Gender Pay Gap Report
Background
As an employer with more than 250 employees it is a legal requirement for the University to publish statutory calculations on its gender pay gap (GPG) every year, based on the “snapshot date” of 5th April.
Introduction
The University has reported on the gender pay gap since 2017 with our latest report covering 714 employees, 429 women (60.1%) and 285 men (39.9%) employed during the period ending 5th April 2025. The previous year’s report covered 693 employees, 60.6% women and 39.4% of men.
The gender pay gap differs from equal pay: equal pay observes the pay differences between men and women who carry the same jobs, similar jobs, or work of equal value in the same employment, and it is unlawful to pay people employed unequally because of gender. The gender pay gap, by contrast, shows the differences in the average pay between all men and women across the entire organisation, regardless of the level/grade at which they work; the gender ay gap therefore represents the distribution of men and women in different role at different pay grades.
We continue to make progress in reducing our gender pay gap and have seen a reduction in both the median and mean pay gaps.
What is the difference between mean and median?
Mean – the mean (average) involves adding together the pay of employees and then dividing by the total number of employees.
Median – the median is the middle value of all hourly rates when ranked. This the amount paid to the employee in the middle of the list, if employees are listed in order of pay.
Our median gender pay gap for the current reporting period is 18% which is a reduction of 7% since our last reporting in 2024 and by 19% since first reporting in 2017.
Our mean gender pay gap for the current reporting period is 15.2% which has also seen a reduction of 5.8% since our last report in 2024 and sees the same level of reduction since first reporting in 2017.
The average mean gender pay gap across the UK higher education sector in 2024 was 13% and the median gap was 11.9%
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) advised using the mean rather than the median earnings to measure the national gender pay gap; however, from a statistical standpoint, the median is often a more meaningful measure as it is not skewed by very low or very high pay. Therefore, in situation where there are significant differences in pay between a few individuals, the median provides a more representative measure of the typical salary.
The University remains strongly committed to narrowing the gender pay gap in the years ahead, recognising that meaningful progress is closely linked to improving diversity of representation across the institution.
It is important to note that the report focuses on data as at 5th April 2025. As such there is a time lag between initiatives taken and their effect on the data.
Summary of data
The Gender Pay Gap figures are at the snapshot date of 5th April 2025, and it shows the difference between the average (both the mean and median) earnings of men and women. This is expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings over women’s earnings.
Gender pay gap – snapshot date 5 April 2025
The Gender Pay Gap figures are at the snapshot date of 5th April 2025, and it shows the difference between the average (both the mean and median) earnings of men and women. This is expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings over women’s earnings.
| Gross Hourly Rate of Pay | Male | Female | Difference |
| Mean | £35.51 | £30.10 | 15.2% |
| Median | £22.90 | £18.71 | 18% |
Our median and mean GPG 2017 – 2025
Hourly pay quartiles
In line with government requirements, the quartiles have been divided into four sections (quartiles) ranked according to their total pay, from lowest to highest. Our lower quartile represents the operational roles including Domestic Services, Apprentices and some administrative roles, part-time roles, and some casual workers, with a significantly higher percentage of females than males in these roles.
Voluntary Severance
In early 2025, the University introduced a Voluntary Severance Scheme. A total of 25 applications were submitted, of which 14 were approved. Among those accepted, 6 were male and 8 were female. All approved severances took effect on 31 March 2025.
The table below details the voluntary severance in each of the quartiles:
| Male | Female | |
| Lower Quartile | 0 | 4 |
| Lower Middle Quartile | 0 | 2 |
| Upper Middle Quartile | 4 | 1 |
| Top Quartile | 2 | 1 |
Compulsory Redundancies
Following the decision to close the Crewe campus in December 2025, consultation took place with staff members and resulted in several roles being made redundant throughout 2024 and 2025.
In the reporting period 4 redundancies took place, of these 1 was male and 3 were female.
The table below details the compulsory redundancies from the Crewe campus in each of the quartiles:
| Male | Female | |
| Lower Quartile | 1 | 1 |
| Lower Middle Quartile | 0 | 2 |
| Upper Middle Quartile | 0 | 0 |
| Top Quartile | 0 | 0 |
Bonus payments paid during the reporting period
There were no bonus payments paid during the reporting period.
Key findings:
- There is an increase in the mean hourly rate year-on-year for both males and females, with females seeing the largest increase at £9.26 compared to an increase of £5.34 for men. However, the gender pay gap prevails, with males still earning more on average than females.
Pay Distribution
In the lower pay quartile, women continue to be significantly over-represented, accounting for 78% of colleagues compared with 22% men. This imbalance highlights the concentration of women in roles at the lower end of the pay structure and reinforces the importance of our ongoing work to broaden access to development opportunities, support career progression and encourage greater gender balance across all levels. Addressing this disproportionate representation remains a key priority.
This year, there is a positive shift in the representation of women within our upper pay quartile. Women now make up 47.8% of colleagues in this quartile, marking a strong improvement compared with previous years and reflecting the continued impact of our efforts to support career progression and equitable opportunities across the institution. This increase demonstrates meaningful progress toward a more balanced gender distribution at senior levels, with 52.2% of the upper quartile compromising male colleagues. We remain committed to sustaining this momentum and further strengthening gender representation across all levels of our workforce.
Role Distribution
While there are more male staff in the most senior roles compared to female staff. As a comparison to last year, there are more female Visiting Lecturers who are sitting in the upper quartile, which has supported the pay gap at the upper quartile level.
Female staff are more likely to occupy roles within the lower and middle pay ranges, leading to a higher concentration of females in the lower and lower middle quartiles.
There has been year-on-year progress in the upper middle quartile, with the proportion of females now approaching parity with males in this part of the pay structure.
Part-Time Roles
Part-time roles in the institution are predominantly lower-paid and less senior, and this structural pattern is reflected in the distribution of female employees across pay quartiles. In the upper quartile, only seven part-time positions are held by women, indicating that part-time opportunities at senior levels remain limited. Given that women make up the majority of part-time workers overall, this concentration of part-time roles in lower paid positions directly contributes to the disproportionately higher percentages of women in the lower and middle quartiles. The data suggests that increasing access to senior part-time or flexible roles could play a meaningful role in improving gender balance across the pay structure.
Steps taken to address the gap
Pay transparency
To foster fairness and address the gender pay gap, the University makes pay scales available to all staff through the internal HR SharePoint pages. This ensures that everyone can easily access and understand the structure of each pay band and spine point.
All employees, irrespective of gender, have the opportunity to advance through the grading structure. The University also acknowledges that some roles may be compensated outside the standard grade scales, and processes are in place to ensure these decisions are made fairly and in line with market data.
Job vacancies are advertised with the pay scale included, providing transparency for all applicants (both internal and external) about the expected compensation for the role.
Recruitment
The University is dedicated to improving its recruitment processes to attract a diverse pool of candidates, which is essential for reducing the gender pay gap. Key initiatives include:
- A review of our recruitment advertisements has taken place and have been rewritten using gender neutral language across all written materials.
- Where possible, roles have been advertised internally as secondments to ensure that there is an ability for all staff to improve skills in specific areas.
- Job promotion efforts have been expanded through the use of social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Indeed.
- Diverse interview panels are in place for all positions.
Flexible working
The University continues to adopt flexible working arrangements and sees flexible working as a vital role in addressing the Gender Pay Gap by enabling greater inclusivity and supporting career progression for all employees. By offering options such as hybrid working, compressed hours, secondment opportunities, job-sharing and part-time working this helps the University to remove barriers that disproportionately affect women, such as those with caring responsibilities. These measures not only improve work-life balance but also foster retention and advance of talent, ensuring that pay and promotion opportunities are based on performance.
Embedding flexibility into the workplace has demonstrated a commitment to equality and creates a more diverse leadership pipeline, which is essential for closing the Gender Pay Gap.
In the reporting period, there were four employees who went onto maternity leave, of these three returned to work after the maternity period ended. Additionally one other employee went onto adoption leave and returned after the adoption leave ended.
Management and staff development
The University’s People Leadership Programme, Accelerate, launched the fifth cohort in April of 2025, and has seen a total of 53 staff complete the programme. The Programme was initially aimed at managers across the University, but we have now expanded the ability to attend to those who are looking to progress across the University or those who are looking to improve their communication, emotional intelligence, impact and influence and assertiveness skills.
Of the 53 staff who have completed the programme, 43 of these were female and 10 were male.
The online Learning Management System now provides a wider range of courses for all staff, with further relevant courses added as required, and to ensure that we are inline with legislation.
Earlier in 2025, the University introduced “Knowledge Nuggets” a series of bite-sized training sessions designed to make learning accessible and practical. Open to all staff, these sessions cover a diverse range of topics, empowering colleagues to develop new skills and share best practices in a flexible, time-efficient format. which are short, focused training sessions open to all staff, covering a wide range of topics.
Promotions/regrading and progression processes
The University undertakes an annual review of its promotions, regrading and progression criteria to ensure that these processes remain fair, transparent, and aligned with best practice. Once updates are finalised, the criteria are widely communicated to all staff, providing clear guidance on the pathways available for career development and salary progression.
Special circumstances relevant to individual applications are carefully considered to ensure that no employee is disadvantaged, reinforcing the University’s commitment to an equitable and inclusive process.
Through these measures, the University aims to strengthen fairness in career advancement opportunities and contribute to the ongoing reduction of the gender pay gap.
In the reporting period, a total of 21 females successfully applied for promotion, progression or regrading compared to a total of 8 males.
A formal secondment process has been established, and at the time of reporting there were 13 internal secondments in place. Of these, 11 were undertaken by female employees and 2 by male employees, indicating strong female participation in internal development opportunities.
Policies and procedures
The University has reviewed the Equal Opportunities Statement aligning it with current legislation. This is available on the University website.
The Dignity at Work Policy and Study Procedure has been updated and published on SharePoint.
In addition the University has updated the family friendly and hybrid working policies and these are also published on the HR SharePoint site.
Future actions
1. Inclusive recruitment
The University remains committed to advancing inclusive recruitment and ensuring equitable opportunities for career progression, in line with the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010. Over the coming year, priority will be given to strengthening our approach by undertaking data-driven analysis to identify underrepresented groups withing specific roles and areas of the organisation.
To support more inclusive and compliant recruitment practices, the University will implement targeted training for hiring managers, including modules on unconscious bias, equality and diversity and the legal framework for positive action under the Equality Act 2010. Embedding the training will help ensure consistency, fairness, and transparency throughout the recruitment process.
In addition, the University will review and update job advertisement to ensure that flexible working options, including part-time arrangements and job-share opportunities are clearly promoted for majority of roles. This work aims to broaden access to employment opportunities and attract a more diverse range of applicants.
By refocusing these actions in the year ahead, the University seeks to enhance inclusivity in recruitment, improve equitable progression pathways and support continued progress in reducing the gender pay gap.
2. Learning and development
The University has already implemented a range of training courses aimed at all staff levels to enhance key skills and support career progression. Participation and feedback have been positive across all genders, and we plan to continue this approach.
Furthermore, the University will continue to support the “Accelerate People Leadership Programme,” which is designed to develop current and future line managers.
In line with The Office for Students (OfS) introduced Condition E6 which outlines requirements for Higher Education Institutions in England to prevent and address harassment and sexual misconduct. The University has launched two new online training courses on these areas to emphasise a zero-tolerance policy on sexism and any other forms of discrimination or harassment.
3. Improving HR policies, procedures, and systems
In line with changes to the Employment Rights Bill, the University will need to continue to work on the introduction of new policies and procedures as well as refresh some of the current ones.
Currently, we do not capture data related to ethnicity, disability, and sexual orientation pay gaps, however the newly implemented HR system allows for the capture of the majority of this information and a data capture exercise will take place in Q1 2026.#
By implementing these measures, the University aims to create a more inclusive and equitable work environment, ultimately working towards reducing the gender pay gap.
Conclusion
The University has continued to make progress in addressing the gender pay gap, supported by targeted initiatives designed to promote equity and improve representation across all levels of the organisation. Despite these positive steps, the gender pay gap remains influenced by the uneven distribution of men and women across the pay structure, most notably the over representation of women in the lower and lower middle quartiles with a high concentration of women in junior and lower-paid positions.
Additionally, part-time roles, typically associated with lower pay and reduced seniority, continue to be filled predominately by women, further contributing to the distribution pattern.
By maintaining momentum and enhancing key initiatives, the University aims to create a more balanced workforce across all quartiles and achieve long-term, meaningful reductions in the gender pay gap.