Students’ union in call for universities to reveal pay gap between genders
THE National Union of Students Wales is calling on all universities and colleges to publish their gender pay gap data.
As of April 4 this year, all companies and public bodies in Great Britain with more than 250 employees had to report their gender pay gap to the Government Equalities Office.
Universities and colleges in Wales are exempt from the ruling but some, including Cardiff University and Bridgend College published their numbers to coincide with the ruling.
Other universities said their gender pay gap figures are provided in their annual reports.
A survey last year showed Wales’ top two universities have among the widest gender pay gap for senior academics in the UK.
A survey of leading universities showed full-time women professors and academics at Cardiff and Swansea universities earned 13% to 15% less than their male colleagues.
The figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, collated in the Times Higher Education Pay survey 2017, show Swansea is in the top 10 of widest gender pay gaps for both categories and Cardiff is in the top five for gender pay gap among academics.
Universities said they were addressing the situation.
To coincide with the April 4 ruling Cardiff University published figures showing it has a 21.8% mean and 19.7% median gender pay gap.
Figures for Bridgend College show men working there earn an average of 36.8% more than women.
In annual reports Swansea University figures for 2016-17 show the average mean gender pay gap there was 23% and the median 19%.
The University of South Wales’ 2016-17 annual report says the mean average shows men are paid 12.18% more than women.
The mean pay gap is the difference between the average hourly earnings of men and women. The median pay gap is the difference between the midpoints in the ranges of hourly earnings of men and women.
In an open letter to Wales’ universities and colleges, NUS Wales women’s officer Gwyneth Sweatman said: “Although Wales’ universities and colleges are not legally required to release gender pay gap data, it’s fantastic to see Cardiff University and Swansea University volunteer this information. It’s a clear indication of the universities’ commitment to transparency and equality in pay.
“NUS Wales is now calling on all Welsh universities and colleges to follow the lead of Cardiff University and Swansea University and release their gender pay gap data voluntarily to the public.
“It’s clear that we need a national discussion about inequality and pay disparity in education. To ensure this is an open and honest discussion, Welsh institutions must join their English counterparts and release this information.
“We know that the gender pay gap exists at an alarming scale across the country and if we are serious about addressing the root causes of gender pay disparity in Wales, we must be open and transparent.
“We urge all universities and colleges in Wales to release their gender pay gap data and work together to create an equal and just society for all.”
A Cardiff University spokesperson said: “In Wales and Scotland, public authorities have to comply with the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012, or the Equality Act 2010 (Statutory Duties) (Wales) Regulations 2011. This means as an exception they are not required to publish or report on their gender pay gap.
“However, equality remains a key priority for the university and in the interests of transparency about pay the university has taken the decision to publish the information.
“The data shows that men and women receive the same pay for doing the same roles at Cardiff University, but that more men are in higher paid jobs at the university than women – this needs to be addressed.
“We have already put in place a number of initiatives to tackle the gender pay gap – a long standing problem in organisations across the UK. These include strengthening the university’s existing mentoring schemes; extending Athena Swan across more areas; introducing unconscious bias training for all those involved in recruitment; embedding the university’s workload allocation model to ensure clarity, consistency and fairness of treatment; revising our Senior Reward Strategy; reviewing pay decisions to increase transparency and demonstrate equity; and, continuing to offer a variety of flexible working practices to support staff.
“We have an unwavering commitment to gender equality and are working hard to ensure that we can attract, develop and advance talented people at all levels. Addressing this gender pay disparity will take time, but it is critical to an inclusive, innovative workplace.”
A Swansea University spokeswoman said: “The requirements regarding publishing gender pay gap information are different in Wales to those in England. The duties in Wales require us to report ‘as appropriate on specified employment information, including information on pay’, which we have chosen to do via our Equality Annual Report.
This report includes our mean and median pay data by gender, including the pay gap figure. For 2016/ 17 the Swansea university average mean gender pay gap was 23%, whereas the median is 19%.
“Swansea University is committed to tackling the gender pay gap and has established a Gender Pay Working Group.
“The university has a clear academic promotion process, which is applied consistently and fairly and pay within grades is equitable, with each role being evaluated. Currently women dominate lower-graded roles and men dominate higher-graded roles, however the percentage of female professors within the professorial community at Swansea Uni-
versity has increased from 13% in 2012 to 20% in 2018, (as at March 1). The university aims to build on this change across all its roles.
“Swansea University has also been formally recognised by the UK’s Equality Challenge Unit for its commitment to promoting gender equality and is the first Welsh university to achieve the Silver Athena Swan Charter award at university level (not departmental level) in the 2017 review.”
The University of South Wales said it too published the data in its annual review.
A University of South Wales spokesperson said: “The University of South Wales follows the recommendation to undertake an Equal Pay Audit every three years (our last one being in November 2016). Whilst we are not required to publish the outcomes of this externally, our latest audit shows that on average (mean average), men are paid 12.18% more than women. This figure is lower that the Welsh average.
“We are committed to equal pay at the university, and our latest audit shows that there are no significant pay gaps within grades based on age, disability, gender and race. Where there are pay gaps within grades, these can be attributed to length of service.”
Wrexham Glyndwr University’s annual report for 2016-17 shows 60% of staff are women and 40% men who are mainly in better paid positions.
The document says: “Senior staff shows a good representation of female staff, however it is clear that it is within the academic staff where the greatest gender pay issue can be seen, with senior academic roles heavily dominated by males.
“For both academic and professional services staff there is a higher proportion of males in senior roles. This is marginal in professional services grades, however very significant across all academic roles from principal lecturer upwards, which reflects in the university’s gender pay gap.”
A spokesperson said: “Wrexham Glyndwr University published its annual equality report in March of this year. The report sets out the progress the university has made over the past year to meet its equalities objectives, including those on pay.”