Gender pay gap report

Definitions

Gender Pay Gap

The Gender Pay Gap is the difference in average pay between all men and women in an organisation. It is expressed as a difference in percentage (%) between men and women. A minus figure means that the difference favours women. It is an important indicator of equality in the workplace and highlights whether there are disparities in pay between genders, regardless of role or seniority.

Equal Pay

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

Mean Pay Gap

The mean pay gap is the difference in the arithmetic average hourly pay for women compared to men.

Median Pay Gap

The median represents the middle point of a population. If you lined up all the women in an organisation, and all the men, in order of the hourly rate at which they are paid, the median pay gap is the difference between the hourly rate for the middle woman compared to that of the middle man.

The median is considered to be the better indicator of ‘average’ earnings because the mean can be skewed by fewer individuals earning more in the upper ranges. The median therefore gives a better indication of typical pay.

Hourly Gender Pay Gap

In 2025, the median gender pay gap stands at 5.0%. This means that the median hourly earnings of women are 5.0% lower than those of men. This result reflects a positive change compared to 2024, when the median gap was 5.7%, marking a decrease of 0.7pp.

The mean gender pay gap for 2025 is 4.3%, which shows that, on average, women earn 4.3% less per hour than men. This is a notable improvement from the 2024 figure of 6.0%, representing a reduction of 1.7pp. The mean measure captures the overall average across all staff, but it can be influenced by salary distribution, particularly at senior levels where pay tends to be higher.

Both reductions in the median and mean pay gaps demonstrate meaningful progress toward greater pay equality within the organisation. These improvements suggest that initiatives aimed at reducing gender-based disparities are having a positive impact. However, the figures also highlight that there is still work to be done. Closing the gap entirely requires continued focus on addressing underlying factors. Looking ahead, maintaining this momentum will be critical. Regular monitoring, targeted interventions, and fostering an inclusive culture where opportunities are equally accessible to all staff will help us move closer to achieving full pay equity.

Figure 2: Hourly Gender Pay Gaps

Pay Gap Calculation

The gender pay gap is calculated using the following formula: (Men hourly mean or median salary – women hourly mean or median salary) ÷ Men hourly mean or median salary × 100

Our pay gap calculations are fully aligned with ACSES guidance and regulatory requirements, ensuring consistency and transparency in reporting.

Gender Bonus Pay Gap

The median gender bonus pay gap at the UKSA is 0%, up from -20% in 2024. This indicates that the median bonus awarded to women is fully aligned with that of men, reflecting parity at the midpoint of the bonus distribution.

The mean gender bonus pay gap for the UKSA is -5.8%, up from -13.1% in 2024. This means the mean bonus received by women is 5.8% higher than that of men.

Figure 3: Gender Bonus Pay Gaps

Proportion of Staff Receiving a Bonus

The proportion of staff receiving bonuses decreased slightly between 2024 and 2025 for both men and women. In 2024, 90.1% of women received a bonus compared to 85.5% of men. By 2025, these figures fell to 87.6% for women and 84.6% for men, narrowing the gap between the two groups.

Figure 4: Percentage of Staff Receiving a Bonus Split by Gender

Gender pay quartiles for the UKSA

A quartile is a statistical measure that divides a dataset into four equal parts, with each quartile representing 25% of the data. Figure 5 illustrates the average hourly pay by quartile for the UKSA as of 31 March 2025.

The upper pay quartile primarily consists of the highest-paid grades, including the Senior Civil Service (SCS), Grade 6, and Grade 7. These grades play a critical role in shaping organisational leadership and decision-making. We now have more women than men at every grade except the Senior Civil Service (SCS), demonstrating that our actions to increase female representation within grades has been effective. We are pleased with the progress achieved so far and remain committed to prioritising this work in the year ahead.

The accompanying infographic provides further insight into workforce composition. As of 31 March 2025, men accounted for 44.9% of the workforce included in the pay gap statistics, while women represented 55.1%. Importantly, the data shows that women were represented in higher proportions than men across all pay quartiles. This reflects the positive impact of ongoing efforts to promote gender diversity throughout the organisation.

Figure 5: Pay quartiles split by Gender