The deadline for UK gender pay gap reporting, which requires all private sector organisations with more than 250 employees to submit their data, passed on Friday 4 April 2025 – and government figures show that nearly four fifths (78%) of reporting employers continue to have a pay gap in favour of men.
The UK’s median hourly gender pay gap now stands at 8.6 percent for the 2024-25 reporting period, representing only a slight improvement on last year’s figure of 8.95 percent. Although marginal, the reduction highlights the slow pace of change despite ongoing scrutiny. Research released in January suggests that suggests that it could take another it might take up to 40 years to close the gender pay gap in the UK.
A total of 10,650 employers submitted their reports before the deadline. With around 11,000 businesses required to report, this marks a compliance rate of more than 95 percent. The proportion of late submissions has decreased significantly in recent years, from 14 percent in 2020-21 to 9 percent in 2023-24 and now down to approximately 5 percent.
Of those that reported on time, 8,294 disclosed a gender pay gap in favour of men. This mirrors the previous year’s data, in which 8,101 companies (78 percent) reported a male-favouring gap. In 2020, that figure stood at 5,667 (80 percent), indicating a slow but consistent trend towards narrowing the gap.
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Women still underrepresented in senior roles
The composition of leadership roles shows little movement. Women continue to make up around 42 percent of employees in the top quartile of earners and 46 percent in the upper middle quartile. These proportions are virtually the same as the previous year’s figures, suggesting limited progress in elevating women to senior or higher-paid roles.
Certain sectors remain significantly behind the national average. Sifted data shows that financial firms are among the worst performers, with Atom Bank reporting a median hourly gender pay gap of 32.4 percent, Checkout.com at 21.3 percent and Revolut at 12.7 percent. Similarly, analysis from UKTN places the average gap in the tech sector at 17.5 percent, well above the national figure.
These disparities indicate that women in finance and tech continue to face structural barriers, with limited representation in senior leadership and persistent pay inequality.
Accountability and education key to closing the gap
Industry professionals are calling for greater accountability across organisations. Alex Pusenjak, VP People and Culture at order management system Fluent Commerce, said that organisations need to take serious action.
“Words are not enough. The gender pay gap isn’t an ‘issue’ for the CEO or the Senior Leadership Team to ‘resolve’. Systems and processes have to be adopted where everyone has accountability to ensure employees are being remunerated fairly and equally, regardless of their gender,” Pusenjak told HR Review.
“To ensure gender and pay equity, leadership teams need to be educated on what it is and why it’s important. Only then can organisations start thinking about the ‘how’. It’s important to make the business case for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, incorporating it to everything from the beginning.”
He also noted the value of Employee Resource Groups in driving measurable progress, adding that shared responsibility is essential for any real progress to be made.
“The UK’s gender pay gap will not come down unless we all take responsibility to reduce it. Employers need to step up and provide women with equality in the workplace and pay them what they’re worth – the same as men.”
