VOA gender pay report 2025
Published 12 March 2026
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Introduction
I am pleased to publish our 2025 gender pay gap report. In this report, we set out the progress we are making to reduce our gender pay gap - the difference in salary between all the men and women in our workforce.
This is the ninth year we have published our gender pay. Since we first published our gender pay gap figures in 2017, we have continued to achieve a steady reduction in the overall mean gender pay gap. This year’s figures show a decrease in the mean gap since last year of 0.9% and a decrease in the median of 1.4%. Since the introduction of gender pay gap reporting the current figures represent a decrease in the mean of 8.8% and the median of 13.3%.
Our headline figures for 2025 are
- Mean gender pay gap is 6.0%
- Median gender pay gap is 3.0%
- Mean bonus gap is now 23.8%
- Median bonus gap is -60.0%
To help explain what this means, as an example, the 6.0% mean gender pay gap figure shows that overall, women’s average (or mean) hourly salary is 6.0% lower than men’s average salary. The underlying reason for our overall gender pay gap remains the same: we still have a greater proportion of men than women at senior levels. As we improve female representation at senior levels of the organisation, we improve our pay gap.
This year, the proportion of women at HEO and above has increased by 0.92% overall, as more women succeed in gaining positions in more senior grades, while the proportion of women at AO and EO have decreased by 0.74%. Female representation has increased at SEO (1.48%) and G7 (1.84%) but has decreased at both G6 (-2.22%) and Senior Civil Servant (SCS) (-2.57%).
The mean bonus gap has increased to 23.8%. This is primarily related to the distribution of SCS bonuses. The median bonus gap has changed but remains in favour of women. For the median bonus gap, we place the value of all bonuses received by women in a line, and the value of all bonuses received by men in a line, from lowest total bonuses received to highest total bonuses received. We then look at the value in the middle of the women’s line and compare it to the value in the middle of the men’s line.
This year, the median for women was 60% higher than the median for men. This means that the median male recipient received one £25 bonus and the median female recipient received £40, in the form of two £20 bonuses.
Over the last 12 months, we have continued to support women in the workplace and this year, female colleagues have advanced to prominent leadership roles within the Agency, including positions at the SCS level.
Our workforce data shows a marked increase in females in senior, specialist and technical roles.
- 32% of our Technical Leaders, up from 31% last year,
- 36% of our Graduates, up from 29%; and
- 30% of our Property Inspectors, up from 24%.
We continue to work with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Government Property Profession to promote the surveying profession to females.
Our Returners Programme helps Chartered Surveyors return to the profession after a career break. Whether due to family commitments, a career change or other personal circumstances, the programme offers a structured six to nine-month pathway back into surveying.
The programme is for Chartered Surveyors who’ve been out of the profession for two years or more. It’s a unique opportunity to:
- rebuild confidence
- refresh technical skills
- re-engage with the profession through hands-on experience, mentorship, and targeted training.
Our Gender focus group works closely with colleagues and senior leaders to provide a safe space for people to share lived experiences, seek support, and share guidance and information that may benefit the wider workforce. The group played a key role in highlighting the impact of the Menopause, designing materials to support our line managers and leaders in broadening their awareness of the subject and showing allyship to those experiencing Menopause symptoms.
We usually publish our trawl notices with the widest selection of flexible working patterns available unless by exception with HR Director approval. This is particularly beneficial for those with caring responsibilities. We monitor recruitment data which shows a positive trend for female applicants throughout the recruitment process
Our flexible working arrangements are designed to support people’s work life balance. This is a key part of our attraction and retention strategy. We continue to run various talent and development programmes that are open to colleagues at all grades.
We encourage colleagues to report any form of harassment if they experience it while working. This includes anyone experiencing unacceptable behaviour from customers or work colleagues.
We remain committed to continue our progress in closing the gender pay gap and carry on working in partnership with our colleagues and Trade Unions to tackle the issues arising and to make the agency a great place to work for everyone.
Jonathan Russell CB
CEO, Valuation Office Agency
A message from the Executive Committee Gender Champion
It’s encouraging to see another improvement in addressing our gender pay gap, reflecting steady progress year-on-year.
We know that increasing female representation at the most senior levels of the organisation will fully close the gap, so it’s great to see so many talented female colleagues progressing into these roles.
Carolyn Bartlett
Strategy and Transformation Officer
Overview
In 2017, the government introduced world-leading legislation that made it statutory for organisations with 250 or more employees to report annually on their gender pay gap. Government departments are covered by the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, which came into force on 31 March 2017.
These regulations underpin the Public Sector Equality Duty and require relevant organisations to publish their gender pay gap by 31 March annually. This includes the mean and median gender pay gaps; the mean and median gender bonus gaps; the proportion of men and women who received bonuses; and the proportions of male and female employees in each pay quartile.
The gender pay gap shows the difference in the average pay between all men and women 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, with lower-level calculations helping identify what those issues are.
The gender pay gap 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 differently based on their gender.
Building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the people we serve is one of the Civil Service’s top workforce priorities. Our collective aim is to make the Civil Service the UK’s most inclusive employer. Our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy outlines how we plan to achieve this. The Civil Service should create opportunities for all in a truly meritocratic way and reward all civil servants fairly, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or any other personal characteristic.
The VOA supports the fair treatment and reward of all employees irrespective of gender.
VOA Gender Pay Gap Report 2025
Headline figures
This report gives the gender pay gap data in the VOA as at 31 March 2025.
Note: a negative figure denotes instances where the mean or median hourly salary for women is higher than for men. The ideal position is 0.00%.
Our gender pay gap for 2025 is:
- Mean gender pay gap is 6.0%, a decrease from 6.9% in 2024
- Median gender pay gap is 3.0%, a decrease from 4.4% in 2024
- Mean bonus gap is now 23.8%, having previously been 12.8% in 2024
- Median bonus gap is -60%, previously -100% in 2024
Methodology
For salaries, we used a snapshot date of 31 March 2025. The relevant pay period was our March payroll.
For bonuses, we used the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025: the 12 months before the snapshot date.
The gender pay gap data supplied is correct for all staff in post and on the VOA payroll on 31 March 2025. The results are below at Annex A.
In the VOA, on 31 March 2025 there were 3,955 staff in post.
Our gender balance has increased slightly in favour of women, with women remaining in the majority, as follows:
- Women: 2,021 (comprising 51.10% of the Agency, having previously been 50.99%)
- Men: 1,934 (comprising 48.90%, having previously been 49.01%)
The VOA follows the standard public sector approach to pay and grading. All posts sit within one of nine levels (grades) (VOA no longer has any roles graded at AA), and each level has an associated pay range consisting of a minimum and maximum rate. Salaries are paid according to grade and annual pay awards within the grade are paid irrespective of gender. As at 31 March 2025, there remain 41 employees who opted to remain on legacy pay bands from previous grading arrangements that applied until July 2013.
Our headquarters are in East London, and we have offices right across the UK. All grades, apart from those within the SCS, have both a London and National pay range.
For pay purposes we are governed by public sector pay policy, for which HM Treasury has overall responsibility. This defines the overall parameters for Civil Service pay uplifts each year in the pay guidance, to ensure that Civil Service pay awards are consistent with the government’s overall objectives.
Our 2024 pay award for delegated grades comprised a consolidated award paid to all staff, subject to performance, together with a non-consolidated underpin payment.
- For staff in grades AO to Grade 6, bonus payments are made in the form of in-year bonuses in the form of vouchers to recognise commendable performance
- For members of the SCS there are in year non-consolidated bonuses and a non-consolidated end of year award linked to exceptional performance against objectives
The value of both consolidated and non-consolidated pay awards is negotiated with our recognised trade unions and is subject to HM Treasury and ministerial business case approval. We do not negotiate individual awards, and our pay system takes no account of gender or any other protected characteristic.
Gender pay gap data - base pay
Our gender pay gap data for 2025 is:
- The mean hourly rate for women is £20.79 (previously £19.87)
- The mean hourly rate for men is £22.12 (previously £21.34)
- The overall mean hourly rate is £21.44 (previously £20.59)
- The mean gender pay gap is 6.0%, a decrease from 6.9% in 2024
- The median hourly rate for women is £18.59 (previously £17.68)
- The median hourly rate for men is £19.16 (previously £18.49)
- The overall median hourly rate is £18.64 (previously £18.15)
- The median gender pay gap is 3.0%, a decrease from 4.4% in 2024
The distribution of our workforce drives our mean and median figures: whilst we have a very diverse workforce, we do still have a higher proportion of our female workforce in the lower pay grades. The gender mix of our Executive Committee on 31 March 2025 was three men and two women.
As can be seen at Annex A, while women still have a disproportionately higher representation in more junior grades AO and EO, where 56.82% of all employees in these grades were women, this has seen a decrease of 0.74% from last year.
In more senior grades, men continue to have a disproportionately higher representation (46.91% of those at HEO and above are women). The proportion of women in these grades has increased by 0.92%, as more women succeed in gaining positions in senior grades. This year has seen increases in female representation at both SEO (1.48%) and G7 (1.84%) but there have been decreases at both G6 (-2.22%) and SCS (-2.57%) of the proportion of women in those grades.
This is reflected in the shifts in the lower and top quartiles shown at Annex B, where the proportion of women in quartile 1 has decreased by 2%, while quartile 3 the proportion of women has increased by 1.7%. Quartiles 2 and 4 are virtually unchanged.
We also analysed our gender pay gap results by geographical area (National and London pay areas - Annex D).
Our recruitment and promotion policies are based on fair and open competition.
We are committed to offering roles on flexible working patterns, including a range of options, such as part-time working, alternative working hours, and enhanced shared parental leave. This includes job-share up to and including posts at Senior Civil Service level. Pay elements used in the calculation include allowances. Voluntary salary sacrifice for childcare vouchers and cycle to work schemes are excluded.
Closing the gender pay gap: Our progress so far
Since we first published the gender pay gap figures in 2017, we have seen a steady reduction in the overall mean gender pay gap.
As illustrated in the images below and table at Annex C, we have achieved a steady closing of the gender pay gap, with a decrease in the mean by 8.8% and the median by 13.3 since the introduction of gender pay gap reporting in 2017. This year we closed the mean by a further 0.9%. and the median decreased by 1.4%.
Bonus (non-consolidated) payments
Our mean bonus gap is now 23.8% (previously 12.8%).
This reflects a mean bonus of £121.23 (male) and £92.32 (female) and is attributable to a range of factors.
The overall proportion of recognition vouchers and performance bonuses remain broadly similar to last year with women receiving 1.1% more than their male colleagues, , and the median bonus remains in favour of women. This year, twice as many male SCS received bonuses compared to female SCS. Because SCS bonuses are proportionately higher than those of delegated grades, variances have a significant impact on the overall mean bonus gap. .
The median bonus gap is now -60% in favour of women, having previously been -100% in favour of women. This is because the median point for women this year was £40 (equivalent to two £20 Simply Thanks bonuses received in the year), whereas the median point for men was £25 (one £25 bonus received in the year).
The 2024/25 performance year represents the eighth year of our fully in-year cash bonus scheme. We continue to monitor the gender impact of the scheme. As part of our regular reviews of the Simply Thanks scheme, following a light-touch review to ensure the scheme remains fit for purpose, we changed the denominations from £20 and £100 to £25, £50 and £100 with effect from September 2024.
As published in the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) July 2025 Civil Service Statistics: 2025, VOA’s mean gender bonus gap increased this year by 11.0% to 23.8% (from 12.8% in 2024) and the median gender bonus gap moved to -60% having previously been -100% in 2024.
Since publication of the headline figures, it has come to our attention that non-consolidated underpin payments related to the delegated pay award were included in the bonus gap data in error. Had they been excluded, the mean bonus gap would have been 27.8%. The data in this gender pay report refers to the mean bonus gap of 23.8% to retain consistency with the official ACSES report.
Actions
The VOA supports the fair treatment and reward of all colleagues, irrespective of gender. We have pay and conditions of employment that do not discriminate unlawfully and are free from bias. We use a job evaluation system to assess the relative value of jobs across the organisation, and this provides evidence in support of the allocation of jobs within our grading structure.
Recruitment
Civil Service Resourcing have direct responsibility for recruiting all VOA employees. The aim of the vacancy filling is to find the best available people for our jobs, applying the fundamental principle of selection for appointment on merit, through fair and open competition.
We promote surveying as a career for women, working with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the VOA’s Deputy Head of Surveying Profession to increase the percentage of women in surveying roles. More recently we have offered a returning surveyors programme. This is a new scheme to help Chartered Surveyors return to the profession after a career break. Whether due to family commitments, a career change or other personal circumstances, the programme offers a structured six to nine-month pathway back into surveying.
The programme is for Chartered Surveyors who’ve been out of the profession for two years or more. It’s a unique opportunity to:
- rebuild confidence
- refresh technical skills
- re-engage with the profession through hands-on experience, mentorship, and targeted training.
While there is still more work to do, we compare very favourably to the wider property industry in terms of female representation, where RICS’ latest data (October 2025) shows that only 20% of RICS members are female. Our data for October 2025 showed that women now comprise:
- 41% of our Surveyor Caseworkers or Specialist Surveyor Caseworkers; and
- 32% of our Technical Leaders.
Talent and development
We recognise our people don’t all want the same things from their careers. We aim to provide everyone with opportunities to be the best they can be and to progress, whether to more senior roles, or other roles in the VOA or the wider Civil Service.
We continue to encourage colleagues to benefit from the variety of development programmes we have across the VOA, such as Future Leaders Scheme, Leap, Embrace, Ascend and Fast Stream.
We conduct the 9-box grid talent exercise twice yearly for grades G6–HEO. The data gathered informs our succession planning and improves our ability to target development opportunities, including for women aspiring to senior positions.
Mentoring schemes
Colleagues have access to a refreshed Coaching and Mentoring Hub, ran in partnership with HMRC. Coaching and mentoring empowers colleagues to work through their thinking, set goals and put a plan into action to develop self and/or their career.
We also promote Stride, the award winning HMRC/VOA mentoring scheme which supports social mobility.
Flexible working
We continue to support people across all grades who wish to work more flexibly. Most roles are available as job-share, reduced hours, or flexible working patterns. When we recruit to roles, these are normally advertised with the widest possible flexible working patterns to encourage those with childcare or other responsibilities to apply. The flexibilities in our hybrid working approach helps make us an employer of choice for women.
Leave
We have a long-standing offer of four weeks paternity leave offer to enable colleagues to increase their time at home with their children.
Diversity group
Our Gender group supports colleagues and drives action across the VOA. The group provides a space where members can reflect, share lived experiences and discuss concerns. These invaluable insights directly inform the work of the volunteers, including improving support for all people.
The Gender group also works with VOA People group, other diversity and inclusion groups and Civil Service-wide networks to link into wider Civil Service initiatives. This is with the aim of understanding the challenges colleagues may face in relation to gender and intersectional issues, share learning and provide or signpost the appropriate support.
This includes raising awareness with managers and colleagues about the impact of Perimenopause and the Menopause by way of workshops and guidance notes.
Bonus (non-consolidated) payments
We have operated a fully voucher based system for delegated grades since November 2020. This mainly consists of rewards of £25 and £50. In exceptional cases, awards of £100 may be made. Where £100 is awarded, this must be with the written approval of Grade 6 or Grade 7 (dependent on the grade of the recipient). We continue to monitor distribution of the awards to address any issues identified.
Performance awards for Senior Civil Servants
We are committed to ensuring all elements of pay are equitable, including performance bonuses. Given the higher mean bonus pay gap this year, we acknowledge that we have further work to do to ensure that financial recognition of performance at the Senior Civil Service level are balanced and considerate of the outcomes by gender. This has included expanding our internal review and governance processes with quarterly Executive Committee discussions to ensure the value of bonuses are monitored, endorsed and consistent across the department.
Raising awareness of women’s health in the workplace
We have increased awareness of women’s health conditions and how it can impact on women in the workplace. This includes videos, guidance, and toolkits for example on menopause awareness to support those directly impacted. We are also increasing the number of allies from those not directly impacted who are able to speak up on behalf of others.
Increasing visible female role models
We have showcased a number of visible female role models to help inspire the next generation. This includes two female colleagues being nominated at the October 2024 ‘Inspiring Women in Property Awards’.
Calculations
Our calculations followed the legislative requirements, and we confirm the data reported is accurate. All staff who were deemed to be full paid relevant employees (as defined by the gender pay gap reporting provisions) were included.
Annex A: Workforce demographics 2025
.
| % Female within Grades | % Female within Grades | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades | Males | Females | Total | 23/24 | 24/25 | Difference | Total as % of agency | ||||
| AA & AO & EO | 722 | 950 | 1,672 | 57.56% | 56.82% | -0.74% | 42.28% | ||||
| HEO and above | 1,212 | 1,071 | 2,283 | 45.99% | 46.91% | 0.92% | 57.72% | ||||
| % Female within Grade | % Female within Grade | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Grades | 23/24 | 24/25 | Difference |
| AA | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| AO | 57.75% | 57.27% | -0.48% |
| EO | 57.38% | 56.40% | -0.98% |
| HEO | 47.31% | 47.67% | 0.36% |
| SEO | 47.08% | 48.56% | 1.48% |
| Grade 7 | 42.17% | 44.01% | 1.84% |
| Grade 6 | 42.22% | 40.00% | -2.22% |
| SCS | 43.38% | 40.91% | -2.57% |
| Total | 50.99% | 51.10% | 0.11% |
Positive figures shown in the difference column indicate increased representation of women within that grade/overall.
Annex B: 2025 VOA overall gender pay gap results
| 23/24 | 24/25 | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mean gender pay gap | 6.9% | 6.0% | -0.9% |
| 2. Median gender pay gap | 4.4% | 3.0% | -1.4% |
| 3. Mean Bonus pay | 12.8% | 23.8% | 11.0% |
| 4. Median Bonus pay | -100% | -60.0% | 40.0% |
| 5. Bonus proportions Male Female |
67.4% 69.9% |
61.2% 63.3% |
-6.2% -6.6% |
Proportion of male and female employees in each quartile
| 23/24 | 23/24 | 24/25 | 24/25 | Difference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quartile | % F | % M | % F | % M | % F | % M |
| 1 | 56.6% | 43.4% | 54.6% | 45.4% | -2.0% | 2.0% |
| 2 | 52.8% | 47.2% | 53.2% | 46.8% | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 3 | 51.1% | 48.9% | 52.8% | 47.2% | 1.7% | -1.7% |
| 4 | 43.5% | 56.5% | 43.8% | 56.2% | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| Total Staff | 23/24 | 24/25 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 1,935 | 2,021 | 86 |
| Male | 1,860 | 1,934 | 74 |
| Total | 3,795 | 3,955 | 160 |
Annex C: Closing the Gap – our progress to date
Figures since the introduction of gender pay gap reporting
| Difference since | Difference since | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16/17 | 17/18 | 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 | 23/24 | 16/17 | ||
| Mean gender pay gap | 14.8% | 13.7% | 12.6% | 10.0% | 11.4% | 9.6% | 8.2% | 6.9% | 6.0% | -0.9% | -8.8% | |
| Median gender pay gap | 16.3% | 15.1% | 14.0% | 6.6% | 15.4% | 9.8% | 2.8% | 4.4% | 3.0% | -1.4% | -13.3% | |
| Mean bonus pay | -2.9% | 4.8% | -0.9% | 6.1% | -9.0% | 0.7% | -2.1% | 12.8% | 23.8% | 11.0% | 26.7% | |
| Median bonus pay | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | -100% | -100% | -60% | 40.0% | -60.0% | |
| Bonus Proportions: M | 87.9% | 88.8% | 76.7% | 56.5% | 61.1% | 68.0% | 68.1% | 67.4% | 61.2% | -6.2% | -26.7% | |
| Bonus Proportions: F | 87.5% | 88.6% | 76.3% | 53.3% | 63.5% | 66.8% | 67.3% | 69.9% | 63.3% | -6.6% | -24.2% |
Note:
- Bonus proportions are expressed as the % of total men/women receiving a bonus that year.
- Where pay gap figures are shown, a positive figure denotes the % amount that women’s mean or median hourly salary is lower than men.
- A negative figure denotes instances where the mean or median hourly salary for women is higher than for men.
- The ideal position is therefore 0.00%.
Annex D: 2025 gender pay gap results by location
| 2023/24 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2024/25 | Difference | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | National | London | National | London | National | |
| Mean gender pay gap | 4.9% | 6.4% | 5.8% | 5.5% | 0.9% | -0.9% |
| Median gender pay gap | 0.9% | 0.3% | 2.6% | 0.1% | 1.7% | -0.2% |
| Mean Bonus pay | -17.2% | 20.7% | 23.3% | 22.6% | 40.5% | 1.9% |
| Median Bonus pay | 0.0% | -100.0% | 0.0% | -60.0% | 0.0% | 40.00% |
| Bonus proportions: Male | 66.4% | 67.7% | 60.3% | 61.4% | -6.1 % | -6.3% |
| Bonus proportions: Female | 70.6% | 69.7% | 59.0% | 64.1% | -11.6% | -5.6% |
Note:
- Bonus proportions are expressed as the % of total men/women receiving a bonus that year
- Where pay gap figures are shown, a positive figure denotes the % amount that women’s mean or median hourly salary is lower than men.
- A negative figure denotes instances where the mean or median hourly salary for women is higher than for men.
- The ideal position is therefore 0.00%.