Transparency data

DESNZ: gender pay gap report, 2024 (accessible webpage)

Published 17 December 2024

Summary

From 2017, employers with a headcount of 250 or more must comply with regulations on gender pay gap reporting. Gender pay gap calculations are based on employer payroll data drawn from a specific date each year.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average (mean or median) earnings of men and women across a workforce.

Background

The gender pay gap calculations look at the entire workforce of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). The main factor driving the pay gap in the Department is an imbalance of men and women by grade. More men are employed at Grade 7 and above, and more women are employed at SEO and below.

For DESNZ, the headline 2024 GPG figures show a mean gap of 3.6%, and a median gap of 8.7%.

What is being done to reduce the gap

• talent programmes for all staff at all grades
• focused coaching for those in our Places for Growth locations
• encouraging and promoting staff networks
• using different forms of recruitment to reach a wide range of individuals
• investing in line management training
• continually monitoring diversity data and looking for ways to improve
• reviewing our employee offer
• implementing and developing our D&I strategy

Introduction

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has prepared this report as part of the legal requirement for public authorities to publish their Gender Pay Gap (GPG) on an annual basis.

This report fulfils the Department’s reporting requirements, analyses the figures in more detail and sets out what we are doing to close the gender pay gap in the organisation.

The reporting period is 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

Organisational context

DESNZ was formed from machinery of government changes in February 2023, mainly drawing teams from the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). DESNZ supports the fair treatment and reward of all staff irrespective of gender. The Civil Service, including DESNZ, wants to create a diverse and representative workplace, supporting an inclusive, flexible, modern, and connected Civil Service. Encouraging openness, challenge, innovation, and excellence, in everything we do, in line with our Departmental Values, People Priorities and D&I Strategy.

Gender Pay Gap report

The GPG figures show the difference in the average pay between all men and women in a workforce. If a workforce has a particularly high gender pay gap this can indicate there may be several issues to deal with. The individual calculations may help to identify what those issues are.

The Gender Pay Gap is different to equal pay. Equal pay deals with the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs, or work of equal value. It is unlawful to pay people differently because they are a man or a woman.

The mean gap and median gap are two key metrics used to assess the difference in pay between men and women within an organisation.

The mean pay gap compares the average hourly earnings of men and women. The median pay gap focuses on the middle point of the pay distribution for men and women.

Similarly, the mean bonus gap and median bonus gap compare the bonuses received by men and women in an organisation.

Headline data for DESNZ

The data below shows that DESNZ has a relatively small mean pay gap, particularly in bonuses, where the split is almost equal between men and women staff. However, the median pay gap suggests a greater disparity for employees in the middle of the pay range.

Headlines for gender pay gap
Mean gender pay gap	3.6%
Median gender pay gap	8.7%
Mean bonus gender pay gap	1.2%
Median bonus gender pay gap	0.0%

Table 1: Proportion of men and women receiving bonus

% women receiving a bonus	% men receiving a bonus
85.2%	84.0%

Table 2: Distribution of staff across pay quartiles

% men in upper quartile	% women in upper quartile
54.9%	45.1%

% men in upper middle quartile	% women in upper middle quartile
52.8%	47.2%

% men in lower middle quartile	% women in lower middle quartile
46.3%	53.7%

% men in lower quartile	% women in lower quartile
48.3%	51.7%

Tables showing the breakdown of DESNZ staff by pay quartiles. There are more women in the lower two quartiles and more men are in the higher two quartiles.

Analysis of Pay Gap

For DESNZ, the headline 2024 GPG figures show a mean gap of 3.6%, and a median gender gap of 8.7%.

The table below shows the make-up of DESNZ staff. DESNZ has an almost even number of men and women working in the Department, but there is varying distributions of men and women across different grades. The main factor driving the pay gap in DESNZ is an uneven split of men and women by grade.

This was also the case in the DESNZ’s predecessor BEIS since the introduction of GPG reporting, although the gaps have narrowed since 2017.

Whilst the AO grade is heavily male dominated (70%) this is a small population (30 staff), and an outlier in the general picture of more men at higher grades.

There are more women at EO grade (62.95%), and at HEO/SEO grade (52.03%). This then changes at Grade 7 and above, where there are more men at G7/G6 (52.13%) and SCS level (56.34%).

It should be noted that the largest difference in split by grade is at SCS level, meaning that 56.34% of senior leaders are men.

The uneven split by grade is reflected most notably in the median pay gap as the figures are effectively comparing an SEO woman with a Grade 7 man.

There is a correlation between increasing seniority and higher pay, and this is demonstrated in the ‘Pay Quartiles’ table above, where there are more women in the lower two quartiles and more men in the higher two quartiles.

Table 3: Gender make-up of the department

2024 gender make-up of the department	Number of men (% of men who work in this grade)	% of grade that are men	Number of women (% of women who work in this grade)	% of grade that are women
AO	21 (0.96%)	70%	9 (0.41%)	30%
EO	83 (3.81%)	37.05%	141 (6.45%)	62.95%
HEO/SEO	899 (41.31%)	47.97%	975 (44.62%)	52.03%
G7/G6	1053 (48.39%)	52.13%	967 (44.2%)	47.87%
SCS	120 (5.51%)	56.34%	93 (4.26%)	43.66%
Total:	2176	49.90%	2185	50.10%

Table 4: Staff proportion in DESNZ

Grade	Men	Women
AO	21	9
EO	83	141
HEO/SEO/FS	899	975
G6/7	1053	967
SCS	120	93
Total:	2176	2185

Table showing the distribution of men and women across grades within DESNZ. There are more men in higher grades (G7, G6, SCS) and more women in lower and middle grades (EO, HEO, SEO, FS).

Analysis of the Bonus Gap

The DESNZ in-year award scheme (IYA) follows the former BEIS IYA process.  It enables peers to recognise and reward individuals or teams. Nominations for In Year Awards may be made for a valuable contribution that furthers the aims and objectives of DESNZ or meets a strong shorter-term operational challenge or a corporate contribution. Colleagues can also be nominated for displaying the DESNZ Values. In-year rewards include:

• Love2Shop e-vouchers of £25, £50, £75 or £100 - the maximum that can be awarded as an e-voucher in any one award (though more than one e-voucher award totalling more than £100 can be given at the same time for different achievements if merited)
• cash awards of £150, £300, £500 or £800

The maximum amount any one individual can be rewarded per year is £2,000. This includes both cash and e-voucher awards.

The bonus gap data is based on both cash payments and vouchers paid to DESNZ staff.

Mean bonus Gender Pay Gap for DESNZ:

• This means that the mean (average) bonus paid to men is 1.2% more than the mean (average) bonus paid to women

Median bonus Gender Pay Gap for DESNZ:

• This means that the mean (average) bonus paid to men and women is the same, reflecting complete parity in bonus distribution at the median

This figures for both the mean and median bonus gaps are very small (1.2% and 0.0%), reflecting the department’s strong commitment to providing equal access to bonuses for both men and women.

Table 5: Number of bonuses paid to staff

Number of bonuses paid to women	Number of bonuses paid to men
1927	1868

Targeted actions to reduce and close the Gender Pay Gap

What we have done in the last year

• successfully implemented the Diversity and Inclusion action plan
• embedded DESNZ Values, Bold, Collaborative, Inclusive, Learn, based on diverse colleague engagement
• the Talent Development offer is available at all grades, providing places on Civil Service high potential schemes as well as tailored DESNZ talent programmes
• Talent Conversations - DESNZ actively invests in talent and is committed to enabling all our people to fulfil their potential. We work to ensure that all our staff have the best options for development, regardless of grade or profession
• coaching offer – available to all colleagues, including London and Places for Growth. Dedicated coaching offer for high-potential SCS Women
• continued to monitor diversity data at all grades and inclusion scores to identify representation gaps and have worked with local D&I Group Leads to act in areas where there is disproportionate representation
• launched the new Civil Service Line Management Standards across the Department, and the supporting Line Manager Induction Programme (LMIP). LMIP is available to all via Civil Service Learning and is strongly recommended for new line managers and those who wish to refresh their knowledge
  The standards include specific reference to building effective and inclusive team culture, and to making inclusive decisions
• DESNZ is retaining its commitment to virtual recruitment processes, implemented during the pandemic, it is proving particularly useful in recruiting to various locations
• DESNZ continually reviews recruitment practice, to ensure that we are reaching out to a wide and diverse field. We believe that a range of backgrounds leads to diverse thinking and produces robust and strong policy as a result
• invested in our public-facing careers materials to emphasise the many benefits of joining DESNZ as an employer that champions diversity and inclusion and flexible-working practices
• the Women Empowered Network (WE) hosted inspiring sessions on women’s leadership journeys to provide insights into the varying career paths women can take and to encourage women to think about career progression within, for example, STEM-related policy roles such as nuclear and energy security. Arranged workshops to help with preparation for job applications and interviews to support the career development of women across DESNZ
• the Ethnic Minority Women’s Working Group have developed multiple initiatives to address barriers affecting Ethnic Minority women, including workshops on tackling imposter syndrome

What we will be doing going forward

• currently developing a refreshed D&I strategy which will include representation targets across protected groups including women
• we will continue to monitor progress against our diversity data and People Survey inclusion scores and facilitate sharing of best practice
• there are also profession specific Networks that promote Ethnic Minority representation among women of that profession, for example Ethnic Minority Women Analysts
• investing in our public-facing careers materials to emphasise the many benefits of joining DESNZ as an employer that champions diversity and inclusion and flexible-working practices
• the Integrated Corporate Service team has started researching and reviewing data on how to market the department effectively, working in partnership with DESNZ. That involves designing outreach communications and sessions that support anyone interested in applying to DESNZ Our last promotional material focussed on changing careers and achieving a work life balance, alongside caring responsibilities
• we regularly review recruitment diversity data, to monitor the appointments to candidates with protected characteristics.  Recent data shows that 50% of appointments made are to women
• the Recruitment team will continue to focus activities on attracting from underrepresented groups and ensuring the Department has a diverse pipeline of talent
• the recruitment process itself is robust, we mandate the use of a gender mix for both sifting and interviewing. All panels must also have an independent member, away from the direct hiring area to minimise group think. We have also recently refreshed our call for independent panel members, by promoting it through the diversity networks. There is a requirement for all SCS recruitment to have a diverse panel
• the department offers family friendly policies and advertises all jobs as available for flexible working, full-time, job share or part time unless this is a very strong business case not to and maintain an active women’s network that run regular topical sessions and offer mutual support
• helping managers improve the language in job adverts by offering a quality assurance process before adverts are launched to provide advice on the language used and the planned assessment process. The department also recommends using an augmented writing tool that helps to produce write inclusive job adverts. By removing gender bias, we hope to further improve our attraction. We are currently researching the rates of applications where a decoder is used
• we are reviewing our Employee Offer to reflect diverse needs of colleagues

Declaration

We confirm that data reported by The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is accurate and has been calculated according to the requirements and methodology set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017.

Jeremy Pocklington
Permanent Secretary, Department of Energy Security and Net Zero