Equal Pay Review
Equal pay reviews compare the pay of men and women doing work of equal value. The University’s reviews are also extended to investigate ethnicity and disability, as well as gender. For further details on these sections and a more detailed breakdown of the statistics on this page, please see the links on the right.
The University has now completed four full Equal Pay Reviews. These were carried out in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2012. These reviews monitor the impact of reforms to pay structures at the University, particularly the Framework Agreement in 2005, and will continue to provide evidence for further reforms. The 2012 review will be the first to measure the immediate impact of the recent Professorial and Professorial Equivalent Pay Schemes.
The chart across shows the fall in the gender pay gap (positive numbers mean the split is in favour of males) over the last four reviews, alongside the Higher Education Average percentage. These figures are calculated by using the equation below:
This consistent trend of improvement has coincided with University-wide initiatives to improve the diversity of the workforce, including particular programmes on improving female academic progression.
The pay gap remains due to the gender imbalance between grades. Overall around 54% of staff are in grades 7 and above, however there is a much higher proportion of male staff in grades 7 and above (66%) than for the overall University population.
None of the gender pay gaps for USGS grades are significant (above 5%) and there are no patterns of gaps more than 1%. The pay gap for Professorial Band III would be considered significant in favour of male staff, whereas the pay gap for clinical staff is split across the levels.
To summise:
- Pay gaps have generally continued to decrease, as they did between 2006 and 2009.
- The pay gaps in favour of males for both Professorial and Professorial Equivalent staff have decreased since 2009, but are still significant. The number of females in these roles, and particularly at the higher-paid end of them, is disproportionately low.
- Apart from one outlier, there are no significant pay gaps for staff on the USGS, where there can be a direct comparison of jobs which have been determined to be of equivalent value.
- The overall pay gaps are primarily caused by the effect of the distribution of staff across the grades, not pay gaps within the grades.
- University of Sheffield’s pay gaps are in line with those of other HE Institutions.