IPO gender pay gap 2024
Published 17 December 2024
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1. Intellectual Property Office (IPO) - Gender pay gap
The IPO’s pay approach supports the fair treatment and reward of all staff irrespective of gender. This report provides the IPO’s gender pay gap data, using a methodology fully aligned to the statutory reporting requirements, on the snapshot date of 31 March 2024. For bonuses, the period of 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 was used, which was the 12 months preceding the snapshot date.
The gender pay gap shows the difference in the average pay between all males and females in a workforce. If a workforce has a particularly high gender pay gap, this can indicate there may be a number of issues to deal with, and the individual calculations may help to identify what those issues are.
The gender pay gap is different to equal pay. Equal pay deals with the pay differences between males and females who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value. It is unlawful to pay people unequally because they are a male or female.
2. Gender make-up of the IPO
- 48% of the IPO’s workforce is female
- 27% of the IPO’s Senior Civil Service is female
3. IPO’s gender pay gap
- mean pay gap: 17% in favour of males
- median pay gap 27% in favour of males
The IPO pay system covers Civil Service grades ranging from administrative assistant to Senior Civil Servant (SCS). The grades vary according to the level of responsibility that staff have. Each grade has a set pay range with pay gaps in between grades. Staff are expected to move through the pay range for their grade. The longer period of time that someone has been in a grade, and the more developed their skillset and competence, the more we would expect them to earn irrespective of their gender.
The single biggest factor for the pay imbalance in the IPO is the under-representation of women in specialist STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) roles and this is a national issue.
The comparison of mean and median pay in the IPO shows a gap in favour of males that is higher than the national pay gap as of October 2022 (14.3% (median). This is not dissimilar to the gender gap in STEM where women are consistently under-represented. According to estimates based on The Office of National Statistic Labour Force Survey and compiled by the WISE Campaign (2023) women make up only 27% of the UK core-STEM workforce. Updated statistics by the WISE Campaign (2023) show that these figures have remained consistent with the previous year and this is reflected within our organisation.
Given our workforce profile and the field from which we can recruit, a gender gap of some sorts is not unexpected. Compared to other institutions of a similar size and makeup where there is a strong focus on STEM subjects, our pay gaps are comparable.
STEM roles, which are typically higher grades, and which also attract higher pay due to their specialism, make up 37% of our total workforce and only 25% of these posts are held by women. If the specialist STEM roles were removed from the IPO’s analysis the pay gap would be 8% (mean) and 8% (median). The mean and median gap has been calculated using just annual base pay as at 31 March 2024.
| Mean Hourly Rate | Median Hourly Rate | |
|---|---|---|
| IPO 2020/21 | 18% | 30% |
| IPO 2021/22 | 19% | 27% |
| IPO 2022/23 | 18% | 26% |
| IPO 2023/24 | 17% | 27% |
Whilst the overall mean and median gender pay is still significant at 17% and 27% respectively, we are pleased to report a small reduction in the mean gender pay gap over the last year. Whilst the median figure has increased slightly, we can attribute this to a small number of senior STEM roles that are in favour of men.
We have reported circa. 104 leavers in the last year (60% of males versus 40% females). Out of the reported leavers, 23% of females were on salaries of C1 grade or higher, whilst 31% of leavers that were males had salaries of C1 grade of higher. By contrast, 29% of males that were leavers were on salaries of B3 or lower. This has helped in part to lower the current GPG slightly.
Whilst the overall mean and median gender pay is still not satisfactory, the breakdown for each grading level shows a more positive story with a far less pronounced gap across specific peer groups:
Mean gender pay gap by grade (excluding market driven pay enhancements for specialists)
| Mean gender pay gap (Hourly Rate) | Male | Female | Mean gap percentages |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | £11.50 | £11.50 | 0.00% |
| A2 | £12.07 | £12.07 | 0.00% |
| A3 | £13.04 | £13.04 | 0.00% |
| B1 | £14.10 | £14.10 | 0.00% |
| B2 | £16.06 | £16.07 | -0.06% |
| B2 Exr | £15.90 | £15.92 | -0.12% |
| B3 | £18.06 | £18.01 | 0.27% |
| C1 | £23.48 | £23.41 | 0.29% |
| C1 Exr | £23.54 | £23.53 | 0.04% |
| C2 | £32.45 | £32.47 | -0.06% |
| C2 Exr | £33.14 | £32.95 | 0.57% |
| D1 | £37.59 | £37.44 | 0.39% |
| SCS | £43.12 | £43.15 | -0.06% |
| Median gender pay gap (Hourly Rate) | Male | Female | Median gap percentages |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | £11.50 | £11.50 | 0.00% |
| A2 | £12.07 | £12.07 | 0.00% |
| A3 | £13.04 | £13.04 | 0.00% |
| B1 | £14.10 | £14.10 | 0.00% |
| B2 | £16.02 | £16.02 | 0.00% |
| B2 Exr | £16.03 | £16.02 | 0.06% |
| B3 | £18.07 | £18.07 | 0.00% |
| C1 | £23.37 | £23.37 | 0.00% |
| C1 Exr | £23.45 | £23.45 | 0.00% |
| C2 | £32.24 | £32.24 | 0.00% |
| C2 Exr | £33.50 | £33.46 | 0.11% |
| D1 | £37.19 | £37.12 | 0.18% |
| SCS | £41.57 | £42.90 | -3.19% |
You can see from the tables that when we exclude specialist enhancements and compare base pay across grades there isn’t a significant difference. However, the biggest differentials can be found in our senior grades, D1 and C2 Examiner, where females are under-represented. This is unsurprising given our C2 Examiner is a senior STEM role.
4. Pay by quartiles
| Quartile | Female |
|---|---|
| First (lower) Quartile | 63.9% |
| Second Quartile | 57.9% |
| Third Quartile | 37.9% |
| Fourth (upper) Quartile | 30.9% |
5. Bonus pay
92% of females and 92% of males were paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March 2024.
- mean bonus gap: 2%
- median bonus gap: 3%
The IPO operates a reward and recognition scheme that is based on performance.
Compared to 2023, our mean bonus gap reduced from 5% and we saw a reduction in our median bonus gap from 13% in 2023. Work continued throughout 2023-24 to further embed the reward and recognition scheme, concentrating on conducting familiarisation sessions with business areas, updating and re-publicising guidance and encouraging recognition through our evolving organisational culture.
6. Work on eradicating the gender pay gap
We are fully committed to fair pay irrespective of gender and recognise that despite our mean pay gap decreasing, there is still a lot of work to be done. Reducing the gap is complex and therefore needs consistent and proactive action. It is something that we, as an organisation, take very seriously and reducing our pay gap will remain an IPO priority until it has been brought to a satisfactory level which we know will take a number of years. Our action plan will see us focus on three key areas for this year:
6.1. Awareness and candidate experience
Our “Employee Value Proposition” work will look at our offering through an inclusion lens, ensuring we advertise the IPO as an inclusive brand and that our people’s first experiences of working in the IPO are ones where they feel welcomed and included. We will improve the ways we recruit focussing on skill and potential. We will use targeted recruitment activities and constantly evaluate the effectiveness of our job advertisements. We will make sure our interview processes and spaces are accessible and designed to get the best out of our applicants. We will ensure our people’s onboarding experience is one where they feel welcomed and have access to support from day one.
6.2. Review internal processes, procedures, and systems
We will remove any unintended bias from our processes, investing in more effective coaching and mentoring relationships, targeted development programmes for women, promoting opportunities for more flexible working and driving an increase in take up of Shared Parental Leave. Our Strategic Workforce Planning will use diversity data to design an organisation of the future that is the right size, shape and skill base to achieve our priorities over the longer term, one of which is to eradicate any pay gaps.
6.3. STEM impact programme
We are using outreach to increase the number of girls accessing STEM opportunities at primary and secondary age. We will also look to support women later in their careers through Returner and Career Switcher programmes. We will find ways to maximise our existing talent by finding pathways in to STEM for people without a STEM background, as well as raising awareness in Universities of STEM careers in the Civil Service.