Little progress has been made in reducing the earnings gap between male and female staff members, a report by the University has revealed.
Since the first such report last year, the mean gender pay gap amongst Oxford University staff has decreased slightly from 24.5% to 22.6% but remains higher than the national average. The median figure has remained at 13.7%.
Although more women are in receipt of bonus payments, the mean gap between male and female bonus pay is 64.1% (down from 79% last year). The median figure has decreased substantially, however, from 48.7% to 6.7%, suggesting that the bonuses of senior male staff are responsible for much of the gap.
The report finds that: “The gender pay gaps identified are mainly attributable to a lack of women in senior roles in the University.” Of the 25% highest-earning staff, just 38% are women. A majority of all other staff are women, including 62.5% of the 25% lowest-paid staff.
In introduction to the report, Vice-Chancellor Louise Richardson, writes: “[W]e have made progress, but the progress is frustratingly slow.”
The report reiterates a commitment by the University to achieve yearly increases in the proportion of female professors at the university, with a short-term goal of 30% by 2020 for all professors and 20% for statutory professors. This is coupled with a commitment to see a third of University leadership roles, such as departmental heads and senior management positions, occupied by women.
As an organisation with over 250 employees, the University is legally required to release gender pay data. Last year, a number of colleges released their own statistics, with Balliol and Keble reporting the highest mean pay gaps this time last year.
The 2019 report is available on the University website.
