The University's gender pay gap currently stands at 20.2 per centSimon Lock

A law which came into force last Thursday will force changes to the way the University publishes figures on its gender pay gap.

The law applies to more than 9,000 companies in the UK who employ 250 or more staff. They will be required to publish an annual report detailing the difference in the average total earnings of men and women, the difference in the average bonuses paid to men and women and the gender demographic of every wage band.

The report must be published on the company’s website, accompanied by a written statement, and sent to government.

The University already publishes its figures every two years, but now will be obliged to do so every year.

It is hoped that having the size of their gender pay gap placed in the public domain will incentivise companies to take measures to address wage disparities. As part of the new law, the government is encouraging companies to create and publish an ‘action plan’ for eliminating the gender pay gap within their organisation, although this is not compulsory.

Despite the fact that the Equal Pay Act, which prohibits paying women less than men for the same job, has been in force for 47 years, the UK’s gender pay gap currently stands at 18 per cent. According to the World Economic Forum, the UK has the 20th smallest gender pay gap in the world.

The University currently assesses equal pay data every year, and has published an Equal Pay Review every two years since 2009.

According to the most recent report, published last year, the gender pay gap at the University currently stands at 20.2 per cent. Women are disproportionately underrepresented at the higher end of the pay scale, and the bonuses they receive are fewer and smaller than their male counterparts. However, improvements have been seen towards equal pay in all of these areas.

In 2016, the average total annual salary for a woman was £34,091, whereas men were paid £42,717. The figures represent the smallest gender pay gap since the University began assessing the data: in 2008, pay gap stood at 24 per cent.

The 2016 report identified a need for the University’s Gender Equality Steering Group (GESG) to “explore in further detail” the extant gender pay gap, in particular any gaps greater than five percent. The GESG will, according to the report, seek to “determine any contributing factors,” including any potential “gender related issues.”

Also identified in the report were a number of measures that have been taken by the University to address the dearth of women at the higher end of the pay scale, including hosting a ‘Delivering Equality: Women and Success’ summit in March 2015.

Speaking to Varsity, a University spokesperson said that addressing the gender pay gap formed part of the University’s Gender and Equality Strategy.

They continued: “The University of Cambridge is committed to the principles of equal pay for work of equal value, freedom from discrimination and recognition and reward of the University’s staff as its greatest asset.”