Statutory guidance

Closing your gender pay gap

Updated 7 April 2026

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

If you find that your organisation has a gender pay gap, you should first try to understand why. If you know the factors that are causing your gap, you can take the most effective actions to close it.

1. How to understand your gender pay gap

The gender pay gap data you report can give you a basic understanding of your organisation’s gender pay balance.

The aim of this section is to help you understand 8 possible causes of your organisation’s pay gap. You will need some more data to identify certain issues.

This guidance often refers to actions to support women. This is because men are paid more than women in most organisations. You can also use the suggested actions to support men if women’s pay is higher.

1.1 Pay levels

Use ‘pay quarters’ to see the percentage of women and men at different pay levels in your organisation. 

Pay quarters are 4 equally-sized groups, ranked from highest to lowest hourly pay. You create them when you make your gender pay gap calculations.

Examine the gender imbalance in your organisation using your own seniority structure. Also look at any gender imbalance in job types and departments.

Example: gender imbalance by the percentage of women in each quarter

Hourly pay quarter	Women	Men
Upper	34%	66%
Upper middle	45%	55%
Lower middle	55%	45%
Lower	50%	50%

1.2 Promotions

If there is a good gender balance in your organisation, the same percentage of men and women in a particular grade should apply for promotion from that grade.

For example, you might have 60% women and 40% men in a particular grade. In that case, the pool of candidates who apply for promotion from that grade should also be 60% women and 40% men.

If only 20% of applicants were women, the gender imbalance would be more likely to get worse at the higher grade. This would mean fewer women in senior roles and a bigger gender pay gap.

To work out if this is a problem, look at the percentage of women in each grade or role who:

• apply for promotion

• make it through to any assessment stage or shortlist

• are selected for promotion

Example: gender imbalance in the promotion process, by stage

Promotion stage	Women	Men
Applicant pool	50%	50%
Applicants	40%	60%
Assessment	30%	70%
Selected	25%	75%

1.3 Recruitment into lower-paid roles

Your gender pay gap may be wider if women:

• join your organisation at more junior levels
• are less likely to be hired at higher levels

To work out if this is a problem, look at the number and percentage of women who apply for roles with you. See if there are gender imbalances at different grades or levels.

For each grade or level, work out if the percentage of women goes down during:

• the application stage
• shortlisting and assessment
• selection for a role
• accepting a role

Example: gender imbalance by recruitment process, by seniority

Level of seniority	Women hired	Men hired
Upper	34%	66%
Upper middle	45%	55%
Lower middle	55%	45%
Lower	50%	50%

1.4 People leaving your organisation

If women leave your organisation at a faster rate than men, this could contribute to your gender pay gap. The effect will be greater if this happens in more highly-paid positions and grades.

To work out if this is a problem, look at the percentage of women and men leaving your organisation each year. For each grade, work out the percentage of women leaving out of all women in that grade.

For example, you might find that 20% of the women in a particular grade left over the last year. In the same period, only 10% of men in that grade left.

Example: gender imbalance by employee exit rates, and seniority level

Level of seniority	Women leaving	Men leaving
Upper (highest paid)	43%	25%
Upper middle	25%	25%
Lower middle	12%	20%
Lower (lowest paid)	10%	12%

1.5 Bonuses, overtime and other pay

Under the Equality Act 2010, you must make sure you give equal compensation for equal work.

Analysing information about pay and bonuses can help you work out if certain types of pay are affecting your gender pay gap.

You work out the percentage of men and women receiving bonuses as part of your gender pay gap calculations.

Look at whether men and women doing comparable work get the same:

• overtime
• bonuses
• pay for unsociable hours

Another aspect of pay that can contribute to your gender pay gap is women having lower starting salaries than men doing similar jobs. This may be a problem if you allow negotiation of starting salaries.

Research has found that:

• women are less likely to negotiate their pay than men
• when women do negotiate, they can be judged more harshly than men for doing so

To check whether this is a problem, compare starting salaries for men and women in comparable roles.

1.6 Performance scores

Your organisation’s performance management scores can show differences in:

• how men and women perform
• how they are assessed

Differences in men and women’s performance scores can have an effect on their progression.

Look at the performance scores of men and women. If possible, break them down by grade and job. This is important if there are different performance management approaches for different groups.

If your employees assess their own performance, look for any imbalances. Research suggests that women rate themselves lower than men, and that men are overconfident in their self-ratings.

1.7 Part-time employees

More women than men work part‐time because they tend to take on more caring responsibilities.

Your part-time employees will be more likely to stay with your organisation if you:

• make sure they are well supported
• give them opportunities to progress

To assess how part-time workers progress in your organisation, look at the number you have  by grade and occupation. It may be, for example, that you are not making senior roles accessible to part‐time employees.

You could also compare performance scores and promotion rates for part-time and full-time staff.

1.8 People with caring responsibilities

Make sure you support employees to take on caring roles and responsibilities if they want to. You can do this by reviewing your policies and workplace culture.

To assess how well you are doing, see how many men and women take up things like:

• flexible working
• Shared Parental Leave
• paternity leave

If few men take them up, it could show that men and women in your organisation work quite differently. This could contribute to your gender pay gap.

Use your staff survey to assess your organisational culture. Look for differences between men and women.

For example, do your employees:

• feel supported to take up flexible working?

• feel that flexible or part-time working is a barrier to progression?

• know what flexible working and parental leave options are available to them?

2. Creating an action plan

Employers with 250 or more employees have the option to produce and publish a voluntary action plan on the gender pay gap service, alongside their gender pay gap data. Subject to legislation, these will become mandatory from spring 2027.

Action plans will show the steps you are taking to:

• address your organisation’s gender pay gap
• support employees experiencing menopause

You will also be able to highlight work your organisation is already doing to improve workplace gender equality.

Read more about creating an action plan and see the list of recommended, evidence-informed actions that you can include in your plan.