Durham’s gender pay gap revealed – Palatinate

By becks fleet

durham university’s most recent gender pay gap report – published annually online on the UK Government website – has revealed that the median hourly pay for women working at durham university is 23.5% lower than the median hourly pay for men.

This equates roughly to women earning 76p for every £1 earned by men. When using the mean rather than the median, the hourly gender pay gap is 21.1%. This is a fall of 1% from the 2021/22 academic year.

The median pay gap is slightly increased from the previous report last year, which stated that the median hourly pay for women working at durham university was 20.1% lower than the median hourly pay for men. However, it has fallen since the report prior to that, where the figure was 28.3%.

Additionally, the report has revealed that men occupy nearly 60% of the upper hourly pay quarter – the 25% most highly paid staff at the University – and women occupy nearly 65% of the lowest hourly pay quarter. Since last year, the representation of women in the upper pay quartile has increased by 3%, and has reduced in the lower pay quartile by 2%.

Durham’s hourly median gender pay gap is higher than some other universities. Both Oxford and Cambridge Universities have reported median gender pay gaps of under 15%, with Oxford stating that their hourly pay gap is 13.6% and Cambridge that theirs is 9.2%. The figure is also higher than other local universities, with Newcastle University’s median gender pay gap being 14.2%, and Northumbria University’s being 17.5%.

durham university has argued that this pay gap is due to the higher percentage of women employed in lower pay quartile roles compared to other universities, as the hourly pay gap figures take into account wages paid across the full organisation.

As the percentage of women in lower-paid roles is higher than at some other universities, the average pay for women is lower than the average pay for men.

In response to this report, A durham university spokesperson said: “durham university is committed to promoting an inclusive and supportive environment for all our staff and students. This includes the University actively promoting equality in the workplace.

“The University’s gender pay gap is mainly due to the structure of our workforce. Our college system means that we have more lower graded job roles than other universities of a similar size. And unlike many other universities, we only outsource a very small number of graded roles.

“Closing the gender pay gap is not a quick and easy fix. It requires a meaningful, consistent, and sustained shift in what we do. The changes that we are making at Durham are authentic and deep rooted and will take time to make a difference.

“But change is happening. We were one of the first Russell Group universities to permanently change our pay scale so all employees are paid above the ‘real living wage’. Female representation in the University’s lower pay quartiles reduced by 2% in the last year, while female representation in the upper pay quartile increased by 3%.

“A comprehensive action plan has been developed that identifies steps being taken to help reduce the gender pay gap. This includes changes to our recruitment and selection processes and activities and greater transparency and benchmarking when making decisions on pay.

“It is also important to recognise that the gender pay gap is not equivalent to equal pay. Equal pay is a legal requirement that men and women employees in similar roles must receive no less favourable terms and conditions, including pay.

“Durham does not have an equal pay issue. We are not complacent on the gender pay gap and continue to work hard in this area.”

Image: Trevor Littlewood via Wikimedia Commons