

8.7 S14a – Do you currently pay the following to employees at the statutory rate or at an enhanced rate? – Maternity leave

8.8 S14b – Do you currently pay the following to employees at the statutory rate or at an enhanced rate? – Paternity leave