Gender pay gap reporting
Gender pay gap reporting is creating fairer, more productive workplaces by highlighting inequality.
What is the gender pay gap?
The gender pay gap is the difference in earnings between men and women across an entire workforce. This is different from equal pay, which is about men and women earning the same amount for a specific role.
In Scotland, in 2021, the median hourly earnings for women were 11.6% less than for men. Across the whole UK they were 15.4% less.
The existence of the pay gap shows there are biases in the recruitment, training and promotion of staff. These biases can be specific to an organisation, while others can affect an entire industry. By measuring the pay gap and taking action, organisations can become fairer and more productive.
The UK was one of the first countries to introduce mandatory gender pay gap reporting. Anyone can explore and compare this data for organisations in the UK. This includes the average difference between hourly and bonus pay. You can also find the percentage of men and women in the highest, middle and lowest pay groups in a company.
Use the Office for National Statistics tool below to explore the UK-wide pay gaps in different occupations.
Guidance for employers
Employers with 250 or more employees are required to publish their gender pay gap figures every year.
The deadline is 30 March for public sector employers and 4 April for private and voluntary sector employers.
Resources are available to help organisations with the reporting process. These include guidance from ACAS as well as the Government Equalities Office. There are also suggested actions to help employers understand and address the causes.
More Information
Find further guidance on flexible working practices.
The UK Government is supporting parents with shared parental leave and pay, and help with childcare costs.
The UK is also using its global influence to promote gender equality worldwide.
Find more UK Government support for businesses.