Transparency data

UKEF gender pay gap report 2020 to 2021

Published 30 March 2022

1. Gender pay gap

The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 came into effect on 31 March 2017 and require organisations with 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap data annually. Published data should include mean and median gender pay gaps; the mean and median gender bonus gaps; the proportion of men and women who received bonuses; and the proportions of male and female employees in each pay quartile.

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

The GPG is different to equal pay. Equal pay deals with the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value. It is unlawful to pay people unequally for the same work because they are a man or a woman.

This report sets out the figures in more detail and what we are doing to close the gender pay gap in the organisation.

2. Gender make-up of the Department

As of 31 March 2021, UKEF had 398 employees, of whom 38% identified as female, this is an increase of 1% from 2020.

6.78% of UKEF employees were graded Senior Civil Servants (SCS); of these 33% identified as female, this was also an increase from 29% in 2020.

The proportion of female employees at UKEF has increased steadily and the department has set a target to have 45% of its employees as female by 2024.

2.1 Impact over the last 5 years

	16/17	17/18	18/19	19/20	20/21
Number of employees	264	305	321	340	398
% female	36%	38%	39%	37%	38%
% of employees SCS	4%	6%	5.30%	6.18%	6.78%
% of SCS are female	20%	24%	29%	29%	33%

3. UKEF’s gender pay gap

UKEF uses Civil Service grades ranging from Administrative Assistant (administrative level grade) to Senior Civil Servant (executive level grade). Grades vary according to the level of responsibility that staff have. Each grade has a set pay range with pay gaps in between grades.

In 2021, the national GPG for all employees as reported by ONS was 15.4%. UKEF’s mean pay gap has decreased from (13.9%) in 2020 to (13.00%) in 2021.

All recruitment and promotions are undertaken on the basis of Fair and Open competition in line with the Civil Service recruitment principles, furthermore all applications are anonymised at the initial sift stage. To ensure a robust process, where possible the interview panels for recruitment and promotion consist of a balanced gender split. In 2019/20 36% of promotions within UK Export Finance were females, this figure increased to 37% in in 2021/22.

• Mean pay gap (ordinary pay): 13.00%
• Median pay gap (ordinary pay): 15.60%

UKEF’s head count is relatively small, consequently the number of employees can be skewed by a small cohort of employees. For example, if the CEO’s pay was excluded the mean pay gap would reduce to 11.50% and if the SCS population was excluded from the calculation the mean pay gap would reduce further to 10.02%.

3.1 Ordinary pay: trend over the last 5 years

	16/17	17/18	18/19	19/20	20/21
Mean pay	15.97%	15.25%	12.23%	13.90%	13%
Median pay	16.26%	12.22%	11.97%	13.50%	15.60%

The 2021 mean GPG data has highlighted that for delegated grades (AO to Grade 6) there has been a significant narrowing of any bias between the grades. At AO level, pay has been equalised with the introduction of a spot rate. For Grades EO to Grade 6 the mean GPG ranges from -1.82 to 2.50%, with there being a positive mean pay gap for grades HEO and Grade 6. Whilst there has been an increase in female representation at SCS level, the mean GPG has increased slightly from 18.03% in 2020 to 18.43% in 2021.

4. Bonus pay

UKEF’s performance awards were paid as a set value depending on grade and performance level.

• Mean pay gap (bonus pay): 13.1%
• Median pay gap (bonus pay): 9.00%

The percentage of male and female employees receiving a bonus was very similar: 74.7% (male) vs 73.5% (female). There is a significant bonus pay gap between men and women using the mean average, however, this is considerably less when comparing the median average. This gap is driven by the larger number of male employees at higher grades as bonus payments increase by grade.

4.1 Bonus pay: trend over the last 5 years

	16/17	17/18	18/19	19/20	20/21
Mean pay	22.36%	20.57%	24.68%	23.70%	13.10%
Median pay	7.80%	25.09%	31.06%	8.70%	9.00%

If the CEO’s bonus was excluded from the calculation, the mean bonus figure would be 7.41% and if the SCS population was excluded, the mean level of bonus pay would equate to 9.81%.

4.2 Percentage of men and women paid a bonus

• Female: 74.7%
• Male: 73.5%

The difference between male and female employees receiving a bonus was small. Over the last three years there has been a significant upward trend in the percentage of females receiving a bonus.

Of the SCS cohort, 67% of the females received a bonus compared to 56% of the males.

UKEF’s performance awards for 20/21 will be paid in 21/22, therefore, for the purposes of the 20/21 GPG report, this reflects awards from the 19/20 performance year. Of the eligible staff (excludes SCS) 100% of females received a performance award bonus compared to 98.3% of males. This figure differs from the 73.5% (female) and 74.7% (male) figures as this figure includes in-year joiners who were not eligible for a performance award.

4.3 Bonus: trend over the last years

	16/17	17/18	18/19	19/20	20/21
% Paid a bonus (M/F)	46% / 51%	47% / 41%	55% / 58%	62% / 65%	74.7% / 73.5%

5. Pay by quartiles

When the workforce is segmented into quartiles based on pay, and those quartiles are compared on gender grounds, the data shows the lower quartile for 20/21 has remain unchanged, however, both the lower middle quartile and the upper quartile have seen increases in female representation when compared to 19/20.

	Lower Quartile	Lower Middle Quartile	Upper Middle Quartile	Upper Quartile
Male	54%	52%	73%	68%
Female	46%	48%	27%	32%

5.1 Pay by quartile: trend over the last 5 years

Pay by quartiles (M/F)	16/17	17/18	18/19	19/20	20/21
Lower quartile	47% / 53%	54% / 46%	52% / 48%	54% / 46%	54% / 46%
Lower middle quartile	72% / 28%	58% / 42%	60% / 40%	61% / 39%	52% / 48%
Upper middle quartile	64% / 36%	66% / 34%	65% / 35%	68% / 32%	73% / 27%
Upper quartile	73% / 27%	70% / 30%	67% / 33%	69% / 31%	68% / 32%

6. Work on closing the gender pay gap

We are resolute in our ambition to create a diverse and representative workplace – one that will attract talented people from all backgrounds, and give everyone, including those already working for us, the opportunity to achieve their potential.

In 2017 we started our journey by signing the Women in Finance Charter, publicly affirming UKEF’s commitment to improve gender diversity. We aligned the department’s goals with the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, which set out new programmes and initiatives to realise the Civil Service wider ambition to become the UK’s most inclusive employer.

We set ourselves a clear target to increase female representation at SCS grades in the Department to 30% by 2020. That’s why we are pleased the latest GPG figures show that a third (33%) of UKEF SCS in 2021 are female, compared with a fifth (20%) when we signed the pledge five years ago. We are proud to have made such significant progress in improving senior female representation in the Department in that time - especially as the department has grown significantly in size.

We are also pleased that UKEF remains a meritocratic organisation where the opportunity for progressions exists for women at any level, with women accounting for 37% of all UKEF staff receiving promotions in 2021. UKEF is an organisation where female staff can progress from new joiner to senior SCS, and we are determined this momentum continues.

That is why UKEF has developed its own Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Action Plan that focuses on four key themes which align to the “Great Civil Service” programme: Effective Leadership; Skilled People; Improved Outcomes; and A Great Place to Work. The UKEF D&I Action Plan is linked to the overarching Business Plan and to our values and behaviours as set out in the UKEF Message House.

More needs to be done to close our gender pay gap and UKEF’s senior leaders are accountable. To that end, this commitment is part of the annual performance objectives for our Chief Executive and mandatory D&I objectives are in place for each Director.

In addition to the above, the Department has adopted further initiatives to reduce the gender pay gap, which include:

• Highlighting diversity and inclusion as a key strand of our People Strategy - under “Value All” we have committed to improving the diversity of our workforce and ensuring that all staff are given the opportunity to flourish in a work environment where they feel supported, valued and included. There are specific targets related to the gender diversity of the workforce.
• Attracting more women into the Civil Service by continuing to refine our recruitment processes. We currently anonymise the application process to reduce unconscious bias and at the SCS level, we have mandated that the “long list” must contain female candidates. At a non-SCS level we also use a broader range of careers websites to attract a larger number of female applicants.
• The “Success Profiles” assessment methodology has been successfully rolled out and UKEF has moved away from using a purely competency-based system of assessment. The new system has introduced a more flexible framework which assesses candidates against a range of elements using a variety of selection methods, such as structured interviews and skills-based assessments, leaving less room for gender bias. UKEF has adopted Working Forward pledge, which aims to make workplaces the best they can be for pregnant women and new parents. We offer shared parental leave, as well as job share and part-time opportunities, and have guidance to help line managers ensure those returning from parental/adoption leave feel supported and welcomed.
• Ongoing talent management and support for female staff progression, through programmes such as Crossing Thresholds and sponsoring attendance at the Civil Service Women into Leadership conference. In 19/20, 18 women attend the leadership conference and the number of participants increased to 29 in 20/21.
• UKEF has an active staff Gender Network which is supported by senior level sponsors within the Department. There have been more than 25 Gender Network led events for staff at UKEF since 20/21. The network plays a strong role in championing gender diversity issues at UKEF and has been increasingly active in the 21/22 financial year with its members championing female success in the department.
• Senior female advocates in the department, including UKEF’s Chair, have also continue to feature prominently at staff events in their capacity as role models for others in the department.
• UKEF’s new performance management system provides a more robust process for rewarding staff. Before any awards are made there are a series of validation meetings to ensure consistency. Performance awards are paid in the next financial year, and in 2021 98.34% of UKEF staff received a performance award.

7. Staff included in the Gender Pay Gap data

1. Information is based upon individuals employed by UKEF on 31st March 2021.
2. Contractors (off payroll workers) are out of scope for this report.
3. Information prepared and published March 2022.
4. UKEF’s Annual Reporting Accounts detailed that for 20/21 39% of staff were female. The GPG data is taken from Civil Service ACSES data, and this did not include 4 females who were either classed as “out of office” or 2 Fast Streamers who are funded by the Cabinet Office. This meant that the percentage of female staff reported in the GPG was slightly lower at 38%.
5. We confirm that data reported by UKEF is accurate and has been calculated according to the requirements and methodology set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017: Shane Lynch Director of Resources, UKEF.