Petition demands end to gender pay gap at KCL

Women professors lose out on over £10,000


A petition, created by Jacqueline Robbins, is calling for KCL Principal Ed Byrne to “lead the way in addressing the pay gap”.

Statistics published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency revealed that male professors at King’s are paid a mind-blowing 18.24% more on average than their female counterparts.

The figures show that the average salary for KCL’s male academics is a cushty £56,301, while women professors only earn £46,030.

Last year, King’s denied a Freedom of Information request asking for the specific job titles of King’s employees earning over £100,000. The College then successfully appealed the Information Commissioner’s original decision, which would have meant that King’s had to reveal the information.

In the tribunal report, Director of Finance Stephen Large was reported as commenting that, “Salary differences would have to be explained and managed and in some cases, it may mean giving certain staff a pay rise. It may also affect team dynamics. The real issues may arise not with the individuals whose salaries are disclosed, but those one level down. He does not want people to be distracted by differences in pay.”

But this new petition demands that Principal Ed Byrne must increase transparency regarding the salaries of KCL’s academics, and publicly acknowledge KCL’s dismal failures on this issue.

You can sign the petition here.