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Equality and Diversity

Gender Pay Gap Reporting 2021

Leeds Arts University is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and has policies and development which support this commitment.

As part of these legal obligations we are publishing this data in response to the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 which require us to report on a number of metrics as at 31 March in a given year. This is the University’s third report under the regulations.

Under the regulations the gender pay gap is the difference between the average pay (expressed as both the mean and median) of men and women expressed as a percentage and should not be confused with equal pay.

2021 Metrics

Mean gender pay gap - Women’s pay is 1.03% lower (2020 3.98%; 2019 1.7%;)

Median gender pay gap - Women’s pay is 5.7% lower (2020 5.7%; 2019 5.8% lower)

The mean gender bonus pay gap - n/a (no bonuses paid)

The median gender bonus pay gap - n/a (no bonuses paid)

The percentage of men and women in each quartile of our payroll on 31 March 2021, 2020 and 2019, with quartile 1 being the lowest paid and quartile 4 being the highest paid is shown in the table below, with the previous 2 years figures provided for comparison purposes.

Quartile

Men

Women

2021 (%)

2020 (%)

2019 (%)

2021 (%)

2020 (%)

2019 (%)

Quartile 1 (Lower Quartile)

46.9

38.2

41.9

53.1

61.8

58.1

Quartile 2

28.4

34.6

35.1

71.6

65.4

64.9

Quartile 3

48.1

42.3

43.2

51.9

57.7

56.8

Quartile 4 (Upper Quartile)

42.2

43.6

45.9

56.8

56.4

54.1

Our staff population on 31 March 2021 was 58.2% female and 41.8% male which compares to the 2020 figure of 60.9% female and 39.1% male. The University employed 325 staff on 31 March 2020 (with 2 staff excluded from the definition) compared to 312 in 2020.

Context

The University is committed to Equal Pay, and operates a grade structure based on the New JNCHES pay scale which has 51 spine points. All roles outside the most senior staff are evaluated using the HERA job evaluation scheme. The HERA scores are mapped to the grading structure to ensure staff are remunerated fairly. There are 11 formal grade bands with a limited number of spine points in each, which allow for salary progression based on experience assuming that performance criteria are met and place an upper and lower limit on remuneration for a given band. This ensures that the equal pay provisions of the Equality Act 2010 are fully met.

The salaries of senior roles are set by the Remuneration Committee which considers a range of metrics, external and internal data when setting pay levels. The Remuneration Committee’s Annual Remuneration Report to The Board of Governors for the Financial Year details these and is published on our website.

Analysis

The mean gender pay gap has decreased to 1.03% from 3.98% in 2020. The median gender pay gap has remained unchanged from the previous year at 5.7%. This relates to spine points on the national pay scales. Median pay for women remains spine point 28 (the penultimate spine point of grade 5); and for men it remains point 30 (the bottom spine point of grade 6). This has remained the case since the University commenced gender pay reporting.

The core University staffing has continued to grow with the expansion in the course portfolio and associated numbers of support staff which combined with staff turnover and overall staffing profile continues to change, but there has been very little turnover in senior roles within the institution.

  • Considering the data on a quartile basis the following was observed:

    • In Quartile 1 (Lower Quartile) both the male mean and median salary remain slightly higher than the female.

    • In Quartile 2 both the female median and mean salary remain higher than the male.

    • In Quartile 3 both the female median and mean salary are higher than the male. This is a change from last year when the female median salary was the same as the median male salary, but the female mean salary was lower than the male mean salary.

    • In Quartile 4 (Upper Quartile) the female mean and median salary is higher than the male mean and median salary. This is again the same as last year.

  • The profile of the University’s staffing by grade is considered to be a factor in accounting for the ongoing median pay gap, as is the use of spine points. The majority of staff (252) are employed within roles which fall within grades 3 to 7. 57.7% of the University’s workforce are women, and whilst they make up the majority of staff across all quartiles, there remains significantly more women employed in the lower grades than men, despite the shifts in quartile representation. The highest paid member of staff is female; and two thirds of the staff who were on the lowest spine point on the census date were male.

  • It should be noted that there were 135 males employed on the census date which is 12 more than the previous year. New appointments are usually made to the bottom of the pay spine with pay progression based on performance criteria. The increase in the workforce size and number of women appointed has impacted on the female median salary when compared to the male.

Whilst noting this analysis and the ongoing action in attempting to recruit men into lower graded roles which may assist no gender pay gap, a complete eradication of a pay gap (with either gender being paid more) may be impossible to achieve with staff turnover and a grade band structure. The small numbers of staff involved make the data sensitive to small fluctuations. We will however continue to monitor the detail behind any reported figures and to take action where appropriate, whilst also being sensitive to other equality objectives of achieving a more diverse workforce.

Prior to publication these figures have been reported to our Senior Management Team and will be considered by our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

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