Analysis of pay gap

The downward trajectory of our mean hourly pay gap is positive and is attributed to (i) an increase in the number of women in more senior grades and (ii) the targeting of 2023 pay increases towards lower paid colleagues, a higher proportion of whom are women, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows an increase in women in senior grades with 45% of colleagues in the SCS being women in March 2024, an increase from 42% in 2023. Additionally, 52% of colleagues in Grades 7 and 6 were women (March 2024). The increase in the number of women in the higher earning grades has resulted in an increase in the mean salary for women. As shown in Figure 2, in March 2024 there were slightly more women (50.6%) than men (49.4%) in the upper pay quartile, increasing from equal representation in 2023.

Our 2023 pay award targeted higher pay increases at Administrative Officer (AO) grade and below, providing higher increases for that population, where we have a higher proportion of women. This has also increased the mean hourly rate of pay for women, bringing it closer to that of men and reducing the mean pay gap.

While we have seen improvements, we are not complacent and continue to explore and use new ways to support women to progress in their careers. We have a particular focus on increasing the number of women at SCS grades and have several interventions in place as referenced below in this report.

While the mean pay gap has improved, the median gap has worsened from 3.0% in 2023 to 5.7% in 2024. We believe this has occurred due to the introduction of the Government Digital and Data (GDD) Pay Framework. This provides enhanced pay for certain digital and data roles at grades SEO to Grade 6. The majority of these roles are filled by men, with lower numbers of women within the profession in the UK Statistics Authority, the Civil Service, and the sector more widely.

Colleagues at grades SEO, Grade 7, and Grade 6 make up 42% of the UK Statistics Authority population. While the mean pay gap is more sensitive to changes at the highest and lowest paying grades, the median reflects the middle value of our pay scales and may disproportionately reflect changes within middle pay grades more than the mean. Various initiatives are being undertaken by the GDD profession at the UK Statistics Authority to improve the accessibility of job descriptions and the recruitment process with the aim of attracting more women into the profession.