Professional veterinary recruitment

What is the gender pay gap in UK?

A gender pay gap of 9.4%, which is the national average, means that the average woman at a company earns 91p for each £1 earned by the average man. The median gender pay reflects differences in how much men and women are paid in an organisation regardless of their job titles.

The gender pay gap (31.2%) is the equivalent of 114 days, meaning women work for free for nearly a third of the year until Sunday 23 April 2023. TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Working women deserve equal pay. But at current rates of progress, it will take more than 20 years to close the gender pay gap.

BBC's Recent Gender Pay Article -What is the gender pay gap where you work?

With eight out of ten firms stillpaying their male employees more than women, little progress has been made in closing the gender pay gap in the UK.

Some sectors have shown some improvement since 2017/18 when companies were first required to publish figures.

The latest figures show that organisations in the public sector reduced their pay gap from 14.5% in favour of men in 2017 to 8.9% in 2022.

Meanwhile, in other sectors like education and health the pay gap between men and women has increased.

Use the lookup table below to find what the gender pay gap is where you work.

About the data

Median pay gap

We're showing you the median gender pay gap, which is the difference between how much the middle-ranking man and middle-ranking woman earn.

In other words, if you line up all male and female employees in two lines by their hourly earnings, the median gender pay gap will be the difference between how much the man and the woman in the middle of those lines earn.

A gender pay gap of 9.4%, which is the national average, means that the average woman at a company earns 91p for each £1 earned by the average man.

Pay gap v unequal pay

The median gender pay reflects differences in how much men and women are paid in an organisation regardless of their job titles.

A high gender pay gap can be caused by different factors, such as women occupying fewer highly paid roles than men, the number of female employees or traditional career roles.

This is different to unequal pay - paying women less for the same work - which is illegal.

You can see what the gender split of employees at different pay levels is on the government's website.

What employers are included?

All employers with 250 or more employees in England, Wales and Scotland - that includes companies, charities and public sector departments - must report their gender pay gap figures by the end of each financial year.

These figures are calculated based on a 'snapshot date', usually at the beginning of the financial year. For most employers, the latest snapshot date is 5 April 2022.

Copy - By Nicu Calcea - Business reporter, BBC News

British Veterinary Association responds to the gender pay gap in the veterinary profession

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has issued a statement in response to a new BBC report examining the UK's gender pay gap.

It has revealed that eight out of ten firms pay men more than women and the wage difference remains at 9.4%, the same level as in 2017/18. The report includes data for vet businesses with more than 250 members of staff and shows that the inequality of pay seen nationally is also reflected across the veterinary profession.

BVA President Malcolm Morley said: “This report makes for extremely disappointing reading. Whilst the gender pay gap nationally is as large as it was five years ago, it's even more concerning that no meaningful progress has been made in addressing this fundamental inequality within the veterinary sector.

“The veterinary profession has work to do to get its house in order on this issue. SPVS' recent salary survey showed there is a gender pay gap for vets as early as the first two years after graduation, meaning that women in the profession are playing salary catch-up right from the outset of their career.

“We acknowledge that calculating the gender pay gap is complicated, particularly in workplaces where some roles are predominantly carried out by women or where women outnumber men at the earlier career stages of a profession. However fair, transparent and equal pay is one of the keystones of good veterinary workplaces and therefore its vital that employers tackle this issue head on.

“BVA recently launched a new member guide encouraging employers, managers and employees to have open and effective conversations around pay. Whilst it's not a silver bullet, it offers practical steps towards action and it's encouraging to see how well our members have already engaged with it, suggesting a willingness to address the issue.”

Copy 2023 BVA