Transparency data

BEIS: gender pay gap report, 2022 (HTML)

Published 24 November 2022

Executive Summary

Overview

From 2017, employers with a headcount of 250 or more must comply with regulations on gender pay gap reporting. Gender pay gap calculations are based on employer payroll data drawn from a specific date each year, this being 31 March.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the mean or median earnings of men and women across a workforce.

Background

The gender pay gap calculations look at the entire workforce of BEIS and has highlighted that the main factor driving the pay gap in the department has been an uneven split of men and women by grade. This has been a constant trend for the last few years and remains the case in 2022. More women in the lower grades means lower average pay.

For core BEIS (excluding Executive Agencies) the headline 2022 GPG figures show a mean gap of 4.1%, and a median gender gap of 12.7%. For BEIS (including executive agencies) the headline 2022 GPG figures show a mean gap of 8.1%, and a median gender gap of 5.7%.

What is being done to reduce the gap

• Talent programmes for all staff at all grades
• encouraging and promoting staff networks
• using different forms of recruitment to reach a wide range of individuals
• investing in line management training
• continually monitoring diversity data and looking for ways to improve

2022 highlights for core BEIS (excluding executive agencies)

4.1% Mean reduced from 9% in 2017

12.7% Median reduced from 15% in 2017

• BEIS has an equal split of men (82%) and women (82%) receiving a bonus
• 45.4% of applicants to BEIS were women and 53% of those successfully appointed to a role were women
• 49% of senior civil servants in BEIS were women
• 45% of directors in BEIS were women
• 44% of directors general in BEIS were women

1. Introduction

The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has prepared this report as part of the legal requirement for public authorities to publish their gender pay gap (GPG) on an annual basis.

This report fulfils the department’s reporting requirements, analyses the figures in more detail and sets out what we are doing to close the gender pay gap in the organisation.

The reporting period is 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.

Organisational context

The GPG regulations require BEIS to include its 5 executive agencies in the published figures as they are not separate legal entities. The data published on GOV.UK therefore includes core BEIS, Companies House, the Insolvency Service, the Intellectual Property Office, the Met Office, and the UK Space Agency.

We are now in our third year of the BEIS Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) strategy. We want to be diverse in our identity and thought, and inclusive of difference. We also want to capitalise on difference in our work to ensure we deliver outcomes that further equality in society.

We not only want to make BEIS a great place to work, but also solve some of the most important and complex policy challenges facing the country, business, and the environment. We use data-driven and evidence-led approaches to drive progress and transparently measure success, maintaining our focus on mainstreaming the delivery of inclusion and achieving key priorities outlined in the Declaration on Government Reform.

BEIS supports the fair treatment and reward of all staff irrespective of gender. The Civil Service, including BEIS, wants to create a diverse and representative workplace, supporting an inclusive, flexible, modern, and connected Civil Service. Encouraging openness, challenge, innovation, and excellence, in everything we do.

2. Gender Pay Gap Report

The GPG shows the difference in the average pay between all men and women in a workforce. If a workforce has a particularly high gender pay gap this can indicate there may be several issues to deal with. The individual calculations may help to identify what those issues are.

The GPG is different to equal pay. Equal pay deals with the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs, or work of equal value. It is unlawful to pay people differently because they are a man or a woman.

Headline Data for BEIS

BEIS (excluding agencies) Gender Pay Gap

Gender pay and bonus gap	2021	2022
Mean pay gap	4.5%	4.1%
Median pay gap	11.0%	12.7%
Mean bonus	2.6%	-0.1%
Median bonus	3.6%	0.0%

Proportion of staff receiving a bonus

Gender	Receiving a bonus	Not receiving a bonus	Total
Men	82%	18%	100%
Women	82	18	100%

Pay quartiles (%)

Quartile	Women	Men	Total
Lower quartile	54%	46%	100%
Lower middle quartile	51%	49%	100%
Upper middle quartile	47%	53%	100%
Upper quartile	46%	54%	100%

BEIS (including agencies) Gender Pay Gap

Gender pay and bonus gap	2021	2022
Mean pay gap	8.8%	8.1%
Median pay gap	7.1%	5.7%
Mean bonus	14.7%	16.5%
Median bonus	13.9%	17.0%

Proportion of staff receiving a bonus

Gender	Receiving a bonus	Not receiving a bonus	Total
Men	82%	18%	100%
Women	80%	20%	100%

Pay quartiles

Quartile	Women	Men	Total
Lower quartile	60%	40%	100%
Lower middle quartile	49%	51%	100%
Upper middle quartile	43%	57%	100%
Upper quartile	43%	57%	100%

3. Analysis of pay gap

For core BEIS (excluding executive agencies) the headline 2022 GPG figures show a mean gap of 4.1%, and a median gender gap of 12.7%.

Measure for BEIS (excluding agencies)	Mean gender pay gap	Median gender pay gap
2017	9%	15%
2018	5%	13%
2019	5.5%	12.7%
2020	5.9%	13.5%
2021	4.5%	11.0%
2022	4.1%	12.7%

For BEIS (including executive agencies) the headline 2022 GPG figures show a mean gap of 8.1%, and a median gender gap of 5.7%.

Measure for BEIS (including agencies)	Mean gender pay gap	Median gender pay gap
2017	12%	15%
2018	11%	14%
2019	10.1%	10.2%
2020	10.2%	10.7%
2021	8.8%	7.1%
2022	8.1%	5.7%

Core BEIS has an almost even number of men and women working in the department, but the main factor driving the pay gap in BEIS has been an uneven split of men and women by grade. This has been a consistent reality since the introduction of GPG reporting, although the gaps have narrowed.

There will be slight variation in the Departments populations year on year due to joiners and leavers, it remains the case in 2022, with more men at Grade 6/7 (46.33%) and above than women. Majority of women work at HEO/SEO grade (43.19%).

The uneven split by grade is particularly notable as the median pay gap is comparing an SEO woman with a Grade 7 man. There is a correlation between increasing seniority and higher pay, and this is demonstrated in the Pay Quartiles table above.

2022 Gender make-up of the department (core BEIS)	Number of men (% of men who work in this grade)	% Of grade that are men	Number of women (% of women who work in this grade)	% Of grade that are women
AO	34 (1.13%)	49.28%	35 (1.17%)	50.72%
EO	159 (5.28%)	37.24%	268 (8.95%)	62.76%
HEO/SEO	1255 (41.65%)	49.23%	1294 (43.19%)	50.77%
G7/G6	1396 (46.33%)	53.04%	1236 (41.26%)	46.96%
SCS	169 (5.61%)	50.90%	163 (5.44%)	49.10%
Total	3013	50.14%	2996	49.86%

We have continued to see a steady and consistent reduction in our mean pay gap. The proportion of SCS that are women increased from 46% of the cadre (150 women) in 2021 to 49% of the cadre (163 women) in 2022 (see tables below). The greater proportion of high earning women explains the mean pay gap reducing further, whilst the median increased.

The tables below shows the make-up of core BEIS. Although the balance at Grade 7/6 has shifted towards parity (women were 46.22% of staff at this level in 2021 and 46.96% in 2022) this is offset by the change in the HEO/SEO/FS population (with women moving from 49.43% of that population to 50.77%). The effect of this is to move the median woman slightly further, relatively speaking, down the salary range.

Make up of core BEIS: Number of staff

Staff grade	Number of staff, 2021	Number of staff, 2022
AO	79	69
EO	407	427
HEO / SEO / Fast Stream	2179	2549
Grade 6/7	2334	2632
SCS	326	332
Total	5325	6009

Make up of core BEIS: Number of women

Staff grade	Number of women, 2021	Number of women, 2022
AO	45	35
EO	253	268
HEO / SEO / Fast Stream	1077	1294
Grade 6/7	1079	1236
SCS	150	163
Total	2604	2996

Make up of core BEIS: Number of men

Staff grade	Number of men, 2021	Number of men, 2022
AO	34	34
EO	154	159
HEO / SEO / Fast Stream	1102	1255
Grade 6/7	1255	1396
SCS	176	169
Total	2721	3013

4. Targeted action to reduce and close the Gender Pay Gap

What we have done in the last year

• The Talent Development offer is available at all grades providing access to both the Civil Service high potential schemes and programmes as well as internal BEIS leadership development programmes
• Talent Conversations - BEIS actively invests in talent and is committed to enabling all our people to fulfil their potential. We work to ensure that all our staff have the best options for development, no matter what grade or profession they are under
• BEIS Exclusive Learning including a learning programme to promote empathy in our everyday working environments, to understand the needs of others to make better decisions - for example as policymakers or as managers
• launched the BEIS Exclusive D&I Curriculum with 4 key priority areas of training published as learning journeys for our 4 critical roles (LM, new starters, SCS and team member)
• the new BEIS Academy Creating Team Inclusivity workshop is now available to help teams build a more inclusive environment
• continued to monitor diversity data at all grades and inclusion scores to identify representation gaps and have worked with local D&I Group Leads to act in areas where there is disproportionate representation. Representation of women remains good across grades; 49.8% of senior civil servants in BEIS are women
• introduced a training programme for new line managers which includes a session on inclusive leadership to help define inclusive behaviours
• BEIS is retaining its commitment to virtual recruitment processes, implemented during the pandemic, it is proving particularly useful in recruiting to various locations
• BEIS continually reviews recruitment practice, to ensure that we are reaching out to a wide and diverse field, this has been reflected with the recruitment practices being acknowledged and rewarded with the Commissioners Mark of Excellence
• we believe that a range of backgrounds leads to diverse thinking and produces robust and strong policy as a result. Between 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, 45.4% of applicants to BEIS were women, 53% of those successfully appointed to roles were women
• invested in our public-facing careers materials to emphasise the many benefits of joining BEIS as an employer that champions diversity and inclusion and flexible-working practices
• the Women Empowered Network (WE) hosted inspiring sessions on women’s leadership journeys to provide insights into the varying career paths women can take and to encourage women to think about career progression within, for example, STEM-related policy roles such as nuclear and energy security
• WE also arranged workshops to help with preparation for job applications and interviews to support the career development of women across BEIS
• the BAME Women’s Working Group (BWWG) have developed multiple initiatives to address barriers affecting ethnic minority women, including workshops on tackling imposter syndrome
• BWWG have also piloted sponsorship and coaching schemes which use action learning sets and coaching to maximise performance for BAME women colleagues

What we will be doing going forward

• We have recently refreshed our localised representation and inclusion goals for each Director General Group, as well as action plans to support the delivery of those goals. We will continue to monitor progress against our diversity data and People Survey inclusion scores and facilitate sharing of best practice
• the Women Empowered Network (WE) are launching a ‘professions series’ in collaboration with the BAME Women’s Working Group (BWWG) which will spotlight different professions within the Civil Service, especially those where women are underrepresented, to break down barriers, and to share tips on how to enter those professions
• WE are developing a regular programme of speed mentoring sessions with Senior Civil Servant (SCS) women following the success of the pilot as part of 2021 National Inclusion Week celebrations and continuing to host events to support women’s career progression
• investing in our public-facing careers materials to emphasise the many benefits of joining BEIS as an employer that champions diversity and inclusion and flexible-working practices
• advertise all jobs as available for flexible working, full-time, job share or part time unless this is a very strong business case not to and maintain an active women’s network that run regular topical sessions and offer mutual support
• helping managers improve the language in job adverts by using an augmented writing tool that helps to produce write inclusive job adverts. By removing gender bias, we hope to further improve our attraction

5. Declaration

We confirm that data reported by The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy is accurate and has been calculated according to the requirements and methodology set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017

Sarah Munby
Permanent Secretary for the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy