*Please Note: This information was produced when our UK-based team was trading as WYG.
Today, 4 April 2019, we are reporting our Gender Pay Gap figures. This is a requirement of The Equality Act 2010 for all companies with over 250 employees. It is our second annual publication of these results, covering the period to March 2018.
It is important to note that our gender pay gap arises because we employ more men than women in senior positions where pay is higher, and this is therefore not a comparison of remuneration. Men and women are paid equally for doing the same job at WYG. However, the imbalance of males and females at senior levels is a trend we see mirrored across our industry, particularly in careers underpinned by STEM subjects. We are committed to working alongside our peers to address this, and we are encouraged by the fact that we now have an equal balance of males and females in entry-level positions (Quartile 1).
In the last year, we have placed the wider diversity and inclusion (D&I) agenda at the centre of our approach to improving gender balance, creating an internal Diversity & Inclusion-steering group to drive it. Members of our leadership team have given their full support and driven certain initiatives as part of this.
Craig Hatch, recently lead our sponsorship of Women in Nuclear’s first anniversary celebration, demonstrating why he feels so strongly about the subject and ensuring his viewpoints were heard in the media. Wider than this, we continue to actively promote the successes of our women in their industries, including a social media campaign around International Women’s Day.
Within our planning business, the D&I work has led to the creation of a Women in Planning group who have been undertaking primary research across the team to understand more about how we can support and retain our female colleagues. As a result, the group has reviewed our approach to flexible working for both genders. They have also instigated a series of targeted training events and ‘Lean In’ groups and are looking to pilot more ideas.
Looking ahead, we are exploring opportunities to widen our current involvement in schools, as well as potential links with the new Guide Association programme of STEM-related badges and activities. We are continuing to review our HR policies to ensure they are as fully inclusive and supportive of families as they can be; exploring the potential for a ‘returner programme’ to help ease colleagues back into work after extended breaks such as maternity leave; and we are also about to kick-start a reverse mentoring programme.
We are also being more proactive in our recruitment to try to achieve diverse shortlists, allowing us to select from a more balanced pool of talent.
Overall, we continue our commitment to finding positive and proactive ways to address the gender pay gap knowing that it may take time to see the results as a more diverse workforce will benefit our clients, our partners, and all our people.
WYG has two legal entities that meet the criteria for mandatory publishing of gender pay gap data as reported on the government website. Results for each of these can be found below, alongside further figures that give an overview of the entire WYG Group for comparison.
