In the United Kingdom, all employers with more than 250 employees have to submit a report with salary information to assess the gender pay gap. Allen & Overy is the latest Magic Circle firm to release its data under the Equality Act 2010 — and while A&O’s gap is not as pronounced as the pay gap at other firms, it seems there is still a lot of work to be done.
The average pay gap between male employees and female employees was just under 20 percent (19.8). As has become a trend in analyzing these reports, women tend the occupy support roles at the firm, and thus account for a big part of the disparity. As reported by Law.com:
The report reveals that more than 25% of London staff are women in business support roles, and that 71% of employees in the firm’s lowest-paid quartile are female – an imbalance which means that average hourly pay for male staff is 19.8% higher and average bonuses for men are 42.1% higher.
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But just saying the pay gap can be chalked up to different roles at the firm is overly simplistic and inaccurate. A closer look at the top pay quartile — comprised of associates, counsel, senior managers and directors — still reveals a 13.6 percent pay gap.
The firm, through Global HR director Sasha Hardman, has acknowledged the pay discrepancy is a problem, and one they are actively trying to combat:
[Global HR director Sasha] Hardman said: “Following [senior partner] Wim Dejonghe and [managing partner] Andrew Ballheimer’s appointments in 2016, gender diversity has been a priority area of focus. The gender pay gap report is a helpful proof point. More of the senior roles in the upper quartile [of our employees] are held by men, which impacts the bonus discrepancy.”
The firm’s report acknowledges that it has “not succeeded in retaining and promoting enough” of its best women, and that it has put strategies in place – including creating a gender advisory committee – to ensure it is making progress.
Only time will tell how effective these strategies really are.
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