Gender pay gap persists for female university leaders

Did you know that women in university leadership positions are paid between 5 and 11 per cent less than men in equivalent jobs? Did you know that the average gender pay gap in an organisation is between 15 and 20 per cent? Have you published equality objectives to tackle your gender pay gap? If not, why not?

In the summer of 2015, research was published that showed that female vice-chancellors and principals earn 5.4 per cent less on average than male peers, while the pay gap rises to 10 per cent when deputy and pro vice-chancellors, registrars and chief operating officers are considered. The pay gap for heads of schools or departments is also significant, ranging from 5.3 per cent for centres with 51 to 100 staff to 11.4 per cent for centres with 50 or fewer staff. You can read the report here

The gender pay gap reflects inequalities in the labour market which, in practice, mainly affect women. Its causes are complex, interrelated and stubbornly persistent.

Schools, colleges and universities, as public sector organisations, have particular requirements under the Equality Act 2010 regarding the setting and publishing of equality objectives around gender pay gaps. The Equality and Human Rights Commission say:

‘Public authorities must be able to demonstrate that they have considered the need to have objectives that address the gender pay gap. For this reason, if a public authority does not include such objectives it should give reasons for that decision…This might include providing evidence that there is no gender pay gap within its workforce, or within any wider group of women and men who are affected by its functions as an organisation, or that the alternative objectives which it has chosen have greater significance for gender equality.’

You can read more information about these legal requirements here

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published a toolkit to help you to calculate your gender pay gap. You can access the toolkit here

The government has set up an equal pay portal which provides information on what the Governments in England, Scotland and Wales are doing to get employers in both the public and private sectors to close the gender pay gap. It also covers the legal requirements for private and public sector bodies and signposts further guidance.

You can access the portal here