The national law firm, Stephensons, has reported a 24.14% mean gender pay gap for fixed hourly pay as at 5th April 2020.
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 2020 was 34.12%.
Just over half, or 56%, of employees in the highest pay quartile at Stephensons are female, compared to 74% in the second quartile, 85% in the third quartile and 83% in the lowest pay quartile. Of its partner population, over half (56%) are women, 43% are in senior management roles and in total 71% of the firm’s solicitors are female.
Notably, when analysing the gender pay gap by pay quartiles, Stephensons reported a lower-than-average pay difference between employees of a similar level. In fact, for those in the upper pay quartile, the mean average pay for females is slightly higher than that of males.
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 has already included the roll out of agile working across the firm 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 firm’s approach to flexible, agile and remote working has also significantly benefited its ability to attract and retain female members of staff.
Andrew Welch, Managing Partner at Stephensons, said: “At a senior level our firm is well represented by both male and female team members and I am encouraged to see that close to three quarters of the firm’s solicitor cohort is now female.
As a firm, Stephensons has a large number of female staff in our support and administrative teams which can have a bearing on our overall figures. However, we remain committed to the promotion of inclusion and diversity at all levels within the firm and to ensuring that all our staff have access to the very best development opportunities.