The Gender Pay Gap: How we will do better
We have just published our report on the gender pay gap and it shows that our mean gender pay gap was 24.49%.
This gap is above the UK average of 18%. This disparity is disappointing and as an organisation committed to equality and diversity we will be taking steps to address it.
We are confident that women and men are paid equally for doing equivalent jobs across the Centre. We are also aware that there is a gender bias in society and we take measures to ensure that recruitment is fair. For example, our online recruitment portal ensures that applications are anonymous and that personal information is withheld. We also have family friendly policies and promote flexible working to support equality.
However, the results of our survey show that we have more to do. Our first step will be to run a consultation with staff to ask you for your suggestions as to how we can address the pay gap through improved policies and practices. For example, we could provide more support for women in the workforce by encouraging internal career progression.
In the light of this report we have already undertaken to:
• examine our existing and future pay practices for all staff;
• review our staff support packages and practice for all staff;
• raise awareness of flexible working options for all staff, at all levels;
• review our senior job descriptions and person specifications to remove any elements that may be indirectly disadvantaging female applicants or dissuading them from applying.
We very much value your input into this process and look forward to receiving your thoughts about how we can take forward this important work.