The Bank of England has reported a mean gender pay gap of 21% and a median gender pay gap of 24.2% for the year to 30 March 2017.
Its figures on mean and median salaries by gender, which compared data from March 2016 to March 2017, found that the mean gender pay gap increased from 18.7% in March 2016, with the equivalent figure for median salary dropping from 26.4% last year.
The Bank of England has reported its latest gender pay gap data in line with the government’s gender pay gap reporting regulations and ahead of the private sector submission deadline of 4 April 2018.
The gender pay gap reporting regulations require organisations with 250 or more employees to publish the difference between both the mean and median hourly rate of pay for male and female full-time employees; the difference between both the mean bonus pay and median bonus pay for male and female employees; the proportions of male and female employees who were awarded bonus pay; and the proportions of male and female full-time employees in the lower, lower middle, upper middle and upper quartile pay bands.
The Bank of England’s mean gender pay gap for bonuses paid in the year to 30 March 2017 was 23.6% and the median gender pay gap for bonuses was 25.6%.
Under a third (30%) of employees in the highest pay quartile at the bank are women, compared to 38% in the second quartile, 49% in the third quartile, and 57% in the lowest pay quartile.
The bank has attributed its gender pay gap to an imbalance of men and women throughout its organisational hierarchy, with typically male employees in the more senior positions receiving the highest pay. It aims to have 35% female representation in senior roles by 2020.
Johanna Place, chief operating officer at the Bank of England, said: “To pursue our mission of maintaining monetary and financial stability for the good of the people of the United Kingdom we must reflect the diversity of the people we serve. The data published in this report shows that there is currently a 21% mean pay gap. We have made good progress in building a more diverse and inclusive workplace since first setting targets in 2014 but we recognise we still have more to do, particularly in terms of representation of females in senior roles, which will, in turn, help address the pay gap.”
Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, added: “Three years ago we made ‘Diverse and Talented’ the first pillar of our inaugural strategic plan. To support our objectives, we have introduced diversity targets, including an aim to have 35% female representation in senior roles by 2020. We have made steady progress towards that objective since it was set, moving from 20% senior female representation in 2014 to 30% in 2017.
“We must also support equality through fair pay. We’re confident that men and women are paid equally for doing the same job at the bank; however, the greater proportion of men than women in senior roles creates a gender pay gap.
“We are working hard to address this imbalance through inclusive and diverse recruitment, including diverse shortlists and interview panels, offering flexible working, providing continual unconscious bias training, and fostering an inclusive culture. Addressing the disparity in gender representation at senior levels will take time, but it will help close the current gender pay at the bank.”