The University of Sheffield
Human Resources

Equal Pay Review

The University has now completed three full Equal Pay Reviews. These were carried out in 2003, 2006 and 2009. 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, for example the forthcoming 2012 review will be the first to measure the immediate impact of the recent Professorial and Professorial Equivalent Pay Schemes.

The table below shows the change in the gender pay gap (in favour of male staff) over the last three reviews:

2003 2006 2009
32.2% 28.4% 26.2%

Graph showing gender pay gaps for each grade

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, however, due to the gender imbalance between grades: 94% of Grade 1 staff are female compared to 33% of Grade 9 staff and 21% of professors and equivalents.

The equal pay review also looks at the position of minority ethnic origin (MEO) and disabled staff. The pay gaps (in 2009) are 5.1% in favour of non-MEO staff and 7.8% in favour of non-disabled staff. These gaps have fluctuated over the three years with no clear trend; sample sizes are much smaller than for the gender data.

With only one exception, there are no grades in the main University of Sheffield Grading Scheme with a pay gap within them of more than 5% (considered the significant level) across gender, ethnicity or disability. The exception will be monitored as part of the action plan arising from the review.

The following action plan has been agreed based on the findings of the review:

  1. Address gender pay gap that exists in favour of male staff, particularly in the clinical and professorial/equivalent groups
  2. Address ethnicity pay gap that exists in favour of non-MEO staff, particularly in the clinical, and professorial and equivalent, groups
  3. Monitor the ethnicity pay gap that exists in favour of non-MEO grade 5 staff to ensure it was an outlier
  4. Improve the quality and volume of EO data