Cardiff University pay female staff 21 per cent less than male staff

According to the most recent reports published by Cardiff University, female staff are paid a mean average of 21.8 per cent less than their male counterparts. This is the difference between men and women's average hourly earnings and is across the entire university body.

The Equalities Act 2010, which came into force in April 2017, requires all public sector organisations to publish the results of gender pay against six prescribed indicators, including mean and median averages.

The office of National Statistics UK published that the median figure for all companies came in at 18.7 per cent, meaning that the median pay gap at the University is worse than the national averages, at 19.7 per cent.

As of March 31st 2017, the University employed 6139 staff, of which 55 per cent were female and 45 per cent were male. Staff are paid according to a single pay spine made of eight grades whilst senior staff are paid according to a three band scale.

Although the university's employees are comprised of 10 per cent more female than male employees, it was also reported that more males received a bonus at the end of the year than females.

The reports also shed light on the universities' senior roles and highest earners which are heavily dominated by males. This is due to the 61 per cent of men that make up the upper quartile of the universities' employees. In contrast, the lower quartile is made up of 67 per cent women and just 33 per cent men.

The university responded to the statistics with these explanations as to why the pay gap currently exists: "At Cardiff University, we are committed to equal pay, treatment and opportunity, to supporting diversity and creating an inclusive community.

"At Cardiff, the gender pay gap exists as a result of the makeup of our workforce: there are currently fewer women in senior roles than men, as well as a higher proportion of women relative to men in the lower grades. With more men at senior levels, this means our average male salary (medium and mean) is higher than the average female salary within the whole organisation."

While the audit concludes that there is no evidence of systematic pay discrimination, this poses the question as to why more women are not being employed at senior levels, in order to achieve the universities aim of working towards closing the pay gap within every sector of employment.