House of Commons and Parliamentary Digital Service publish gender pay gap data

The Gender Pay Gap

The Gender Pay Gap (GPG) report shows the mean pay gap for the House of Commons was 1.7%. The median pay gap was revealed to be 1%.

The figures show that men have a marginal pay lead in terms of both mean and median hourly pay over women in the House of Commons. This is explained by the ratio of female to male employees across the organisation, which is largely similar to the distribution across each pay quartile, resulting in relatively equal pay between genders.

Reporting was slightly different in the Parliamentary Digital Service, where the mean pay gap was -5.21%. The median pay gap was revealed to be -4.16%. This negative gap illustrates that women have a pay lead in terms of both mean and median hourly pay over men. PDS’s negative pay gap is a direct result of the number of women holding more senior positions within the organisation.

Compared to the average pay gap of 13% in favour of men for public bodies, both organisations show encouraging figures.

Bonus pay

Pay gap reporting also revealed the mean bonus gap for both organisations. Data here showed that there was a much larger margin for improvement, with the House of Commons reporting a 17.06% mean and 42.65% median gap. PDS reported similar figures of 42.65% mean and 39.07% median.

Improving equality

In comparison with the national median average of 9.1%, the House of Commons and PDS pay gaps are small. However, there is much more to be done to reach gender pay parity. Gender pay gap data reveals only part of the picture.

Rated as the 23rd best UK employer in the Stonewall workplace equality index, and with a silver disability standard accreditation, the House of Commons and PDS have made a clear commitment to providing a workplace where all staff are valued equally. In recent years workplace equality initiatives have been championed, including policies such as shared parental leave, childcare vouchers and flexible working which have been shown to help break down the barriers to true gender equality in the workplace.

David Natzler, Clerk of the House of Commons, said:

“Whilst our gender pay gap figures are encouraging, we are not complacent. We recognise that there is more to be done, in particular to increase female representation at senior levels and around the bonus pay gap. We are proud to have introduced a range of measures to address the problem, including a talent management programme and embedding flexible working within our day to day processes, and we are committed to doing more.

As the facilitator of our democracy, the House of Commons must lead the way in offering equal opportunity to all staff, and of course pay is a significant element of that.”

Tracey Jessup, Director of the Parliamentary Digital Service, said:

 “I am delighted that this first set of gender pay data is so encouraging for women in our organisation and I am proud to lead an organisation which is committed to ensuring equality and diversity in staff, including gender equality.

We want to continue to build a supportive and inclusive workplace where our staff are able to work flexibly supported by tangible policies to help them, such as shared parental leave. We are also mindful that gender pay inequality is only part of the picture and must be tackled alongside other factors which have an impact on equality of opportunity in the workplace.”

Gender Pay Gap Reports 

• Read the full House of Commons Gender Pay Gap report.
• Read the full PDS Gender Pay Gap report.

Image credit: UK Parliament