Workforce Report 2019

5.1 Gender Pay Gap 2019 was the second year in which companies with more than 250 employees have been required to collate and report statistics on their gender pay gap. As a reminder, companies in scope of the legislation are required to report the average and median pay gaps — as well as the mean and median bonus pay gap — the proportion of men and women receiving a bonus and the proportion of men and women in each pay quartile. Figures 19 and 20 show the average hourly gender pay gap for employees within our membership, arranged by company and by sector, respectively. The overall gender pay gap for the sector (based on average pay) showed a decline compared with last year’s figures to 24.3 per cent. The oil and gas industry’s figure is still higher than the 2018 national average of 17.9 per cent. If median earnings are used, the sector average is 25.7 per cent, compared with the national average of 8.5 per cent. Although higher than the national average, the oil and gas industry is in line with other STEM sectors, such as the high-tech sector, which has a pay gap of 25 per cent. 7 The gender pay gap reflects the lower number of women in senior managerial and technical roles in the industry and offshore, where women make up less than 4 per cent of the workforce. Furthermore, it reflects that women make up the majority of part-time workers, positions which tend to be lower paid. The gender pay gap in 2018 should not be interpreted as failure to act to improve the gap. Rather it reflects the reality that reducing the gap significantly will not be achieved in the short term as it inevitably takes time to recruit more women into traditionally male-dominated sectors and for them to progress in the industry. Indeed, some companies may find that success in bringing more women into the industry initially widens the gap as it takes time to progress through pay scales and the employing organisation.

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Figure 20, which shows the average hourly gender pay gap by sub sector, illustrates the considerable spread of pay gaps, from more than 50 per cent to −10 per cent, highlighting the more complex landscape for industry overall.

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7 www.uk.mercer.com/our-thinking/the-gender-pay-gap-in-uk-tech-sector.html

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