The Solicitors Regulation Authority Gender Pay Gap report 2022
This is the gender pay gap report of the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) - the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales. This report covers the statutory gender pay reporting up to April 2022.
The gender pay gap is defined as the difference between the mean or median hourly pay rate that female and male staff receive.
The mean pay gap is the difference between hourly earnings for female and male staff, taking the sum of all hourly rates divided by the total number of female or male staff.
The median pay gap is the difference between the midpoints in the ranges of hourly earnings between female and male staff. It takes all salaries in order from lowest to highest and picks the middle-most salary.
The figures in the charts below are based on hourly rates of pay during the monthly pay period ending on 25 April 2022 and bonuses paid in the year up to 5 April 2022. The figures are compared to our 2021 and 2020 Gender Pay Gap Report.
Difference in pay between females and males
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | +/- percentage point change 2021-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean pay gap | 10.6% | 9.7% | 13.4% | +3.7% |
| Median pay gap | 8.8% | 9.3% | 11.2% | +1.9% |
The 2022 mean and median gender pay gap increased compared to 2021.
Difference in bonus pay between females and males
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | +/- percentage point change 2021-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean bonus gap | 45.3% | 24.2% | 25.6% | +1.4% |
| Median bonus gap | 10% | -14.3% | 12.5% | +26.8% |
Between 2021 and 2022 we saw an increase in both the mean and median bonuses of males compared to females.
There are various bonus schemes for different levels throughout the SRA.
The charts show the gender split when we divide our workforce by ordering hourly rates of pay from highest to lowest and grouping the pay into four equal quartiles.
Approximately 63 percent of our workforce is female and, as the 2022 pay quartile chart demonstrates, females continue to be well represented across all pay quartiles.
Understanding the gap
Our 2022 median pay gap is 11.2 percent, which is again lower than the current UK median pay gap of 15.4 percent (Office of National Statistics 2021).
Our gender pay gap has increased this year, predominately due to the change in the proportion of males and females at the more senior levels.
What we've achieved on gender pay
We are disappointed that our gender pay gap has widened this year, and we remain committed to reducing the gender pay gap.
Below is a summary of some of the ongoing measures in place to address the gender pay gap:
- Review of our reward strategy and how we recognise staff
- Review of our policies, processes and practices to ensure an environment where everyone can flourish.
- Continuing to analyse diversity data in support of ensuring fairness throughout the employment lifecycle.
We continue to be committed to a fully inclusive workplace.
The further work that we have set out in our ethnicity pay gap report, and and in more detail in our separate workforce senior ethnicity inclusion plan. such as focusing on career development and reviewing our recruitment practices, will also be used to address the gender pay gap.
As required by regulation, we confirm the data in this report is accurate.