Guidance

Step 1. Understand the issues in your organisation

Updated 7 April 2026

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Analyse your data to find the causes of your gender pay gap, and engage with employees to understand how they may be impacted by menopause at work. 

Doing this analysis is an effective first step to create an action plan that works. It will help you choose the best actions to close the gap and support your staff. 

Why you should use evidence

Analysis gives you the evidence you need to choose the right actions for your organisation. Finding the underlying issues helps you put resources where they are most needed.

Many organisations find the causes of their pay gap by looking at workforce data. Employers may also work with employee networks, senior leaders and stakeholders to identify issues that could be addressed in  their action plans.

How to diagnose your gender pay gap

Look at every stage of the employee lifecycle, from recruitment to exit interviews.

Try to answer questions such as:

• What is the split of men and women at each pay level in your organisation?

• Are women more likely to be recruited into lower paid roles than men, and are they under-represented in higher paid roles?

• Do starting salaries or bonuses differ between men and women?

• Do men and women receive different performance scores on average?

• Are there differences in the promotion rate of men and women at the same grade or performance level?   

• Do people get stuck at certain levels in your organisation?

• Are flexible working arrangements available and used across all pay levels, including senior roles?

• Do men and women leave your organisation at different rates?

• Are you already taking action to improve gender equality in your organisation? If so, what results are you seeing?

The data you need depends on the questions you want to answer. Read more on how to understand your gender pay gap.

Understand employees’ needs

Talk to a wide range of staff, managers and employee groups. You could use interviews, focus groups or surveys to understand how employees feel. This helps you create an action plan that staff can support.

Repeat your analysis before, during and after you start your action plan. Use the same metrics so you can compare your progress over time. Consider how you can encourage employees to take part in data collection, and think about any data issues or potential biases when interpreting your data (such as people who have not responded).

Exit interviews may help understand your retention data by identifying the reasons why men and women choose to leave their roles.

Engaging people in your organisation

Organisation-wide support is critical to the successful development and implementation of an action plan. You should consult staff throughout the process of understanding your organisation and its specific needs.

In many organisations, a senior leader’s support is important, as they are often responsible for signing off on actions and ensuring they are prioritised across the organisation. The guidance contains the business benefits of each action which can be used to gain the support of senior leaders. HR directors can help make sure that senior leaders understand the meaning of the gender pay gap and support the best actions to take.

Managers will play a crucial role in implementing many of the actions through supporting their team members. Ensuring that all line managers, not just senior ones, feel confident in having conversations about these topics is integral to implementing an effective action plan. 

To improve understanding of the reasoning behind action plans, consider implementing training for all senior leaders and managers on workplace gender equality and the actions you select.  

Seeking input from a range of employees when developing your action plan may help them feel valued and heard. Gathering feedback on their experiences within your organisation may help you better understand which actions could have the greatest impact. Involving employees early in the process could also help your action plan be relevant and gain better ‘buy-in’ across the organisation. 

You may want to discuss your actions with established stakeholder groups, such as:

• trade unions
• relevant employee networks
• HR and people teams

Organise working groups, informal feedback sessions and surveys, and include staff with a range of experiences as early as possible.