Gender pay gap figures for 2017

StepChange Debt Charity gender pay gap reporting

From April 2018, all employers with 250 or more employees are required by law to show how large the pay gap is between their male and female employees. We’re committed to equality for all our colleagues and therefore we welcome the opportunity to share this information.

A gender pay gap can be found in the majority of UK economy. Our figures can be found alongside other organisations on the government’s website.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of men and women over a period of time, irrespective of their role or seniority. It therefore captures any pay differences between men and women on a broad level.

Below is our gender pay gap information based on data from 5 April 2017, using salary and bonus information for the 1,378 eligible colleagues in our charity.

Pay gap figures

Women's mean hourly rate is

7.8% lower

(UK average 17.4%)

Women's median hourly rate is

0.7% lower

(UK average 18.4%)

Like the vast majority of organisations, there's a pay gap between men and women's pay. However, our figures are significantly better than average; according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics in October 2017, the average pay gap for the UK economy was a mean of 17.4% and a median of 18.4%.

We’re pleased to see that our median pay is almost equal. This means if you lined up every one of our male colleagues in order of pay in one line and every female colleague in another, the person in the middle of each line receives a similar salary.

What's the difference between mean and median?

The median is a statistic commonly used to show the middlepoint salary of a sample. In our case, calculating the median involved taking all salaries in our organisation, lining them up in order from lowest to highest, and picking the middle one.

The mean is the overall average of the whole sample and can be subject to the influences of high or low salaries at the top or bottom of the payroll. With salaries, the mean is much more likely to be influenced by a small number of high or low earners.

Pay quartiles

How many men and women are in each quarter of our payroll:

Quartile	Men	Women
Lowest paid quartile	42% men	58% women
Lower middle	46% men	54% women
Upper middle	45% men	55% women
Highest	53% men	47% women
Overall	47% men	53% women

We believe the underlying reasons for the gender split in the quartiles above exist across most UK employers. The job roles in the lowest quartile tend to be front-line jobs. These roles often have a lower salary. The jobs in the highest quartile are typically technical or senior positions, which command a higher salary.

Bonus pay

Women's bonus pay is

7.1% lower

(mean)

Women's bonus pay is

14.1% lower

(median)

Percentage receiving a bonus

57.5% of men

receive a bonus

52.7% of women

receive a bonus

A large proportion of the bonuses we paid out in the year used for these figures relate to an attendance-based scheme, which is no longer in place. The sickness rate for women was higher than men during that year, which is reflected in the above statistics.

Steps we're taking to reduce the pay gap

We have a clear policy of paying and rewarding employees fairly. As such, we've been carrying out the following activities for a number of years:

Carry out external salary benchmarking audits at regular intervals
Evaluate all job roles using a standardised job evaluation system to ensure a fair pay structure
Promote flexible working, to allow colleagues to fit work around their other commitments where possible

In addition, we're in the process of launching a scheme to improve gender balance in our IT team, where we’re working on targeted initiatives to develop IT careers for women.

Would you like to know more?

Read our statement on our gender pay gap