Gender Pay Gap Statement

The overall gender pay gap as defined by Regulation 7 (The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012) is 24%. This is the percentage difference between men’s average hourly pay (excluding overtime) and women’s average hourly pay (excluding overtime).

This is somewhat higher than the 9.6% figure reported for the UK Labour Market, although closer to 19.8% for the higher education sector as reported by UCEA in February 2013.

The scale of the gender pay gap should be considered in the context of the disproportional representation of females in comparison to males given the ratio of female to male staff at grade 5 and below. In reviewing the data, grades 1 and 4 stand out with a ratio of at least 3 females to every male. The collective impact of the gender bias within grades 1-5, when considered as a group, is based upon the predominance of females in comparison to males within these grades with a ratio of 1.8:1. This goes some way towards explaining the scale of the differential. A similar analysis of grades 6-9 shows an equal pay gap of 17% which is consistent with expectations where the proportional representation of females to males is more closely aligned with a ratio of 1:0.9.

There are clearly potential issues of occupational segregation in relation to the apparent disproportionate representation of females and males within the overall staff population within grades 1-5. This is consistent with statistical analysis and data trends reported by large employers of a similar size, scale and complexity in Scotland. Given these circumstances, the University will continue to monitor emerging trends in accordance with the commitment provided within the Equal Pay Statement. It does not intend however to instigate any significant action planning specifically relating to occupational segregation at this time.