Since 2017, we’ve been publishing our gender pay gap figures annually. The gender pay gap is the difference in the average hourly salary of all men and women across the organisation, described by the mean and median. It’s not the same as equal pay, which refers to men and women receiving the same pay for the same job or work of equal value.
Last year, even though it was not a legal requirement, we published details of our ethnicity pay gap – the difference in average hourly pay of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and white people across the organisation.
This year we’ve decided to include another protected characteristic, disability. Again, there’s no mandatory requirement to report these pay gap figures, but 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. To support this, we’ve also agreed to be more transparent by:
- breaking our ethnicity pay gap down further into the UK census ethnicity categories
- looking at our pay gaps by contractual grade
- publishing our intersectional gender and ethnicity pay gap
Our ethnicity declaration rates are high, at 97%, so we have confidence in the accuracy of our data.
We’re committed to reducing our gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps and will work more closely with everyone in the FCA to make sure that the actions we take will create lasting cultural change.
We hope to lead by example, with financial services firms encouraged to publish their ethnicity pay gaps and take action.
Pay and bonus gaps
The figures have changed slightly compared with last year. The median gender pay gap is 20.4%, down 0.2% from 20.6% in 2019. This represents a total decrease of 0.8% from the first published figure. The mean gender pay gap has increased to 18.4%, a 0.6% percentage point increase since 2019.
The ethnicity median pay gap is 28.9%, up by 0.2% from 28.7% and the mean pay gap is 27.0%, down from 27.2%. The first calculated figures for disability show a median pay gap of 7.7% and a mean pay gap of 3.9% for this year.
Gender | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pay | Median | Mean |
| 20.4% | 18.4% | |
Ethnicity | ||
| Pay | Median | Mean |
| 28.9% | 27.0% | |
Disability | ||
| Pay | Median | Mean |
| 7.7% | 3.9% | |
The bonus gap is based on the gross bonus paid in the period from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.
Our gender bonus gap is 22.6% (median) and 19.0% (mean). The median has decreased by 0.9%, while the mean has decreased by 1.5% since last year.
The ethnicity median bonus gap is 9.4% higher, at 32.0%, than the gender median bonus gap and the mean is 12.8% higher, at 31.8%, than the gender mean bonus gap. In the last year there has been a 0.2% increase in the median and a 0.9% increase in the mean.
The median disability bonus gap is 11.6% and the mean bonus gap is 5.2%.
Gender | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bonus | Median | Mean |
| 22.6% | 19.0% | |
Ethnicity | ||
| Bonus | Median | Mean |
| 32.0% | 31.8% | |
Disability | ||
| Bonus | Median | Mean |
| 11.6% | 5.2% | |
Total bonus amount and proportion
Chart tips: hover over data series to view the data values and filter the data categories by clicking on the legend.
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Data table
In the last 12 months 73% of women received a bonus compared with 75% of men. There was a 3% reduction in the number of women receiving a bonus and 4% increase in the number of men receiving a bonus.
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Data table
This year the average bonus for both men and women has decreased. The monetary value of the bonus, which is calculated as a percentage of salary, was once again smaller for women.
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Data table
There was an increase in the proportion of the relevant BAME population receiving a bonus in the last 12 months, 70% compared with 63% last year.
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Data table
The average bonus value is smaller than non-BAME people and the median and mean bonus gap has increased. However, as mentioned in the gender reporting, the decrease in the average bonus value was a noticeable trend across the FCA for 2019/20.
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Data table
The proportion of those with disabilities receiving a bonus is at a similar level to non-disabled, with a 2-percentage-point difference.
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Data table
The average bonus as seen with gender and ethnicity has decreased overall in the last year.
Distribution by salary quartiles, 2019/20
Gender, ethnicity and disability split when hourly rate of pay is ordered from lowest to highest and grouped into equal quarters.
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Data table
The gender distribution split by salary quartiles shows that over the last 12 months the distribution has remained quite static. The percentage of women in the highest quartile has remained at 39%. There has been no change in the proportion of men and women in the lower quartile. There has been change across the two middle quarters, with a 1% shift of women from the lower middle quartile to the higher middle.
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Data table
There have been some changes to the distribution of the BAME population. There has been a noticeable increase in the number of BAME people in the lower middle quarter, an increase from 28% to 31%. Each of the remaining quarters all show a 1% increase in the BAME population.
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Data table
The number of colleagues recorded as having any form of disability is 161, 4.2% of the total population. Even though the numbers are small, we see an even distribution throughout each of the pay quartiles.
Contractual grade breakdown
We’re continuing to work hard to make sure we close our pay gaps by identifying and enacting positive actions to drive this change. Part of this change is to become as open and transparent with our data and figures as we can while complying with GDPR.
Last year we published our ethnicity pay gap before publication became mandatory. This year we’ve listened to the request for greater disclosure and transparency around our gender and ethnicity pay gaps and have produced breakdowns that go beyond the mandatory legal reporting requirements.
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.
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Data table
The gender pay gap chart shows that between grades the pay gap is small, all about 5%. The Administrator pay gap of -24% is disproportionately in favour of women and, as noted before, is the main driver of the gender pay gap.
Employee numbers by gender
| Female | Male | |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | 368 | 91 |
| Associate | 1298 | 1324 |
| Technical Specialist | 101 | 225 |
| Manager | 176 | 238 |
| Head of Department | 37 | 46 |
| Director | 14 | 20 |
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Data table
The ethnicity pay gap shows a large pay gap for Associates. Even though this is the largest BAME population across the grades (so less chance of fluctuation due to small numbers) it’s been consistently high. Analysis has shown that this is due to a greater proportion of the BAME population being in junior Associate roles. This is similar for the Administrator grade.
Employee numbers by ethnicity
| BAME | Non-BAME | |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | 141 | 266 |
| Associate | 797 | 1590 |
| Technical Specialist | 47 | 251 |
| Manager | 47 | 337 |
| Head of Department | * | 72 |
| Director | * | 28 |
Where an * is present there are fewer than 10 people in each category. The numbers are not shown to avoid identifying individuals.
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Data table
The disability pay gap shows much smaller differentials, with the Technical Specialist and Head of Department (HoD) grades showing a significant pay gap in favour of those with a disability. The proportion declaring a disability is less than 5% so the figures across contractual grade can vary considerably year on year.
Employee numbers by disability
| Disabled | Non-Disabled | |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | 21 | 304 |
| Associate | 111 | 1704 |
| Technical Specialist | 10 | 202 |
| Manager | 14 | 252 |
| Head of Department | * | 62 |
| Director | * | 26 |
Intersectional gender vs ethnicity pay gaps
We’ve 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.
This year we’ve calculated the pay gap for BAME women. The calculation is based on a comparison between BAME women and white men.
The figures show that BAME women experience the largest pay and bonus gaps.
Female Ethnicity Pay Gap | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pay | Median | Mean |
| 39.2% | 38.1% | |
| Bonus | Median | Mean |
| 44.5% | 50.7% | |
The FCA uses the term BAME to describe all ethnic minorities. But we know the experience of those from different ethnic groups is not the same. As we have a high declaration rate it is possible to provide more granular detail on the pay gaps of different ethnic groups.
We’ve been more transparent by breaking our ethnicity pay gap down further into the UK census ethnicity categories. This level of breakdown, although still grouping different ethnic groups, is permissible under GDPR.
Ethnicity by contractual grade
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Data table
This chart shows a breakdown of ethnicity in the 5 categories by contractual grade. The one figure that stands out is the pay gap for black employees in the Associate grade. This is the grade with the greatest population but the widest variation in roles.
Employee numbers by ethnicity and contractual grade:
| Asian | Black | Mixed/ multiple | Other | Prefer not to say | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrator | 67 | 47 | 21 | * | 52 |
| Associate | 473 | 204 | 99 | 21 | 233 |
| Manager | 27 | * | 10 | * | 28 |
| Technical specialist | 26 | * | 13 | * | * |
| Head of Department | * | * | * | * | * |
Where a * is present there are fewer than 10 people in each category.
Ethnicity by associate grade pay gap
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Data table
The charts show the Associate grade has some of the highest pay gaps among our black and Asian population. We have investigated further by breaking the Associate grade to sub 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. This shows the largest pay gaps are at the Associate level, rather than at the Senior or Junior levels of the grade particularly for black and Asian colleagues.
Employee numbers by Ethnicity and Associate Grade breakdown:
| Asian | Black | Mixed | Other | Prefer not to say | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Associate | 48 | 39 | 6 | * | 32 |
| Associate | 159 | 84 | 33 | * | 49 |
| Senior Associate | 233 | 76 | 54 | 10 | 134 |
Gender vs ethnicity - associate grade pay gaps
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Data table
** Comparison made against white males
We have a high representation of women and BAME colleagues in our Business Support and Junior Associate roles, but with an additional breakdown of ethnicity by gender we can also see there are significant pay gaps at the Associate level and above for our Asian and especially for our black women at the Associate level, which has the highest population.
Employee numbers by Female Ethnicity within Associate Grade breakdown:
| Asian | Black | Mixed | Other | Prefer not to say | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Associate | 24 | 31 | * | * | 23 |
| Associate | 94 | 53 | 20 | * | 24 |
| Senior Associate | 119 | 45 | 35 | * | 58 |
Our biggest challenge remains addressing the representation of women and BAME people at senior levels. We also need to address the over-representation of women and BAME colleagues in our Business Support and Junior Associate roles.
We’re continuing to focus on achieving our set targets at our Senior Leadership Team (SLT) level but even if this is achieved by the end of 2020 it won’t have a significant impact on our pay gap. The analysis by contractual grade and by Divisions shows that to make meaningful improvements to our gender and ethnicity pay gaps we need to increase the proportion of women and BAME colleagues in roles from Senior Associate to Manager level.
The other action to address is the declaration rate of those with a disability – with better data we can better understand the outcomes of our annual performance pay and bonus review and better identify and target our action plans.
For more information about the work we’re doing to improve diversity and inclusion at the FCA and therefore make progress on closing our pay gaps, please see our diversity, equity and inclusion[1] page.