Gender pay gap report 2022

This report is prepared based on the workforce as of 31 March 2022 and the direct comparator period is 31 March 2021.

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.

The total number of staff in the company on 31st March 2022 was 617. Which comprised 470 females and 147 males a ratio of 76.1% female and 23.8 male. As of March 31st we had a chair and an interim chair in place, (both females). We are pleased to report that our gender pay gap has reduced from 2.9% to 1.9%.

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

We are a predominantly female workforce so small change in the proportions of female to male staff can have a significant impact. The gap reduced this year due to an increase in the number of males in grade 1 from 13.9% to 17.9% and a reduction in the number of males in grade 8 from 50% to 37.5%.

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.

All our positions are independently evaluated to ensure that the role is paid fairly in accordance with our pay grade salaries based on the job specification requirements.

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 2021 workforce we are reporting a slight reduction in staffing numbers 5 less than the previous year (9 males left and 4 females joined).

The gap reduced this year due to an increase in the number of males in grade 1 an increase from 13.9% to 17.9% and a reduction in the number of males in grade 8 from 50% to 37.5% . Staffing levels in the remainder of the pay grades have remained steady. There has been a small increase in the number of management staff at grade 6-10, from 91 to 86 members of staff representing 14.7% of the workforce (five additional females). This has helped to close the gender pay gap.

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 25% of the workforce their mean wage is 2.3% higher than females.

We have identified two potential reasons for this difference. Firstly, in the 2018 report 37% of the staff employed in grade 6 and above were males and this has increased to 44.7% and grade 8 has also increased from 37.5% to 50%. Secondly, the higher pay grades (6-10) consist of 17.5% of the male workforce compared to 10% of the female workforce.

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. Although there is a statistical unlikelihood of this occurring there is a clear explanation for this outcome. From the grading structure detailed blow (Figure 2) 59.6% of the female staff and 53.1% of the male staff are employed at grade 4. 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 this grade.

The salary scale is divided into 4 pay bands (progression through the bands is achieved by number of years’ service, reaching top of band in the fourth year of service). As of March 31st 2021 – 77.1% of females and % of males in the grade 4 pay cohort reached the top of the pay scale band, therefore the median staff member for males and females resides in this pay grade and both have reached the top of their salary band.

Figure 2 Grade and Gender Analysis 31/03/2022 (these figures do not include the two females chairs who were in post in March 31st. The chair does not fall within the pay grade structure salary agreed by Welsh Government).

Pay quartiles

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 75:25 for the company as a whole. However, as an organisation females occupy 76.77% (comp to 67.1% in 2021) of the highest paid jobs. This has resulted in a closing of the gender pay gap.

Additional notes: 

• The Company has negated gender impact on pay by entering all employees on the same point of the incremental scale, not differentiating pay between works of equal value and moving all employees through the incremental points at equal intervals
• New employees or employees moving onto the salary grade structure always commence on the first incremental point of the grade for their role
• There is no age-related pay
• The incremental scales are short, and the top point is reached in 4 years
• There is no salary point below minimum wage
• There are no bonuses
• No individual negotiation is entered into
• Employees automatically progress through the incremental scale on the anniversary of their appointment until they reach the top rate for their role. This is not negotiable and is not performance related
• Progression is not halted by family related leave (adoption/maternity/paternity etc.)
• Progression is also unaffected by periods of ill-health related absence
• Some roles have trainee grades where there is no progression to the qualified grade until the required qualification is attained
• The scale is linear and does not have different scales for corporate/delivery/technical roles
• Equal payment is made for work of equal value as independently evaluated
• Progression up the scale is by competitive application for promotional posts
• There is an appeals mechanism for use by individuals or groups