Gender Pay
This year’s gender pay results show that, despite real focus and effort, our overall gap hasn’t moved in the direction we would have liked. It’s not the headline we were aiming for, but it is the honest one.
Where We Are
The primary driver for this continues to be the structure of our workforce. We have a disproportionately male senior leadership population and because senior roles attract higher base salaries, this has a significant impact on both our mean and median pay gaps. A historical bonus scheme (provided to early new starters, most of whom are now in more senior roles) also continues to influence the bonus gap figures.
In simple terms: when more men occupy the highest-paid roles, the averages reflect that.
The encouraging part is that this is a structural issue, not an equal pay issue. Men and women are paid equally for doing the same role. The gap reflects representation at senior levels and the legacy impact of a previous equity based bonus (which received significantly higher payments in the 2024/25 year).
Tech roles also make up a third of our total heads. Tech roles, nationally, are made up of just 20% women. Over the last three years, we have worked towards increasing the number of women occupying our tech roles from 14%, ending 2025 at just above this average at 20.9%
Proportion of employees per quartile
What We’ve Been Doing
While progress in the numbers hasn’t moved the way we would have liked, the work behind the scenes absolutely has. Over the past 12–24 months we have:
Reviewed hiring practices to ensure diverse shortlists, balanced interview panels and structured assessment processes
Strengthened succession planning, identifying high-potential female talent and created clearer development pathways.
Invested in leadership development, with targeted development opportunities designed to support progression.
Improved pay governance, holding greater oversight and calibration at all levels.
Increased visibility of flexible and hybrid working, particularly at senior levels, to remove perceived barriers to progression.
Enhanced communication for development and progression, making career pathways and promotion criteria clearer.
What Comes Next
We are realistic, but we are not complacent. Closing a gender pay gap driven by senior representation means increasing representation at the top, and that requires sustained focus rather than short‑term fixes.
Meaningful change in gender representation at senior levels doesn’t happen quickly. It comes through cultural change, deliberate talent development and consistent decision‑making over time. While this may not yet be fully reflected in the numbers, the direction of travel is clear and the foundations are firmly in place.
Over the next year we will:
Continue to build diverse succession pipelines for senior and specialist roles.
Track promotion and progression data more closely to identify and address any unintended barriers.
Review starting salary decisions to ensure consistent application of pay principles.
Expand development opportunities for women progressing toward senior leadership.
Alongside this, we will continue to report openly on our progress, even when the numbers do not move as quickly as we would like.
In the meantime, we remain committed to our Fair Play philosophy through:
Equal pay for equal work.
Fair and transparent reward processes.
Creating genuine opportunity for progression at every level.
We are confident the steps we are taking will improve representation at senior levels over time. As that changes, the pay gap will naturally begin to close. Our focus remains on building a more balanced leadership population, strengthening our talent pipeline and ensuring our reward approach consistently supports fairness.