Construction organisation Lendlease UK has reported a 19.2% mean gender pay gap, excluding non-executive directors, for fixed hourly pay as at 5 April 2017.
The organisation has reported its 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. Although Lendlease UK is only legally required to publish gender pay gap data for its construction entity, the business has also voluntarily published its gender pay gap figures across the entire organisation.
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 median gender pay gap at Lendlease UK for fixed hourly pay is 26.5% as at 5 April 2017, excluding non-executive directors.
For Lendlease Construction, its mean gender pay gap for fixed hourly pay is 30.4% as at 5 April 2017, and its median gender pay gap is 33%.
The mean gender pay gap for bonuses paid in the year to 5 April 2017 is 46.2% at Lendlease UK, and the median gender pay gap for bonus pay is 39.3%. At Lendlease Construction, the mean gender pay gap for bonuses is 65.4%, and the median gender pay gap for bonus pay, in the year to 5 April 2017, is 51.4%. In the 2016 financial year, 78.8% of female employees at Lendlease UK received a bonus payment, compared to 78.4% of male employees. Over the same period, 78.2% of female employees at Lendlease Construction received a bonus, compared to 78.5% of male employees.
One-fifth (20%) of employees in the highest pay quartile at Lendlease UK are women, compared to 19% in the second quartile, 35% in the third quartile, and 41% in the lowest pay quartile. In comparison, 6% of employees in the highest pay quartile at Lendlease Construction are women, compared to 9% in the second quartile, 29% in the third quartile, and 33% in the lowest pay quartile.
Currently, Lendlease UK’s workforce comprises of 29% women and 71% men. At executive level, female employees have increased from 24% to 29% over the last 18 months. At Lendlease Construction, 19% of the workforce are women, and 7% hold senior management roles.
To address its gender pay gap, Lendlease UK has introduced a range of measures. This includes asking its supply chain to include diversity targets in its tenders, having a 50:50 graduate mix and broadening the criteria for its graduate intake, rolling out unconscious bias training and diverse assessment panels across the business, and ensuring that recruitment shortlists include women. Furthermore, the organisation is also piloting a female development programme, which will include mentoring and networking events.
In addition, gender representation targets will now form part of Lendlease UK’s senior leadership’s performance targets, with a target of having 33% of female employees in senior roles by 2020. The organisation will also continue to promote its flexible working practices, which currently has 71% take-up, and its enhanced parental leave offering, which provides equal entitlement to both men and women.
Lendlease UK will continue operating its career and job framework, which was introduced five years ago. This classifies jobs by level and type to enable the organisation to recruit gender neutrally as pay is benchmarked by role rather than person.
Dan Labbad, chief executive officer, international operations, at Lendlease UK, said: “It is no secret that like many industries, the property and construction sectors suffer from female underrepresentation, which is particularly pronounced at senior levels. This is something Lendlease is determined to address by attracting more women to the industry and supporting the development of more women into senior roles.
“If we fail to take proactive action, both as [an organisation] and as an industry, then we will all suffer as a whole. By attracting more women to the industry and supporting their development into senior roles, we can all realise the benefits greater diversity brings. Empowering new ways of thinking from a wider talent pool will help tackle the skills crisis and enable modern day businesses to rise to today’s challenges.
"Although the industry is working hard to break down many barriers and perceptions which have held the sector back, we need to fast-track this change. At Lendlease, we have already achieved equal pay for equal work and by applying the same focus to gender representation I’m confident we can make a positive impact.
“Benchmarking is one way to help drive positive change, which is why we welcome the government’s requirement for [organisations] to publish their gender pay gap. As part of our plan to address the gender pay gap we have introduced a number of pro-active measures; from prioritising flexible working to supporting and developing female leaders. While we recognise that closing the gender pay gap will take time and like so many have much more to do, we are committed to building a more diverse workforce.”
