IPO gender pay gap 2025
Published 12 December 2025
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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 2025. For bonuses, the period of 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 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
- 47% of the IPO’s workforce is female
- 33% of the IPO’s Senior Civil Service is female
3. IPO’s gender pay gap
- mean pay gap: 15.3% in favour of males
- median pay gap 25.4% 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 April 2025 (6.9% median) and Civil Service pay gap as of April 2025 (6.4% 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 36% of our total workforce and 24% of these posts are held by women. If the specialist STEM roles were removed from the IPO’s analysis the pay gap would be 5% (mean) and 0% (median).
| 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% |
| IPO 2024/25 | 15% | 25% |
Whilst the overall mean and median gender pay is still significant at 15% and 25% respectively, we are pleased to report that our gender pay gap has continued to narrow this year.
This is mainly due to stronger retention of women in a range of senior roles and changes in our recruitment profile. We’ve seen more men join at lower-grade positions in STEM disciplines, which has also contributed to the improvement. While this shift is positive in the short term, we recognise that as these individuals progress, it could present future challenges. That is why we remain committed to creating pathways for women into STEM careers and ensuring equal opportunities for progression across all roles. Our focus is on sustainable, long-term change that supports diversity and inclusion at every level of our organisation.
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 | £12.22 | N/A | N/A |
| A2 | £12.83 | £12.83 | 0.00% |
| A3 | £14.03 | £13.99 | 0.28% |
| B1 | £14.96 | £15.04 | -0.57% |
| B2 | £16.83 | £16.86 | -0.20% |
| B2 Exr | £16.62 | £16.64 | -0.12% |
| B3 | £19.14 | £19.08 | 0.33% |
| C1 | £24.84 | £24.79 | 0.18% |
| C1 Exr | £24.86 | £25.07 | -0.85% |
| C2 | £34.43 | £34.43 | 0.00.% |
| C2 Exr | £34.73 | £34.94 | -0.61% |
| D1 | £39.71 | £40.52 | -2.05% |
| SCS | £45.96 | £45.10 | 1.88% |
| Median gender pay gap (Hourly Rate) | Male | Female | Median gap percentages |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | £12.22 | N/A | N/A |
| A2 | £12.83 | £12.83 | 0.00% |
| A3 | £13.85 | £13.85 | 0.00% |
| B1 | £14.96 | £14.96 | 0.00% |
| B2 | £16.90 | £16.90 | 0.00% |
| B2 Exr | £16.46 | £16.54 | -0.48% |
| B3 | £19.05 | £19.05 | 0.00% |
| C1 | £24.64 | £24.64 | 0.00% |
| C1 Exr | £24.72 | £24.64 | 0.31% |
| C2 | £34.00 | £34.02 | -0.08% |
| C2 Exr | £34.85 | £34.85 | 0.00% |
| D1 | £39.57 | £39.60 | -0.07% |
| SCS | £44.58 | £44.33 | 0.56% |
You can see from the tables that when we exclude specialist enhancements and compare base pay across grades, there isn’t a significant difference.
4. Pay by quartiles
| Quartile | Female |
|---|---|
| First (lower) Quartile | 63.0% |
| Second Quartile | 52.4% |
| Third Quartile | 41.0% |
| Fourth (upper) Quartile | 30.4% |
5. Bonus pay
94% of females and 92% of males were paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March 2025.
- mean bonus gap: 1.9%
- median bonus gap: 0%
The IPO operates a reward and recognition scheme that is based on performance.
Compared to 2024, our mean bonus gap increased slightly from 1.7% and we saw a reduction in our median bonus gap from 3% (13% in 2023). Work continued throughout 2024-25 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 concentrate 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, concentrating 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 into STEM for people without a STEM background, as well as raising awareness in universities of STEM careers in the Civil Service.