Gender pay gap report 2024

This report is prepared based on the workforce as of 31st March 2024 and the direct comparator period is 31st March 2023.

We confirm that the gender pay gap data contained in this report is accurate and has been produced in accordance with the guidance issued by the Department for Education.

The purpose of the gender pay gap is not to highlight an imbalance in equality of pay for equal roles but to provide a comparison of the balance between males and females within our internal pay grade structure. 

Compared to 2023 our gender pay gap has increased by 0.7% from 1.6% to 2.3%.

Careful precautions are taken not to introduce pay bias in Careers Wales with strict adherence to our Reward and Remuneration Policy and recruitment policies. All roles are subject to an external job evaluation process. Progression is based solely on time served with the company. We also introduced a leadership development programme for all in grade 6 and 7 roles, which encourages progression during this period.

Declaration, I confirm that our data has been calculated according to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulation 2017.

Nikki Lawrence,
Chief Executive

Overview

The total number of staff on the payroll on 31st March 2024 was 635 compared to 628 in March 2023. 

We have a predominantly female workforce 76.5% in 2024 a slight decrease from 76.94% in 2023, a change in the proportion of female to male staff, or vice versa can have a significant impact on the pay gender gap. 

When calculating our gender pay gap, we are required to base our figures on March hourly rates of pay for that reporting year.

Although the numbers indicate that our gender pay gap has increased by 0.7% from 1.6% to 2.3% during this period, this is misleading as the figure has been skewed by backdated lump sum payments made in March 2023 to those in scope of the pay parity exercise. 

When excluding these payments, our gender pay gap remains at 1.6%, which is significantly lower than the 8.9% overall Wales figure in 2024 (Annual survey of hours and earnings 2024).

When recruiting, to ensure fairness to all, we appoint on merit and our focus is on aptitude and skills required to perform the role. We ensure that our recruitment processes remove unfair bias by ensuring that all application forms are anonymised before being assessed and we use structured interviews and skill assessment centres where appropriate.

During our recruitment process we recognise the diverse needs of the various members of our workforce, and our fundamental principles are to ensure that equality, diversity, inclusion and fairness are embedded throughout Careers Wales.

Gender identity

We recognise that gender is more complex than “men” and “women”, it is likely we have staff members who do not fit within the binary categories and who may define themselves as non binary and others who may consider that they do not align with the gender they were assigned at birth. However, due to the legislation in place, we have to report the gender pay gap in terms of men and women. We have used the right to work data provided at the start of employment to allocate staff to male or female for the purpose of this report.

Workforce Changes in this period

Compared to the 2023 workforce we are reporting an increase of 7 staff. There were 13 male starters and 8 male leavers, 32 female starters and 30 female leavers.

The average salary of the male starters was £15.20 compared to leavers of £15.49, the average female starters salary was £13.69 compared to £17.08 for the female leavers.

Mean Pay Gap

The mean pay gap is calculated by adding up the hourly pay of all the women in an organisation and dividing by the number of women, doing the same sum for the men, then comparing the two figures. Although males only represent 23% of the workforce their mean wage is 1.6% higher than females. 

We have identified a number of reasons as to why this is the case. The proportion of males in the higher pay grades 6 and 8 are unrepresentative of the overall population,  there are in excess of 40% males in post in these two grades, this has increased compared to 2022. The increase in these groups has been slightly offset by the increase in the number of males in grade 3. Resulting an increase in the pay gap of 0.1%.

Median Pay Gap

The median pay gap is calculated by finding the exact middle point between the lowest and highest paid female in an organisation and the lowest and highest paid male, then comparing the two figures to calculate the difference in salaries.

We are reporting a 0% difference in the median pay gap. From the grading structure detailed below (Figure 2) 62.53% of the female staff and 56.66% of the male staff are employed at grade 4, therefore the salary for both the male and female median member of staff is the same. 

Our core service provision consists of providing careers advice and guidance therefore the highest percentage of our staff, based on role are careers advisors at grade 4.

Pay Quartiles

Pay quartiles are statistical measures used to analyse the distribution of salaries within an organisation or across a specific industry. They divide the data into four equal parts, providing a clear picture of how compensation is distributed among employees.

Pay quartiles are calculated by arranging all salaries in ascending order and then dividing them into four equal segments. Each segment represents 25% of the data set.

The provision of careers advice has historically been female dominated, and it will take some time to address this imbalance. The high percentage of females to males does not mean that we cannot reach pay parity, the key to a level playing field is the proportion of staff based on a quartile-to-quartile comparison.

The ratio of staff females to males is 76:24 for the company as a whole, this has increased from 75:25 in 2021. However, as an organisation females only occupy 71.34% of the upper quartile posts, resulting in a gender pay gap of 1.7%.

Areas to focus on:

• Review our recruitment and selection practices to attracts a diverse range of applicants by removing barriers. This includes addressing the “confidence gap” that may adversely impact the diversity of applicants who apply.
• Conduct stay interviews to explore any barriers to progression
• Monitor retention rates to identify any potential issues and trends
• Review our policies to ensure they are as accessible and as inclusive as possible
• Conduct equality impact assessment training with managers across the company, adopting an intersectional approach
• Engage with the workforce to develop a Carers Policy

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