University of Leicester report shows vast gender pay gap
Written by Ayan Artan
Students are ‘disappointed’ by the vast pay gap between women and men at the University of Leicester. The reaction comes following the Government’s annual Gender Pay Gap Report for the last year which compares the median hourly wages at the University.
The statistics disappointed students at the University, with Second Year Mohammed Ayoub stating: “Those numbers are not only disappointing but deeply worrying.
“There is no excuse for people to be treated or paid differently because of their gender, especially not in 2020. Those kinds of backwards views should not be accepted, and the University must do more to make sure this stops.”
The Report found that women at the university earned just 82p for every £1 that men received; a gap of around 19%. The disparity widened even further when looking at Bonus pay, with the gap being around 65%- with women receiving only 33p for every £1 made by their male counterparts.
When the Report’s findings were put to the University of Leicester for a comment, their spokesperson said:
“We are committed to ensuring that the University of Leicester provides an environment in which every member of staff can flourish.
“The gender pay gap is taken extremely seriously, which is why we are moving to a SMARTer action plan (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Bound) informed by detailed data that highlights the challenges in relation to the gender pay gap in different areas and levels of the University.
“This will enable the University to tackle this issue in a more focussed and evidence driven way.
“In addition to this detailed review, we have already put in place a number of actions to help tackle this issue, including flexible working and a leadership programme developed by the University called Women Leading with Purpose.
“As part of this initiative, we also have networking and support opportunities through our Women’s Forum and Carer and Parents Network, and development and leadership programmes, which have gender equality and unconscious bias awareness embedded throughout.”
The University is a part of the HeForShe campaign, a solidarity movement that calls upon men and boys to stand up against the persisting inequalities faced by women and girls globally.
It means that the University’s record when it comes to issues such as the gender pay gap will continue to be under scrutiny, with many looking to next year’s report to see if there is any difference.
Ayan Artan is a proud Somali-born and Leicester-bred pop culture, politics and social justice writer who is into her first-year Journalism with Creative Writing Degree. She hopes to use her creativity to tell the stories of the marginalised and to correct previously perpetuated narratives through her art.
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