Media organisation Channel 4 has reported a mean gender pay gap of 21.5% for average hourly pay as at March 2020 down from 23.3% the previous year. It has also chosen to report its ethnicity pay gap data, finding a 15.3% mean difference.
The organisation, which currently has over 700 employees, reported its gender pay gap data in line with the government’s gender pay gap reporting regulations.
The reporting regulations require organisations with 250 or more employees to publish the differences in mean and median hourly rates of pay for male and female full-time employees, the gap in men and women’s mean and median bonus pay, the proportions of male and female employees 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.
Due to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, gender pay gap reporting regulations have been suspended for the 2019/2020 reporting period, however, the organisation voluntarily chose to publish its data for 2020/2021.
Channel 4's median gender pay gap is 23%, as at April 2020, a decrease on the 24.2% in the year before. On average, women earn 77p compared to every £1 their male counterparts earn.
Its median gender pay gap for bonuses paid during the reporting period is 26.7% compared to a 32.8% bonus pay gap the previous year. The mean gender pay gap for bonus payments currently stands at 41.9%.
Over the reporting period, 88.2% of female employees and 88.8% of male employees received bonus payments.
Just under half (48.7%) of employees in the highest pay quartile at Channel 4 are female, compared to 46.1% in the second quartile, 60.5% in the third quartile and 71% in the lowest pay quartile.
The organisation reported a median ethnicity pay gap of 12.4% comparing black, Asian and minority ethnic (Bame) employees, compared to their white counterparts.
Its median ethnicity gender pay gap for bonuses paid during the reporting period is 17.7% compared to a 25.5% bonus pay gap the previous year. The mean gender pay gap for bonus payments currently stands at 31.6%. Over the reporting period, 86.5% of Bame employees received bonuses, compared to 88.4% of non-Bame staff.
It reported the proportion of ethnic minority employees in its highest pay quartile as 14%, in the second quartile 14.6%, in the third quartile 15.6% and in the lowest quartile 25.2%.
Channel 4's mean disability pay gap as at March 2020 is 12.6% (an increase from -0.4% in 2019) and a 5.2% median gap (a decrease from 7.6% in 2019). Furthermore, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) mean pay gap is 10.6%, a decrease from 17.7% in 2019. Its median LGBT pay gap has drastically improved as LGBT employees earn on average 0.7% more than their heterosexual counterparts.
Alex Mahon, chief executive at Channel 4, said: "Driven by our commitment to inclusion and diversity, we have also chosen to publish our Bame, disability and LGBT+ pay gaps and bonus gaps. This will allow us to track our progress and help set the actions that we will take to reduce the pay gaps in the organisation.
"Being held accountable is critical to ensuring that we deliver on this promise. Regularly measuring our progress is key. This annual pay report helps us to identify where we need to focus our efforts and enact further change. Overall, we have made good progress with our pay gaps in 2020, but we know that there is still much to do in order to bring these gaps to an acceptable level"
