Diversity and inclusion are critical to the FCA, as an employer, a regulator, and a public body. We are committed to tackling inequality and under-representation. We want to build an inclusive environment for all our colleagues that is reflective of the communities we serve.
Our pay gap data for 2022 covers the reporting period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, this year we have seen improvements in most of our pay gaps, we continue to work towards identifying and addressing the underlying issues we know still exist.
Calculating our pay gaps
Our pay and bonus gaps are measured on a median and mean basis.
The mean (average) and median provide a measure of the centre of the dataset. By comparing the median to the mean, we get an idea of the distribution of the dataset. When the mean and the median are the same, the dataset is more or less evenly distributed from the lowest to the highest values. When the mean and the median are different then it is likely that the data is not symmetrical and is skewed.
The mean involves adding up all the numbers and dividing the result by how many numbers were in the list. The median involves listing all the numbers in numerical order. If there is an odd number of results, the median is the middle number. If there is an even number of results, the median will be the mean of the two central numbers. The gap is the difference in these values for one group compared to another. For example, the median for men compared to the median for women.
1. Key findings
Our latest figures compared to the last two years are shown in the table below.
Table 1: Pay and bonus gap figures for the years 2022, 2021 & 2020
| Median | Mean | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||
| Gender | Pay gap | 19.8% | 20.1% | 20.4% | 15.6% | 16.3% | 18.4% |
| Bonus gap | 33.3% | 23.5% | 32.0% | 16.4% | 20.2% | 31.8% | |
| Ethnicity | Pay gap | 22.5% | 24.5% | 28.9% | 22.8% | 24.4% | 27.0% |
| Bonus gap | 33.3% | 28.8% | 32.0% | 13.7% | 25.9% | 31.8% | |
| Disability* | Pay gap | 9.3% | 9.4% | 7.7% | 6.2% | 3.8% | 11.6% |
| Bonus gap | 17.9% | 15.1% | 3.9% | 5.3% | 15.3% | 5.2% | |
*Our numbers declaring a disability are small at less than 10% and this can cause fluctuations in yearly comparisons.
Key changes for 2022 (reflecting the reporting period April 2021 - March 2022) compared to the prior year:
- Improvements in all our pay gaps with the exception of our mean disability pay gap.
- Significant improvements in our mean bonus gaps including a 12.2% reduction in our ethnicity bonus gap.
- Our median bonus gaps have increased, in contrast to the mean improving, and reflects a change in the pattern of bonus awards. For the performance year ending 31 March 2021, with awards made in April 2021, we changed our approach to the awarding of bonuses. The overall funding was reduced, and awards were based on a fixed value calculated as a percentage of the average salary for each grade. This is in contrast to being a percentage of individual salary as in previous years. This approach combined with an imbalance in representation, led to a greater disparity between the median bonus awards of each group.
2. Three-year trends
Our pay and bonus gaps have generally moved in the right direction over the last three years. Our ethnicity pay and bonus gaps in particular have seen some significant decreases both at the median and the mean. We continue to analyse our people data to identify the underlying drivers of our pay and bonus gaps. This enables us to understand where we need to target our interventions.
Drivers of our pay and bonus gaps
Our pay and bonus gaps continue to be driven mainly by imbalances in the distribution of colleagues in different roles and grade levels within the organisation. We acknowledge there is still more work to do for us to see impactful sustainable change. Because our bonuses are awarded as a percentage of annual salary, our bonus gap is also impacted by the distribution of part time workers. In contrast to this the pay gaps are not impacted by the distribution of part time workers as the calculation uses a full time equivalent hourly pay rate.
We have started to refresh our internal Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) strategy[1], redefining our priorities and measures of success to reflect the current D&I landscape and our evolving needs. This new strategy will be data and evidence-led to ensure that we are prioritising the areas where we need to have the greatest impact. It will lead to programmes and interventions that nurture a working environment where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work so they can fulfil their potential and contribute meaningfully to the FCA’s outcomes. We have also revised our gender and ethnicity targets: expanding targets to pipeline grades and making them more ambitious to boost female and minority ethnic representation across all levels of our organisation. The changes we have made, and continue to make, should help to further narrow our pay gaps in future years.
3. Our new employment offer
We announced our new employment offer[2] to colleagues in March 2022. This followed an extensive consultation period that began in September 2021. Our new grading, pay and benefits offer aims to ensure we can retain and attract the skills we need to meet our vital objectives – protecting consumers and markets and promoting competition – for the long term. It is designed to reward strong, consistent performance and aid career development. Importantly, the changes also advance our diversity and inclusion objectives.
The changes focus the greatest pay increases on those in the less senior roles. The result is a positive impact on the pay of younger, female and minority ethnic colleagues. Simplifying and making more transparent our approach to pay and job families, as well as assisting career development and mobility, will deliver diversity and inclusion benefits as part of our broader strategy.
The combined impact of this in closing our pay gaps will be reflected in future reporting periods. The discretionary performance bonus scheme that has now been withdrawn will be included for the last time in our bonus gap published in 2023 (covering the reporting period from 1 April 2022).
We remain committed to recruiting, developing, and retaining diverse talent across the organisation, and supporting the wider financial services sector.
For more information about the work we're doing to improve diversity and inclusion at the FCA and drive progress on closing our pay gaps, please see our Annual Diversity Report 2021/2022[3].
4. Greater transparency
We continue to provide an increased level of transparency, publishing our ethnicity pay gaps and disability pay gaps, despite there being no legal requirement to report these, as we believe that data transparency drives positive action. For the third year, we have also published more detailed data, sharing our ethnicity pay gap broken down into the UK census ethnicity categories, our pay gaps by contractual grade, as well as the intersectional gender and ethnicity pay gap. We know that the experience of ethnic groups is not the same, and more granular data helps us better understand our challenges and take more targeted positive action.
Our gender pay gap reporting is currently based on legal sex (HMRC set a requirement to report for payroll purposes using legal sex). The Government Equalities Office (GEO) advises organisations to report on pay gap data using information employees have provided for payroll purposes. This is a binary field (male or female). Employees can also choose to disclose to us their gender identity. We offer five response options for employees who wish to self-identify (Female, I use another term, Male, Non-Binary, prefer not to say). We are committed to respecting how an employee identifies in terms of their gender. We follow current GEO guidance[4] on pay gap reporting in cases where an individual identifies as non-binary (not identifying as either male or female). This allows for employers to omit non-binary individuals from gender pay gap calculations.
The calculated pay gaps are based on data recorded on March 31, 2022. The same method of calculation as used to calculate the gender pay gap is used to calculate the ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
5. Movements in our pay and bonus gaps
We continue to see slight changes in our pay gap figures. For this reporting period, the FCA did not increase salaries as part of the annual pay award in April 2021. An exception was made for those paid below £24,000 per annum on a full-time equivalent basis. The changes in the pay gap therefore largely reflect the impact of new appointments and movements within our workforce.
We have seen more significant movements in our bonus gap figures. For this reporting period, the FCA changed how discretionary performance bonuses were awarded in April 2021. Considering the impact of Covid-19 and wider economic conditions we made short term changes in our approach. The overall funding was reduced, and the awards were based on a fixed value calculated as a percentage of the average salary for each grade. Awards started at 11% for the most junior roles and stepped down to 8% for the most senior roles. The positive impact of this is seen in how the mean bonus gaps have reduced. The most significant fall is in our ethnicity mean bonus gap, reducing by 12.2%.
The median bonus gaps have increased. This movement, compared with the mean reducing, reflects how the value of the bonus awards were stepped rather than being more evenly graduated across the distribution as in previous years. This approach combined with an imbalance in representation, led to a greater disparity between the median bonus awards of each group. In contrast to the overall bonus gap when reviewing the outcomes at grade level we saw very small differences in the medians between males and females resulting in bonus gaps that were not statistically significant.
6. Pay and bonus gaps
The median gender pay gap is 19.8% down a further 0.3% from 20.1% in 2021. The mean gender pay gap has decreased to 15.6%, a 0.7% decrease since 2021.
The ethnicity pay gap has seen a larger decrease. The median pay gap is 22.5%, down by 2.0% from 24.5% and the mean pay gap is 22.8%, down by 1.6% from 24.4% in 2021.
The median disability pay gap is 9.3%. It has decreased by 0.1%. The mean disability pay gap is 6.2%, an increase of 2.4% when compared to last year.
It is important to consider disclosure rates when reviewing movements in pay and bonus gap reporting, with those declaring any given characteristic being a proportion within this. Smaller populations are susceptible to bigger percentage changes where the underlying data may see minimal shifts. Our disclosure rates are outlined in the table below and reflect the relevant employee population as of 31st March 2022.
Table 2: Our disclosure rates for Gender, Ethnicity and Disability
| Group | Disclosure Rate |
|---|---|
| Gender | 100% |
| Ethnicity | 90% |
| Disability | 78% |
Table 3: Our Pay Gaps by Gender, Ethnicity and Disability
Gender | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pay | Median | Mean |
| 19.8% | 15.6% | |
Ethnicity | ||
| Pay | Median | Mean |
| 22.5% | 22.8% | |
Disability | ||
| Pay | Median | Mean |
| 9.3% | 6.2% | |
Our gender median bonus gap is 33.3% and the mean is 16.4%. The bonus gap is based on the gross bonus paid in the period from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. The median has increased by 9.8%, and the mean has decreased by 3.8% since last year.
The increase to the median bonus gap is reflective of the higher representation of females in more junior (lower paid) roles compared to males who were more likely to sit in more senior (higher paid) roles.
For this reporting period the median female sat in the Associate grade vs the median male who sat in the Senior Associate grade, the fixed approach to bonuses meant that both were eligible for the same level of bonus as a percentage, however as bonus awards were based on the average salary by grade the cash value awarded to Senior Associates was higher than that of Associates.
The ethnicity median bonus gap is 33.3%, this is the same as the gender bonus gap and the mean is 2.7% lower at 13.7%. In the last year there has been a 4.5% increase in the median and a 12.2% decrease in the mean.
As with the gender bonus pay gap the largest driver of the ethnicity bonus gap at the median was reflective of the higher representation of minority ethnic colleagues in more junior roles vs white colleagues in more senior roles. The median minority ethnic employee sat in the Associate grade vs the median white colleague who sat in the Senior Associate grade. Once again, the fixed approach to bonuses meant that both were eligible for the same level of bonus as a percentage, however this translated to a higher cash value for Senior Associates based on the average salary for this grade.
The disability median bonus gap has increased from 15.1% to 17.9%. The mean has decreased from 15.3% to 5.3%. The proportion of colleagues declaring a disability is less than 10% so the figures can vary considerably year on year.
Table 4: Our Bonus Gaps by Gender, Ethnicity and Disability
Gender | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bonus | Median | Mean |
| 33.3% | 16.4% | |
Ethnicity | ||
| Bonus | Median | Mean |
| 33.3% | 13.7% | |
Disability | ||
| Bonus | Median | Mean |
| 17.9% | 5.3% | |
6.1. Total bonus amount and proportion
Chart
Data table
Figure 1 shows in the last 12 months 98.4% of women in the relevant population received a bonus compared to 98.1% of men. There was a 15.4% increase in the number of women receiving a bonus and a 20.1% increase in the number of men receiving a bonus, reflecting the change in our approach to bonuses during 2021.
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Data table
Figure 2 shows the median and mean total bonus amounts paid to women and men in the pay year 2021-2022
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Data table
Figure 3 shows that 98.8% of white colleagues and 98.4% of minority ethnic colleagues received a bonus in the pay year 2021-2022.
There was an increase in the proportion of the relevant minority ethnic population which received a bonus in the previous 12 months, 98.4% compared to 80% last year.
The average bonus value for minority ethnic colleagues is smaller than that of white colleagues. The average bonus value for minority ethnic colleagues has decreased compared to 2020/21.
Chart
Data table
Figure 4 shows the median and mean total bonus amounts paid to white and minority ethnic colleagues in the pay year 2021-2022.
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Data table
Figure 5 shows that 98.9% of those disabled and 98.3% of not disabled colleagues received a bonus in the pay year 2021-2022
The proportion of those with disabilities receiving a bonus was higher than those who do not have a disability in the pay year 2021-2022. The average bonus has decreased overall.
Chart
Data table
Figure 6 shows the median and mean total bonus amounts paid to Disabled and Not Disabled colleagues in the pay year 2021-2022.
6.2. Distribution by salary quartiles
The distribution by salary quartiles looks at the hourly rate of pay when ordered from lowest to highest and grouped into equal quarters.
The gender distribution split by salary quartiles shows that over the last 12 months the distribution has remained quite static. There has been a slight increase in the number of females in the higher middle quartile, 46% compared to 44% last year.
There have been some changes to the distribution of the minority ethnic population. The lower and higher middle quartiles show a 3% and 1% increase in the minority ethnic population. The lower middle and higher quartiles show a 1% and 2% increase in the minority ethnic population.
The number of colleagues recorded as having any form of disability is 203, 6.9% of the total population. Even though the numbers are small, we see a more even distribution through each of the pay quartiles in the pay year 2021-2022.
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Data table
Figure 7 shows the gender distribution split by salary quartiles in the pay year 2021-2022.
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Data table
Figure 8 shows the gender distribution split by salary quartiles in the pay year 2021-2022.
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Data table
Figure 9 shows the disability distribution split by salary quartiles in the pay year 2021-2022.
6.3. Contractual grade breakdown
We are continuing to work hard to make sure we close our pay gaps by identifying and taking positive actions to drive change.
In 2019 we started to publish our ethnicity pay gap and in 2020 we included our disability pay gap even though publication of both is not mandatory. In 2020, we also introduced greater disclosure and transparency around our gender and ethnicity pay gaps, publishing breakdowns that go beyond the mandatory legal reporting requirements. We do this because we believe transparency drives action. We hope it encourages discussion, highlights areas where we need to make improvements and helps us to address our challenges.
The charts below provide a breakdown by contractual grade for gender, ethnicity, and disability. The charts all show the overall FCA pay gaps by contractual grade for each characteristic.
Chart
Data table
The calculation used to determine the pay gap uses ‘men’ as the control group. Negative numbers indicate pay gaps that favour women. Positive numbers indicate pay gaps that favour men.
Figure 10 shows the gender pay gap broken down by contractual grade for the pay year 2021-2022.
The gender pay gap chart shows that within grades the pay gap is small. The Administrator pay gap of 24.0% is disproportionately in favour of women. At the Administrator level there are five times as many females as males, this over-representation is the largest driver of the gender pay gap and has increased by 3.2% since last year.
Table 5: Employee numbers by grade
| Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | 333 | 67 |
| Associate | 1310 | 1249 |
| Manager | 189 | 253 |
| Technical Specialist | 88 | 210 |
| Head of Department | 40 | 44 |
| Director | 23 | 28 |
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Data table
The calculation used to determine the pay gap uses ‘white’ as the control group. Positive numbers indicate pay gaps that favour ‘white’.
Figure 11 shows the ethnicity pay gap broken down by contractual grade for the pay year 2021/22.
The ethnicity pay gap shows a large pay gap for Associates. Even though this is the largest minority ethnic population across the grades (so less chance of fluctuation due to small numbers) it has been consistently high. Analysis has shown that this is due to a greater proportion of the minority ethnic population being in Junior Associate roles. This is similar for the Administrator grade.
Table 6: Employee numbers by ethnicity
| Minority ethnic | White | |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | 115 | 231 |
| Associate | 805 | 1392 |
| Manager | 59 | 327 |
| Technical Specialist | 49 | 212 |
| Head of Department | 10 | 66 |
| Director | * | 34 |
*Where there are fewer than 10 people an asterisk is used to avoid identifying individuals.
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Data table
Figure 12 shows the disability pay gap broken down by contractual grade for the pay year 2021-2022.
The calculation used to determine the pay gap uses ‘non-disabled’ as the control group. Negative numbers indicate pay gaps that favour ‘disabled,’ positive numbers indicate pay gaps that favour ‘non-disabled.’
The disability pay gap shows much smaller differentials, with the Head of Department (HoD) grade showing a significant pay gap in favour of those with a disability. The proportion declaring a disability is less than 10% so the figures can vary considerably year on year.
Table 7: Employee numbers by disability
| Disabled | Not-Disabled | |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | 20 | 272 |
| Associate | 134 | 1723 |
| Manager | 20 | 334 |
| Technical Specialist | 15 | 204 |
| Head of Department | * | 66 |
| Director | * | 40 |
*Where there are fewer than 10 people an asterisk is used to avoid identifying individuals.
6.4. Intersectional gender vs ethnicity pay gaps
We have also considered the intersectionality of ethnicity and gender, not only to provide greater transparency but also to highlight the challenges faced by different groups and how to focus our actions.
Last year we calculated the pay gap for minority ethnic women. The calculation is based on a comparison between minority ethnic women and white men. The figures show that minority ethnic women experience the largest pay and bonus gaps:
Table 8: Combined gender and ethnicity pay gaps
Combined gender and ethnicity pay gap | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pay | Median | Mean |
| 31.7% | 32.8% | |
| Bonus | Median | Mean |
| 33.3% | 24.7% | |
These gaps are largely driven by the higher concentration of non-white females in more junior (lower paying roles) and the higher concentration of white males in more senior (higher paying roles). The control group used is ‘white males’. The number of included individuals will also influence these numbers - 626 non-white females compared to 1132 white males (36% and 64%).
6.5. Ethnicity by contractual grade
We've been more transparent by breaking our ethnicity pay gap down further into the UK census ethnicity categories.
Chart
Data table
The calculation used to determine the pay gap uses ‘white (equivalent grade)’ as the control group. Positive numbers indicate pay gaps that favour ‘white (equivalent grade)’, negative numbers indicate pay gaps in favour of the relevant comparator characteristic noted under the ‘category’ heading.
Figure 13 shows the ethnicity pay gap broken down by contractual grade for the ONS categories for the pay year 2021-2022.
This chart shows a breakdown of ethnicity in the five categories by contractual grade. The pay gaps follow a similar trend by ethnicity across the contractual grades. The largest pay gap is noted in the Associate grade which has the greatest population.
Table 9: Employee numbers ONS breakdown and contractual grade
| Category | Administrator | Associate | Manager | Technical Specialist | Head of Department | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Asian
| 54 | 477 | 36 | 30 | * | * |
| Black | 37 | 202 | 11 | * | * | * |
| Mixed/multiple | 17 | 95 | 11 | 12 | * | * |
| Other | * | 31 | * | * | * | * |
| Prefer not to say | 16 | 86 | 19 | 19 | * | * |
| White | 231 | 1392 | 327 | 212 | 66 | 34 |
*Where there are fewer than 10 people an asterisk is used to avoid identifying individuals.
6.6. Pay gaps for the Associate grade broken down by the ONS categories
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Data table
The calculation used to determine the pay gap uses ‘white (equivalent grade)’ as the control group. Positive numbers indicate pay gaps that favour ‘white (equivalent grade)’, negative numbers indicate pay gaps in favour of the relevant comparator characteristic noted under the ‘category’ heading.
Figure 14 shows the ethnicity pay gap broken down by the associate grade for the ONS categories for the pay year 2021-2022.
The charts show the Associate grade has some of the highest pay gaps among our black population. We have investigated further by breaking the Associate grade to three different levels of Junior Associate, Associate and Senior Associate.
The Associate grade includes a wide range of roles, so this breakdown provides a truer reflection of the pay gaps within this very broad grade.
Table 10: Employee numbers by ONS breakdown within the associate grade
| Category | Junior Associate | Associate | Senior Associate |
|---|---|---|---|
Asian
| 34 | 166 | 275 |
| Black | 18 | 83 | 100 |
| Mixed/multiple | * | 34 | 56 |
| Other | * | 15 | 14 |
| Prefer not to say | * | 23 | 56 |
| White | 36 | 366 | 985 |
*Where there are fewer than 10 people an asterisk is used to avoid identifying individuals.
6.7. Combined gender and ethnicity - Associate grade pay gaps
Chart
Data table
The calculation used to determine the pay gap uses ‘white (equivalent grade)’ as the control group. Positive numbers indicate pay gaps that favour ‘white (equivalent grade)’, negative numbers indicate pay gaps in favour of the relevant comparator characteristic noted under the ‘category’ heading.
Figure 15 shows the pay gap broken down for minority ethnic women in the Associate grade for the ONS categories for the pay year 2021-2022.
We have a high representation of women and minority ethnic colleagues in our Professional Support and Junior Associate roles. With an additional breakdown of ethnicity by gender we can see the highest pay gap for black women at the Associate level.
Table 11: ONS breakdown of women within Associate grade breakdown
| Category | Junior Associate | Associate | Senior Associate |
|---|---|---|---|
Asian
| 19 | 96 | 148 |
| Black | 12 | 63 | 69 |
| Mixed/multiple | * | 26 | 32 |
| Other | * | 11 | * |
| Prefer not to say | * | 10 | 22 |
| White | 21 | 189 | 453 |
*Where there are fewer than 10 people an asterisk is used to avoid identifying individuals.