Transparency data

DIT gender pay gap report 2022 to 2023

Published 8 December 2023

1. Executive summary 

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has prepared this report as part of the legal requirement for public authorities to publish their gender pay gap on an annual basis. DBT had a total headcount of 5,445 as at 31 March 2023. 

Despite the recent creation of the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), it was agreed that all our annual reporting for the financial year April 2022 to March 2023, will be reported for former Department for International Trade (DIT) only. For the financial year 2023 to 2024, all annual reporting will be produced for the newly created Department for Business and Trade. 

In March 2023, former DIT Gender Pay Gap (GPG) was 4.56% for the mean and 8.19% for the median, which is a decrease in the GPG of 0.89 and 1.52 percentage points respectively. The Gender Bonus Pay Gap (GBPG) was 5.52% for the mean and 4.35% for the median. This is a decrease in the GBPG of 2.12 percentage points for the mean, and an increase of 0.35 percentage points for the median. 

The reduction of the overall GPG reflects positive progress being made in the department across areas of recruitment, talent and pay and reward. The remaining GPG is mainly driven by the proportion of women in each grade compared to men. Grades below SEO contain the highest proportion of women and more senior grades contain a higher proportion of men. 2023 Gender Pay Gap Report 2 

2. Introduction 

2.1 About the department 

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the department for economic growth. We support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. The Department negotiates trade deals, supports and promotes British businesses to grow and export, drives inward and outward investment and works to improve international trading standards. 

We promote the UK globally to enhance our reputation as a top destination for foreign investment. We help shape the future of trade and investment by securing world-class free trade agreements and reducing market access barriers, benefitting both consumers and businesses. We also encourage economic growth across the UK through attracting and retaining inward investment and advise UK businesses to take advantage of trade opportunities to facilitate UK exports. We promote free trade, economic security and resilient supply chains, as well as ensure businesses thrive, markets are competitive and consumers are protected. 

DBT is an inclusive employer, and we are proud of our employee offer which includes: 

• flexible, smarter and job-share working arrangements to empower colleagues to make the right decision about where, when, and how they work 
• short- and long-term overseas opportunities 
• talent progression 
• staff networks who provide peer support and advice around parental and caring responsibilities, gender, ethnic minority, social mobility, disability, and LGBT issues 
• professional development opportunities 

However, DBT is seeking to go beyond the standard employee offer. We are a dynamic and global organisation focused on an important agenda of high-profile work, delivering increased trade and prosperity to the UK. We are specifically focused on building an employee value proposition and recruitment brand which attracts diverse candidates to a range of roles in both the UK and overseas. This will support us to improve diverse representation at our most senior grades. We are committed to supporting our workforce in their career development and building a culture which reflects our DBT values to be excellent, connected, confident and collaborative. 

We are keen to ensure high levels of accountability and transparency in our approach to diversity and inclusion. The inclusion framework is aligned with the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy: 2022 to 2025, published in February 2022. This strategy aims to build a more inclusive Civil Service which delivers for all of our people, contributing to the delivery of A Modern Civil Service. We are currently developing a new Departmental Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2024 to 2028 as part of the wider People Strategy, relevant for the new department. This will be data-led and aim to make DBT a more inclusive, diverse environment for all individuals. 

2.2 Our workforce 

Whilst DBT was formally announced in February 2023, the data used for this report refers to that from the former DIT as this analysis uses a snapshot of the workforce in March 2023. 

Former DIT was established in 2016 and saw considerable growth in its population over the subsequent years reaching 5,445 full-time employees (FTE) as of March 2023. DIT experienced a fluctuating gender pay and gender bonus gap as the department matured and grew. Due to the recent creation of DBT, this will be the last year that we will be reporting as the Department for International Trade. 2023 Gender Pay Gap Report 3 

As of 31 March 2023, 48.8% of the GPG reportable DIT workforce are female, and 51.2% are male. The department uses 11 Civil Service job grades from the most junior (Administrative Officer), to the most senior grade (Permanent Secretary). The workforce is based in multiple locations around the UK and internationally. 

Table 1: Population used in 2023 GPG calculations – relevant full paid employees Relevant Full paid employees (for GPG)
Grade	Female	Male	Total
AO	12	10	22
EO	169	117	286
HEO and Fast Stream	348	326	674
SEO	443	499	942
Grade 7	460	516	976
Grade 6	158	193	351
SCS 1	64	66	130
SCS2, 3 and 4	20	29	49
Total	1,674	1,756	3,430

Table 2: Population used in 2023 GBPG calculations – relevant employees who received a bonus Relevant employees who received a bonus (for GBPG)
Grade	Female	Male	Total
AO	14	9	23
EO	157	102	259
HEO and Fast Stream	322	282	604
SEO	400	442	842
Grade 7	435	468	903
Grade 6	151	172	323
SCS 1	37	33	70
SCS2, 3 and 4	14	16	30
Total	1,530	1,524	3,054

3. Gender pay gap report 

This report is published in line with Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017. This requires all organisations with more than 250 employees to annually publish their Gender Pay Gap (GPG) and Gender Bonus Pay Gap (GBPG). 

The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 covers all government departments and came into force on 31 March 2017. Departments are required to publish their GPG taken on the snapshot date of 31 March 2023. GPG figures include: 

• the percentage of men and women in each hourly pay quarter 
• the mean and median GPG based on hourly pay 
• the percentage of men and women receiving a bonus in the 12 months up to 31 March 2023 
• the mean and median gender bonus gaps 

The GPG is a high-level snapshot of pay within an organisation and shows the difference in the average pay between men and women in a workforce as of a specific reference date. The GBPG is the difference in bonus pay for men and women in a workforce. Both these calculations are completed following methodology that uses 31 March 2023 as a reference date, to determine the figures for the 2023 report. 

Former DIT’s GPG calculations include employees in post on 31 March, those that received full pay for the month of March and our UK-based overseas employees (civil servants working for the department at our posts overseas). 

3.1 Gender pay gap definition 

The GPG is a measure of the comparative hourly wage of men and women in an organisation at a single point in time. It is affected by how many women there are at each grade and their relative position on the pay scale. If a workforce has a particularly high GPG, this can be due to a variety of factors and deeper analysis is required to determine what the cause may be in different organisations. 

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 unequally because they are a man or a woman. 

3.2 The gender pay gap 

The 2023 mean GPG (the difference between men’s and women’s average hourly pay) is 4.56% and the median is 8.19%. In monetary terms, the mean hourly difference in ordinary pay is £1.27 compared to £1.44 in 2022 and the median hourly difference is £2.20 compared to £2.41 in 2022. 2023 Gender Pay Gap Report 5 

3.3 Figure 1 – the mean and median pay by gender 

The mean and median hourly rates have increased since March 2022, with a relative increase in favour of women. For March 2023 across all grades, the mean hourly rate for women was £26.70 and £27.97 for men, an increase of £2.37 for women and £2.23 for men. Similarly, the median hourly rate has increased by £2.29 for women and £2.08 for men, at £24.73 for and £26.93 respectively.

Mean

Female 2023	Male 2023
£26.70	£27.96

Median

Female 2023	Male 2023
£24.73	£26.93

Table 3 – the mean and median GPG and reportable GPG population 

Snapshot in March each year (2019 to 2023) Year	Mean	Median	Reportable GPG employee population
2019	5.5%	12.9%	1,793
2020	6.5%	15.9%	2,242
2021	5.8%	10.8%	2,628
2022	5.5%	9.7%	2,814
2023	4.6%	8.2%	3,430

3.4 Gender bonus pay gap 

Until the 2021 to 2022 performance year, former DIT offered end-of-year performance awards to staff who receive the highest performance ratings and operated an in-year reward scheme to recognise strong contributions throughout the year. From April 2022, former DIT moved to a system of exclusively in-year rewards for delegated grade staff. Performance awards for SCS grade staff remained in place, in line with cross-government practice. This approach will continue for the 2023 to 2024 financial year for the new department, DBT.

The GPG for ordinary pay is calculated as a ‘snapshot’ at the end of March 2023, it includes any bonus payments paid in that month. The gender differential in bonus pay is calculated to consider all bonus payments made in the year up to that point. Therefore, this analysis includes all in-year reward payments and end of year bonus payments made from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. End of year performance awards and in-year awards at former-DIT were not pro-rated for part-time staff (so these staff receive the full value of the bonus). Therefore, the gender bonus pay gap is not affected by number of part-time staff in either gender.

The mean GBPG (calculated by adding all the bonuses and dividing by the number of employees who received a bonus) decreased from 7.64% in 2022 to 5.52% in 2023 – a cash difference between men and women of £75.33. The median GBPG (difference between the employee in the middle of the range of male bonus and their female counterpart) has increased from 4% in 2022 to 4.35% in 2023.

Table 4 – the mean and median GBPG since March 2019 (with reportable population) Year	Mean	Median	Reportable GPG employee population
2019	2.5%	0.0%	1,009
2020	7.3%	0.0%	1,278
2021	-0.8%	0.0%	1,627
2022	7.6%	4.0%	2,027
2023	5.5%	4.3%	3,054

Table 5 – the proportion of total employees receiving a bonus since March 2019 by gender Year	Overall proportion of women receiving a bonus	Overall proportion of men receiving a bonus
2019	58%	55%
2020	59%	55%
2021	61%	59%
2022	70%	68%
2023	87%	84%

3.5 Pay quartile distribution 

Table 6 shows, for ordinary pay, the proportion of men and women that are in each pay quartile, arranged in order of hourly pay rate. The proportion of women in the lowest quartile has decreased by 3 percentage points since March 2022. Although female representation has increased by 2 percentage points since March 2022 for the ‘upper’ quartile, there is still a higher percentage of men in the top 2 quartiles. 

Table 6 – breakdown by pay quartile, split by Gender, March 2023 pay quartile	Female headcount	Female percentages	Male headcount	Male percentages	Headcount
Lower	449	52%	409	48%	858
Lower Middle	433	51%	424	49%	857
Upper Middle	419	49%	439	51%	858
Upper	373	44%	484	56%	857
Total	1,674	49%	1,756	51%	3,430

4. Analysis of pay gap 

This section examines some of the underlying reasons behind the decrease in former DIT’s GPG in 2023. 

4.1 Hourly wage 

An important contributing factor to the GPG is the pay disparity between men and women at each grade. Overall, the difference in the average hourly rate of pay for men and women has decreased when compared to 2022, with the mean hourly rate increasing by £2.37 for women and £2.23 for men. However, the mean hourly rate was still higher for men than women at all grades except AO (Administrative Officer) and EO (Executive Officer), and when combining HEO (Higher Executive Officer) and Fast-stream grades. 

Figure 2: mean hourly gender pay gap by grade 

Grade	Men	Women	Percentage difference
AO	£15.50	£15.67	-1.09%
EO	£16.34	£16.95	-3.71%
HEO and Fastream	£20.03	£20.04	-0.01%
SEO	£23.82	£23.70	-0.47%
Grade 7	£31.94	£31.11	2.58%
Grade 6	£38.45	£37.83	1.61%
SCS1	£42.55	£42.20	0.82%
SCS2, 3 and 4	£66.42	£58.60	11.77%

Figure 2 shows the mean hourly rate for men and women by grade. Differences in hourly wages range from -3.71% at EO level to 11.77% at SCS 2/3/4 level. This year, there have been increases in the pay gaps for grades SEO, Grade 6 and SCS 2/3/4. At AO and EO level, the pay gaps have become increasingly negative, which means that the pay gaps have increased further in favour of women. For all other grades, there have been decreases in the pay gaps.

Notably, at SEO grade the gap has changed from 0.6% in favour of women to 0.47% in favour of men. The median hourly wage has also improved, increasing for women by £2.29 to £24.73 for women and by £2.08 to £26.93 for men. 

4.2 Gender distribution and grade-gender composition 

The GPG is also driven by the number of men in grade compared to the number of women. If the proportion of men and women at each grade is adjusted to be consistent with DIT’s overall GPG reportable population then the mean GPG decreases by approximately 69%. 2023 Gender Pay Gap Report 8 

Figure 3: headcount of each gender within grade (and comparison to March 2022) 

Figure 3 shows the headcount of each gender within each grade and the change in the net difference between men and women in each grade since 2022 (a black bar to the right indicating an increase in the ratio of men and vice versa). Overall, there are 616 more employees included in the GPG population this year; 286 more men and 330 more women.

As of March 2023, grades below SEO contain the highest proportion of women, whilst SCS 1 contains a representative proportion of women compared to the overall GPG population. The between grade contribution (which refers to the proportion of males and females across grades) has the biggest impact on the GPG and is responsible for 69% of the mean GPG. This is higher than 2022, when the between grade contribution accounted for 66% of the GPG. This indicates that we need to do more to ensure that the representation of men and women is the same across all grades. 

In contrast, the within grade contribution (the difference between mean hourly wages within the same grade) has decreased from 34% to 31% of the overall GPG. This indicates that gender pay disparity within grades contributed less to the overall GPG in 2023 compared to 2022. 

5. Analysis of the bonus gap 

As of March 2023, the mean gender bonus pay gap has decreased, and the median gender bonus gap has increased. The median bonus gap has increased from 4.00% in March 2022 to 4.35% in March 2023. When considering the entire GPG population, the proportion of men and women who received a bonus between April 2022 and March 2023 was similar across most grades; 84% of men and 87% of women. At SCS, 49% of men and 59% of women received a bonus between April 2022 and March 2023. 

The gender bonus gap is driven by disparity of bonus values within grades and the gender distribution across the recipient population. Of the £75.33 mean gender bonus gap, £37.27 is related to the pay disparity within grades and £38.06 is related to the gender distribution of bonus recipients across grades. 2023 Gender Pay Gap Report 9 

6. Bonus pay disparity 

The largest contributions to the mean GBPG are related to SCS and Grade 6 roles. Figure 4 shows the difference in mean bonus between men and women by grade. 

The difference in mean bonus has increased at Grade 7, Grade 6 and SCS 2, 3 and 4. Whilst the difference in mean bonus has decreased at SCS1, the difference remains in favour of men, shown as a positive value in Figure 4 below. The differences in mean bonus at the higher grades (Grade 7 and above) has contributed significantly to the department’s mean gender bonus pay gap. 

6.1 Figure 4: difference in mean bonus between men and women by grade: 

Note – for figure 4, the values shown as positive numbers in figure 4 represent cases where the mean bonus for men is higher than the mean bonus for women. Table in this section highlights the figures for 2022 and 2023 for all grades.

Grade	March 2022	March 2023
AO	-£358	-£9.20
EO	£46.60	-£180.92
HEO and Faststream	£77.07	£10.63
SEO	£19.88	-£28.63
Grade 7	-£54.89	£21.15
Grade 6	£22.11	£334.64
SCS1	£436.21	£338.60
SCS2, 3 and 4	-£583.33	£862.95

6.2 Bonus pay distribution 

The uneven distribution of men and women across grades contributed 51% of the GBPG. As shown in Figure 5, the ratio of men to women has increased for Grade 7. 

Compared to March 2022, there has been an increase in the proportion of SCS women in the bonus recipient population, relative to men. The average bonus received by SCS 2, 3 and 4 across all reportable 2023 Gender Pay Gap Report 10 

staff (£4,603.24) is approximately 3.8 times that of the mean bonus received at delegated grades (£1,216.81). Therefore, an increase in reportable SCS men is likely to increase the bonus difference more substantially than increases in the delegated grade population. 

Figure 5: Headcount of each gender within grade (and comparison to March 2021) within the gender bonus gap reportable population 2023 Gender Pay Gap Report 11 

Figure 5 shows the gender split of the March 2023 in-scope headcount. The difference from March 2022 is also shown with a black bar indicating the change in the net difference between men to women at each grade since last year (a line to the right indicating an increase in the ratio of men and vice versa). Overall, there are 616 more employees included in the GPG population this year; 286 more men and 330 more women. At SCS, there are 5 more women and 3 fewer men compared to March 2022.

7. Targeted action to reduce and close the gender pay gap 

Since 2020, interventions to reduce the GPG in DIT have fallen under our GPG action plan, which is delivered through the Inclusion Framework and aligned to the actions described in guidance published by the Government Equalities Office entitled ‘Actions to close the GPG’. 

7.1 Actions from 2022 and updates 

Actions taken by this department in the past year are already having a tangible impact, as can be seen with the move away from end of year bonuses to a fully in year reward system. We have also been collecting data on the allocation of allowances and higher starting salaries to inform decision making. We have focussed this year on improving the training of our Independent Panel Members (IPMs) and on increasing the numbers of those who undertake the training to give the department a larger pool of IPMs to draw from for recruitment campaigns. We are continuing to review our approach to smarter and flexible working, looking at ways the department can provide further support for parents and carers, and a supportive environment that enhances health and wellbeing. We are further building on the work on refreshing the Places for Growth Equality Impact Assessment, creating an action plan to mitigate potential negative diversity impacts following Places for Growth implementation. 

7.2 Actions for the coming year 

Under the first pillar of the action plan, Attracting diverse talent into DBT, we will develop a market leading recruitment brand and candidate attraction strategy with the aim to bring more female applicants from a range of backgrounds to senior roles, targeting particular professions. We will also undertake targeted outreach activity to attract more external women to DBT roles to redress the gender balance in external recruitment. Our HR Resourcing team is actively working on how we can attract more women and diverse talent to DBT, particularly at senior levels. They will focus on building a diverse recruitment pipeline to ensure we have a sustainable diverse workforce for the longer term. 

Under the second pillar, Supporting more women to progress to SCS, we will focus delivering sessions aimed at de-mystifying the SCS recruitment process to help to increase women’s success rate in the process. We will look at delivering more leadership masterclasses such as uncovering confidence to encourage more women to apply for SCS roles and be successful in the process. We will also strengthen the guidance for career conversations and talent moderation activity with a diversity lens. 

Under the third pillar Building a Strong Future Talent Pipeline. We will aim to develop and maintain a pipeline of future women senior leaders by nurturing talent and supporting the progression of women across professions, including overseas. This will be supported by talent programmes – such as Crossing Thresholds. There will also be an emphasis on women in Leadership L5 apprenticeship through Raise the Bar. 

Work under the final pillar, Addressing pay disparities within grade and in bonus values. Our HR Pay & Reward Team are reviewing how we can ensure salary expectations and negotiation is made as transparent as possible at the recruitment stage. There will be a review of the processes around higher starting pay and the application of these and establish clear parameters around the amounts and expectations for in-year awards and vouchers with the aim to achieve consistent application across the department through mixed panels for approvals. 

We will continue to build on our engagement with the department’s D&I Networks and Trade Unions, working together to address the actions identified. In addition, we have a dedicated working group tracking the department’s progress and advising on how to follow the latest developments in best practice. 2023 Gender Pay Gap Report 12 

8. Declaration 

8.1 Calculations and quality statement 

Our calculations have followed the legislative requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017. The data reported is accurate as of 31 March 2022, as extracted by our service providers, UK Shared Business Services and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in line with the Cabinet Office Guidance.

Former DIT’s workforce is based across the UK and overseas, on the OneHMG platform. As per the regulations, the March 2023 GPG analysis includes staff deemed to be full paid relevant employees based in the UK, on DIT payroll. It also includes overseas Civil Servants paid in the UK on the OneHMG platform. Country Based Staff who are employed locally overseas, contractors, and agency workers are not included. Most Fast Stream staff working at DIT are centrally recruited and employed by Cabinet Office. This group are included in analysis of the GPG for the Cabinet Office rather than DIT. 

Part-time staff are included in the analysis, as the ordinary pay is calculated on an hourly pay rate. On the gender bonus pay gap, part-time staff are equally included as any end of year performance awards and in-year awards in DIT are not prorated for part-time staff. 

Bonus data includes all end of year bonuses made for the 2021 to 2022 performance year as well as in-year rewards made between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023. The GPG gap includes bonuses paid in the month of March, while all bonuses paid in the year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 (inclusive) are included in the gender bonus pay gap calculations. 

Our report is also in line with the recommendations made from the Inclusive Data Taskforce report published in September 2021.

8.2 Declaration 

We confirm that data reported by the Department for International Trade 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. 

Rebecca Woodward, HR Director