2023 Gender Pay Gap Report
Published 20 December 2024
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1. 2023 Gender Pay Gap Report
2. Executive Summary
The UK Space Agency has prepared this report as part of the legal requirement for public authorities to publish their gender pay gap (GPG) on an annual basis. The Agency is an executive agency of DSIT, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology with a total headcount of 267 as at 31 March 2023.
The Agency continues to have a nearly 50/50 split between genders in the workforce, and the mean and median gender pay gaps have continued to reduce over the previous year.
The mean ordinary GPG has decreased significantly by 3.8 percentage points (ppt) to 6.2%.
The median ordinary GPG has decreased by 1 ppt to 15.1%.
Our mean GPG is slightly lower than the overall mean GPG for the Civil Service (8.1% in 2023) and higher than the overall median GPG (9.6% in 2023).
Our mean and median bonus gap have decreased significantly compared to 2022, at minus10.5% (mean, 27.7% in 2022) and 0.0% (median, 20.8% in 2022). These also compare favourably with the mean bonus GPG for the Civil Service as a whole (23.5% in 2023), and the median bonus GPG (25.4% in 2022).
It is primarily the Agency’s grade distribution that is the most significant contributor to the difference in average salaries across genders. We have proportionately more women than men in each grade below Grades SEO/HEO, so more men are in our more senior grades than women, including the Senior Civil Service. Clearly this imbalance needs addressing, but the relatively small size of the Agency, especially at higher grades, means that very small changes in staff can have a significant impact on gender distribution in those grades.
We continue to review our GPG Action Plan supported by our GPG Working Group to monitor the important steps we are taking to narrow the GPG in the Agency (see Our Approach below). These include:
- reviewing our recruitment processes and ensuring that our campaigns are inclusive (e.g. using gender-neutral language) and attract the best talent irrespective of gender, location or any other characteristics
- ensuring that all of our jobs and career opportunities are attractive to women by removing barriers and providing a supportive environment through flexible and family friendly policies such as the UK Space Agency Menopause Policy
- sharing a quarterly diversity data dashboard to demonstrate transparency, and regular actions to increase self-reporting rates of staff diversity declarations
- alignment to the Cabinet Office Inclusive Practice Team to ensure access to cross-government initiatives
- seeking support and feedback from our Staff Networks and Unions to help us to create an inclusive workplace for all
3. Introduction
The government introduced legislation in 2017 that made it statutory for organisations with 250 or more employees to report annually on their GPG. Government departments are covered by the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, which came into force on 31 March 2017.
These regulations underpin the Public Sector Equality Duty and require relevant organisations to annually publish their GPG by 31 March.
This report outlines the Agency’s strategy to improve the GPG, as well as providing examples of some of the actions currently being undertaken.
3.1 Organisational context
Our Structure
The Agency is an executive agency of DSIT, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
We support a thriving space sector in the UK, which generates an annual income of £18.9 billion and employs 52,000 people across the country (2024 figures). We have offices in London, Swindon and Harwell (and since 2024 also Edinburgh, Cardiff and Leicester) and have a diverse workforce occupying a wide range of roles. These include scientists, engineers, commercial experts, project managers and policy officials.
The Agency follows the normal Civil Service grading structure, and terms and conditions (including pay) reflect the parent department (DSIT) terms and conditions. At 31 March 2023 the workforce was 52.1% male and 47.9% female.
The Agency is undergoing a significant Transformation Programme which will change the structure of the organisation to match its delivery priorities.
Our Approach
The Agency is fully committed to having a truly diverse workforce and a culture of openness and inclusivity to help us deliver better outcomes for the community we serve. Our aim is to mainstream the delivery of diversity and inclusion and integrate this as business as usual into our new People Strategy from May 2024.
We are committed to closing the gender pay gap. Our gender pay gap action plan focuses on four thematic areas: reporting, recruitment, retention & transparency, and shifting culture.
In delivering our approach, our vision is to mainstream and harness the power of difference to enhance our culture so that our people can thrive and continue to make the Agency a great place to work.
Our approach focuses on delivering against the following four objectives, which are:
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to be an employer of choice and a great place to work – championing space and building an Agency where talented people choose to work and stay
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to have appropriate representation of all groups at all levels of the Agency – an Agency that is representative of the communities that it serves and everyone irrespective of background is able to fulfill their potential
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to create a healthy working environment for all – promoting a wellness culture so that everyone is able to thrive at work
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to build a culture that promotes respect, fairness, collaboration and innovation – ensuring that our staff work in a safe and healthy environment and are treated with dignity and respect
We use data-driven and evidence-led approaches informed by both the feedback and personal experiences of our people gathered in our monthly and ad hoc engagement surveys and quantitative data collected through our annual People Survey, to drive progress and transparently measure success, maintaining our focus on achieving key priorities outlined in the Declaration on Government Reform.
We work collaboratively with our Diversity and Inclusion Champions and proactive Staff Networks, to support engagement and knowledge sharing of staff experiences, and gain invaluable insights so the Agency is seen and experienced as a visibly inclusive employer.
We have a dedicated Employee Experience team who, as members of the Cross Government Head of Diversity and Inclusion Leads Group, are committed to being at the forefront of initiatives creating a forward thinking, diverse and truly inclusive UK Space Agency.
Our efforts on diversity and inclusion fully align with the approach set out in the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-2025.
4. Gender Pay Gap Report
The gender pay gap shows 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 that there may be a number of issues to deal with.
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 unequally because they are a man or a woman.
Hourly pay is calculated by taking the March 2023 annual salary for each employee in scope, dividing by 12 to get the monthly total (plus/minus additional pay elements such as bonuses or salary sacrifice). March hours are calculated as 30.44 (average number of days in a month) divided by 7 (days in a week). The GPG compliant hourly wage is then the March pay figure divided by the March hours figure.
The figures are all based on the Agency’s return for the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) 2023.
4.1 Table for UK Space Agency
| Reporting year | Pay gap | Bonus gap | ||
| Mean | Median | Mean | Median | |
| 2023 | 6.2% | 15.1% | -10.5% | 0.0% |
| 2022 | 10.0% | 16.1% | 27.7% | 20.8% |
| 2021 | 10.4% | 18.0% | -8.4% | 8.0% |
| 2020 | 11.9% | 17.9% | -5.0% | -20.0% |
| 2019 | 11.0% | 17.0% | -18.0% | -22.0% |
4.2 Percentage of men and women receiving a bonus
| Percentage of individuals receiving a bonus | ||
| Men | Women | |
| 2023 | 79.1% | 79.7% |
| 2022 | 67.4% | 66.7% |
4.3 Distribution of women through each pay quartile
| Percentage of women in each pay quartile | ||||
| Lower | Lower middle | Upper middle | Upper | |
| 2023 | 55.2% | 48.5% | 46.3% | 40.9% |
| 2022 | 64.6% | 50.0% | 47.7% | 40.0% |
4.4 Workforce analysis by grade grouping
| Grade(decreasing seniority) | Number of men (% of total male workforce) | Number of women (% of total female workforce) | % of women in the grade |
| SCS | 6 (4.3%) | 2 (1.6%) | 25% |
| Grade 6/7 | 64 (46.0%) | 57 (44.5%) | 47.1% |
| SEO/HEO | 65 (46.8%) | 61 (47.6%) | 48.4% |
| EO | 4 (2.9%) | 7 (5.5%) | 63.6% |
| AA/AO | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.8%) | 100% |
| Total | 139 | 128 | 47.9% |
This table shows the distribution of men and women across grades for the UK Space Agency at 31 March 2023.
4.5 Total staff gender split
| Year | Number of employees | % Female | % Male |
| 2023 | 267 | 47.9% | 52.1% |
| 2022 | 261 | 50.5% | 49.5% |
| 2021 | 256 | 52% | 48% |
| 2020 | 238 | 47% | 53% |
| 2019 | 187 | 47% | 53% |
This table shows the gender split for the whole Agency for the last five years.
5. Analysis of pay gap
The UK Space Agency is tied to the DSIT grading and pay award each year. This includes professional allowances and enhancements.
SCS (Senior Civil Service) pay, including bonus awards, is controlled centrally by the Cabinet Office. With low numbers of staff in the Agency’s SCS which attracts the greatest pay (and bonuses), the gender imbalance at this level contributes significantly to the overall gender pay gap for the Agency.
Both the mean and median gender pay gaps have reduced this year compared to previous years.
The continuing gap is mostly likely due to the gender split across grades (including SCS) which shows a greater proportion of female staff at lower grades (and therefore lower pay ranges).
6. Analysis of the bonus gap
The Agency follows the DSIT in-year award scheme which provides for quarterly bonus awards of either cash (up to £800) or vouchers (up to £100), up to a maximum of £2,000 per person per year, agreed by directorate panels each quarter.
SCS (Senior Civil Service) pay, including bonus awards, is controlled centrally by the Cabinet Office. With low numbers of staff in the Agency’s SCS which attracts the greatest pay and bonuses, the gender imbalance at this level contributes significantly to the overall gender bonus gap for the Agency.
Both the mean and median bonus gaps have decreased this year, with the mean bonus gap showing a negative gap in favour of female staff.
There are no specific controls built into the in-year award scheme, and nominations are encouraged from across all staff. However, awards are checked each year for consistency, fairness and diversity trends.
7. Targeted action to reduce and close the Gender Pay Gap
Addressing the gender pay gap requires a holistic and multi-faceted approach. We work with our stakeholders via our GPG Working Group to identify any issues or barriers and have reviewed our action plan to enable us to continue to narrow the gap.
7.1 What we have achieved in the last year
Reporting
To create greater gender and intersectional diversity in all grade bands within the Agency.
Encouraged self-reporting through a self-reporting campaign as part of National Inclusion Week and at bi-monthly staff inductions.
Quarterly diversity dashboards are now shared with senior leadership team and wider stakeholder groups to give a better understanding of the makeup of our workforce. This is aimed at ensuring that gaps are identified and that appropriate steps are taken to integrate D&I (Diversity and Inclusion) into all business processes and practices.
Recruitment
To increase transparency of recruitment process and opportunities.
In-house recruitment training is available to all recruiting managers, and completion of the Civil Service Expectations course is mandatory for recruitment panel members. This is aimed at ensuring that recruitment campaigns are conducted in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.
All job adverts include gender neutral language as standard (alongside other inclusive language).
EOIs and temporary cover opportunities are now openly advertised by default.
Support and assistance offered to all UK Space Agency staff returning to work following a break (e.g. career break, maternity, or adoption leave).
Continued to promote diverse panel members for all interviews. This is to ensure inclusive & diverse outcomes for recruitment campaigns.
Retention & Transparency
To facilitate the retention of women including those returning from maternity or longer-term leave.
Ensuring that our Hybrid Working policy is promoted and consistently applied across the Agency.
Raising awareness of our UK Space Agency Menopause Policy and UK Space Agency Wellbeing Policy. We are also helping our staff to thrive through a range of wider flexible and family friendly policies such as Shared Parental Leave policy.
We have further increased the diversity of our Executive team. At the time of reporting four of our directors are female and some directors are from other under-represented groups.
Shifting Culture
To improve the lived experience and culture within the Agency, measured through People Survey results and engagement with the Women’s Network (including appointing senior champions and holding events).
Developed and implemented interventions through our Respect at Work campaigns to help improve the experiences of staff at work. The interventions include: the UK Space Agency Standards of Behaviour Policy, UK Space Agency Respectful Behaviour Policy and UK Space Agency Respect at Work Charter.
Actively take part in National Campaigns such as National Inclusion and Speak Up weeks supported by our active Staff Networks, Unions and Senior Leadership.
Promoting and encouraging staff to complete the Civil Service Mandatory Training (including the new training on D&I – Civil Service Expectations).
Upskilling staff to effectively undertake Equality Impact Assessments and where necessary, put in place appropriate mitigations.
7.2 What we will be doing going forward
Refresh our People Strategy integrating our D&I and Wellbeing strategies to ensure they are seen as business as usual and increase impact.
We will ensure that our ongoing transformation programme does not reduce gender, ethnicity or other diversity characteristics in the workforce. All changes with people implications will be impact assessed and appropriate mitigations put in place.
We will continue to encourage self-reporting across a range of diversity dimensions and develop a clearer picture of the makeup of our workforce.
We will identify gaps in our D&I data and work with our data analysts to improve our data.
Learning and development opportunities will continue to be promoted across all grades.
We will integrate D&I into business processes and systems such as ensuring continued compliance with the requirements of the 2018 Accessibility Regulations, and Health and Safety legislation to ensure our estate is Accessible to all and improving the capability and understanding of the Public Sector Equality Duty in the Agency. We will utilise data to improve inclusion and diversity outcomes for all.
The Agency will continue to role model for the space sector and encourage and support gender diversity, through soft and hard powers e.g. ensuring grants are equitable.
We will build on the Respect at Work campaign and Respect at Work Speaker Series to endow our colleagues with the information and skills needed to improve our positive culture and ensure they feel psychologically safe.
8. Declaration
We confirm that data reported by the UK Space Agency 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.
Joanna Paterson
People Director
UK Space Agency