The national law firm, Stephensons, has reported a 24.55% mean gender pay gap for fixed hourly pay as at 5th April 2019.
The firm has reported its gender pay gap in line with the government’s gender pay gap reporting regulations.
The gender pay gap reporting regulations require organisations with 250 or more employees to publish the difference between both the mean and median hourly rate of pay for male and female full-time employees; the difference between both the mean bonus pay and median bonus pay for male and female employees; the proportions of male and female employees who were awarded bonus pay; and the proportions of male and female full-time employees in the lower, lower middle, upper middle and upper quartile pay bands.
Stephensons median pay gap for fixed hourly pay as at 5th April 2019 was 32.33%, down from 37.90% in 2018.
Its mean gender pay gap for bonuses paid in the year to 5 April 2019 is 34.11% and the median gender pay gap for bonus payments is 21.2%. Over this period, 18.7% of female employees received a bonus payment compared to 21% of male employees. Stephensons’ bonus scheme is paid in May of each year and therefore not reflected in these reported figures.
Just over half (53%) of employees in the highest pay quartile at Stephensons are female, compared to 74% in the second quartile, 84% in the third quartile and 80% in the lowest pay quartile. Of its partner population, over half (56%) are women, 46% are in senior management roles and in total 76% of the firms solicitors are female.
In addressing its gender pay gap, Stephensons is committed to engaging and developing its employees and encouraging greater diversity and inclusion through a range of initiatives. This includes the roll out of agile working across its offices and the promotion of flexible working opportunities for all employees. The firm also consistently reviews its recruitment policies and practices to ensure that it can source talented team members from a wider background. The firms approach to flexible working has also significantly benefited its ability to attract and retain female members of staff.
Over the past 12 months, the firm has introduced an e-learning platform for all staff, allowing them to access training and development materials wherever they may be. The firm has also rolled out ‘Boost’, a reward and recognition platform allowing all staff members to access a range of benefits.
Andrew Welch, Managing Partner at Stephensons, said: “I’m encouraged to see, that at a senior level, our firm is equally represented by both male and female team members. As a firm, Stephensons has a large number of female staff in our support and administrative teams which has a bearing on our overall mean figure. However we are committed to the promotion of inclusion and diversity at all levels and to ensuring that all our staff have access to the very best development opportunities.
“Efforts over the past 12 months have made a positive difference in reducing our median pay gap figures and this will continue to be a key area of focus moving forward.”