UK gender pay gap report 2024
Our annual gender pay gap report for UK employees is a snapshot of where we are and where we are aiming for as we strive for a more equitable future.
A statement from our CEO
In April 2024, we took an important step towards greater transparency and accountability by publishing our first Gender Pay Gap Report. The data from 2023 provided a clear picture of where we stood and what needed to change.
One of the key challenges in addressing the gender pay gap is the time lag between action and measurable results. The data in this year's report—taken from a snapshot on 4 April 2024—was already close to finalisation when we published last year's report. As a result, our 2024 commitments will not be reflected until the 2025 report, maybe even beyond, serving as an important reminder that meaningful change takes time. While we have made positive strides, closing the gender pay gap requires sustained commitment and cultural change—not just a single initiative or one year's work.
That said, we are seeing encouraging signs of progress, with the gender pay gap narrowing across all our entities. More women are moving into senior roles across various parts of the business, a strong indication that we are heading in the right direction. However, despite an increase of 14 women in the business, the overall percentage of women in our UK workforce declined slightly (-0.6%), reinforcing the need to stay focused on recruitment, retention, and career development—areas where we are already making meaningful progress. Our gender pay gap, which we remain committed to reducing, reflects internal challenges and broader societal, geographical, and sectoral disparities. Of course, this context does not excuse the gap, and we remain dedicated to driving meaningful change in our company and the sector as a whole.
In our 2024 report, we pledged to improve diversity in recruitment, and I am proud to share that applications from women increased by 6% in the UK and 3% globally in 2024. This progress is a direct result of our talent team's efforts to refine job descriptions and remove gender-coded language.
When we published our first report last year, I made it clear that it was just the beginning. That commitment remains as strong as ever. We are dedicated to embedding these changes into our business and unlocking the global benefits of a more diverse and equitable workforce. The work continues, and its importance has never been greater.
Simon Haighton Williams, CEO, The Adaptavist Group
Understanding the gender pay gap
Our overview page contains more information about the gender pay gap globally, reporting requirements, equal pay, and important definitions for terms that we use in our reports.
Reporting, methodology, and timeframe
For those who want to dive into the details, you can find the full methodology for how employers should prepare their data here. The data for Adaptavist Holdings Ltd. represents a combination of all eligible employees based in the UK. This report is prepared in accordance with the government requirement for the snapshot data on 4 April 2024. We have incorporated additional comparison information from our report dated 4 April 2023.
Why do we have three sets of data represented in our gender pay gap reporting?
We have several legal entities in the UK, however, our UK employees are employed by either ARUK Global Ltd or Clever Consultants Ltd (Brew Digital). The ultimate parent company for all of our entities is Adaptavist Holdings Limited, therefore, a combined report provides a snapshot of the employees from both ARUK Global Limited and Clever Consultants Ltd.
Our annual gender pay gap report for UK employees is a snapshot of our current position and our goals as we strive for a more equitable future. The report shows data from ARUK Global Ltd. and Clever Consultants Ltd. and then displays the combined data from both entities under Adaptavist Holdings Ltd. to show a complete picture of our data for all UK employees.
Legend
To make it easier to interpret changes in the data, we use the following colour codes:
🟢 Improvement: The situation has changed for the better.
🟡 No significant change: There has been little to no change, or circumstances make comparisons unreliable (e.g., changes in bonus pay).
🔴 Decline: The situation has changed for the worse.
UK Gender Pay Gap findings
Below are the outcomes of the UK gender pay gap reporting:
- (1) Adaptavist Holdings Ltd. (parent company for all UK employees)
- (2) ARUK Global Ltd. and
- (3) Clever Consultants Ltd. (Brew Digital)
(1) Adaptavist Holdings Ltd.
Employee data
On 4 April 2024, there were 410 employees that met the requirements to be included in the gender pay gap calculation:
- 38.4% of these employees were women.
- 61.6% of these employees were men.
Women
Men
Employees of Adaptavist Holdings Ltd. on 4 April 2024
Hourly pay gap
| Average type | Women % lower than men (2023) | Women % lower than men (2024) | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 25.10% | 25.54% | ↑ 0.44% 🔴 |
| Median | 22.71% | 16.37% | ↓ -6.34% 🟢 |
When comparing median hourly pay, women earn 83.63p for every £1 earned by men. Last year's report reflected women earning 77.29p for every £1 earned by men. This shows an increase of 6.34p from last year's report, meaning the median wage gap has decreased by 6.34%. The median is considered a more accurate reflection of the pay gap.
Looking at mean (average) hourly pay, women earn 25.54% less than men on average.
The percentage of women in each pay quarter
Quartile data
The pay quartiles divide our employees into four equal groups based on hourly pay, from the lowest (quartile 1) to the highest (quartile 4).
| Pay quartile | Percentage of women (2023) | Percentage of women (2024) | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| All employees | 39.31% | 38.39% | ↓ -0.92% 🟡 |
| Lower | 57.33% | 53.40% | ↓ -3.93% 🟢 |
| Lower middle | 49.32% | 44.66% | ↓ -4.66% 🟢 |
| Upper middle | 29.58% | 35.29% | ↑ 5.71% 🟢 |
| Upper | 19.18% | 19.61% | ↑ 0.43% 🟡 |
- Women now hold 19.61 % of the highest-paid roles, a 0.43% increase from 2023.
- While women make up 53.40% of the lowest-paid roles in quartile 1, this number has decreased by 3.93% since 2023.
- Despite a reduction in the proportion of women overall in the UK, the percentage of women in the two highest-paid quartiles has increased.
If the quartile percentages were more reflective of the total employee percentage of men and women (i.e. 38.39% women and 61.61% men), the gender pay gap would be reduced.
Each quartile contains about 96 employees.
Pay quartiles within Adaptavist Holdings Ltd.
Bonus pay gap
Bonus pay gap by gender
| Average type | Women % lower than men (2023) | Women % lower than men (2024) | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 35.81% | 34.77% | ↓ -1.04% 🟢 |
| Median | 28.12% | 19.96% | ↓ -8.16% 🟢 |
Percentage of employees receiving a bonus
| Gender | 2023 | 2024 | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 75.58% | 79.52% | ↑ 3.94% 🟡 |
| Women | 75.65% | 79.87% | ↑ 4.22% 🟡 |
When comparing median bonus pay, women earn 80p for every £1 that men earn. Their median bonus pay is 19.96% lower than men's. This has increased from 2023 where women received 72p for every £1 that men received. Additionally, 4.22% more women were eligible for bonus pay, alongside 3.94% of men. This is partially due to a broader range of roles with commissions assigned to them, meaning more men were also eligible for commission, which typically has higher values attached than the bonus pay available to non-commissionable employees.
This information reflects both bonus and commission payments attached to business development/sales-type roles. When we look at the section around bonus pay, this imbalance is due to our data skewing towards a male-heavy sales and business development team, whose variable remuneration (commission) is represented in this section of the data.
(2) ARUK Global Ltd.
Employee data
On 4 April 2024, there were 367 employees who met the requirements to be included in the gender pay gap calculation:
- 39.1% of these employees were women.
- 60.9% of these employees were men.
Women
Men
Employees of ARUK Global Ltd. on 4 April 2024
Hourly pay gap
| Average type | Women % lower than men (2023) | Women % lower than men (2024) | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 28.13% | 29.84% | ↑ 1.71% 🔴 |
| Median | 24.37% | 17.01% | ↓ -7.36% 🟢 |
When comparing median hourly pay, women earn 83p for every £1 earned by men, meaning their median hourly wage is 17.01% lower. Looking at mean (average) hourly pay, women earn 29.84% less than men on average.
We have reduced the gap in median hourly pay by 7.36% from 2023 to 2024, equating to 7.36p more per £1 earned.
The percentage of women in each pay quarter
Quartile data
The quartiles represent our pay, which has been split into four equal bands from the lowest hourly pay (quartile 1) to the higher upper hourly pay (quartile 4). The pay quartiles divide our employees into four equal groups based on hourly pay, from the lowest (quartile 1) to the highest (quartile 4).
Women hold 16.48% of the highest-paid roles, a 1.1% increase from 2023. While women make up 60.87% of the lowest-paid roles in quartile 1, this number has significantly decreased since 2023, alongside an increase in the proportion of women in quartiles 3 and 4.
| Pay quartile | Percentage of women (2023) | Percentage of women (2024) | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| All employees | 40.54% | 39.07% | ↓ -1.47% 🔴 |
| Lower | 68.18% | 60.87% | ↓ -7.31% 🟢 |
| Lower middle | 44.62% | 42.39% | ↓ -2.23%🟢 |
| Upper middle | 32.31% | 35.87% | ↑ 3.56% 🟢 |
| Upper | 15.38% | 16.48% | ↑ 1.10% 🟢 |
If the quartile percentages were more reflective of the total employee percentage of men and women (i.e. 39.1% women and 60.9% men), the gender pay gap would be reduced.
Each quartile contains about 92 employees.
Pay quartiles within ARUK Global Ltd.
Bonus pay gap
Bonus pay gap by gender
| Average type | Women % lower than men (2023) | Women % lower than men (2024) | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 38.09% | 37.15% | ↓ -0.94% 🟡 |
| Median | 26.89% | 20.81% | ↓ -6.08% 🟢 |
Percentage of employees receiving a bonus
| Gender | 2023 | 2024 | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 76.67% | 77.73% | ↑ 1.06% 🟡 |
| Women | 75.47% | 80.00% | ↑ 4.53% 🟢 |
When comparing median bonus pay, women earn 79p for every £1 that men earn. Their median bonus pay is 20.81% lower than men's. Here, we are seeing a decrease in the median bonus pay gap.
(3) Clever Consultants Limited (Brew Digital)
Employee data
On 4 April 2024, 43 employees met the requirements to be included in the gender pay gap calculation:
- 32.6% of these employees were women.
- 67.4% of these employees were men.
Women
Men
Employees of Clever Consultants Ltd. on 4 April 2024
Hourly pay gap
| Average type | Women % lower than men (2023) | Women % lower than men (2024) | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | -5.03% | -34.87% | ↑ 29.84% 🔴 |
| Median | -3.58% | -2.99% | ↓ -0.59% 🟡 |
The data shows that women earn £1.35 for every £1 that men earn when comparing mean hourly pay. Their mean hourly wage is 34.87% greater than men's. When comparing median hourly pay, women's median hourly wage is 2.99% more than men's. In 2023, women earned more than men across both mean and median wages. In 2024, women still earn more than men, and the amount is 30p greater.
The percentage of women in each pay quarter
Quartile data
The quartiles represent our pay, which has been split into four equal bands from the lowest hourly pay (quartile 1) to the higher upper hourly pay (quartile 4). The pay quartiles divide our employees into four equal groups based on hourly pay, from the lowest (quartile 1) to the highest (quartile 4).
Women hold 30% of the highest-paid roles, an increase of 1.43% since 2023. In the other three quartiles, women represent 27-36%, which broadly reflects their overall proportion at Clever Consultants Ltd.
| Pay quartile | Percentage of women (2023) | Percentage of women (2024) | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| All employees | 29.03% | 32.56% | ↑ 3.53% 🟢 |
| Lower | 25.00% | 36.36% | ↑ 11.36% 🟢 |
| Lower middle | 25.00% | 27.27% | ↑ 2.27% 🟢 |
| Upper middle | 37.50% | 36.36% | ↓ -1.14% 🔴 |
| Upper | 28.57% | 30.00% | ↑ 1.43% 🟢 |
If the quartile percentages were more reflective of the total employee percentage of men and women (i.e. 32.6% women and 67.4% men), the gender pay gap would be reduced.
Each quartile contains about 11 employees.
Pay quartiles within Clever Consultants Ltd.
Bonus pay gap
Bonus pay gap by gender
| Average type | Women % lower than men (2023) | Women % lower than men (2024) | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 19.47% | 7.10% | ↓ -12.37% 🟢 |
| Median | 32.50% | -5.74% | ↓ -38.24% 🟢 |
Percentage of employees receiving a bonus
| Gender | 2023 | 2024 | Yr on yr variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 68.18% | 93.10% | ↑ 24.92% 🟡 |
| Women | 77.78% | 78.57% | ↑ 0.79% 🟡 |
Women earn 1.06p for every £1 that men earn when comparing median bonus pay. Their median bonus pay is 5.74% higher than men's, meaning the gap has decreased by 38.24% since 2023.
Why do we see some of these differences?
As with our 2023 report, our UK workforce still has more men than women at the snapshot date. While some departments have strong female representation, we must do more in areas like senior leadership, technical roles, and commission-based positions, as reflected in the bonus pay gap.
It is important to clarify that we do not pay people differently based on gender—it is illegal in the UK to pay individuals differently for the same job. Instead, our pay gap reflects a higher proportion of men in higher-paid roles, more senior roles, and business areas with higher market wages. Our commitment to leadership and management training for women will hopefully improve this in the coming years, as will the continued improvement of our recruitment processes and the pledge that all employees take unconscious bias training.
We are making progress, with some improvements visible in the data and others set measurable in next year's report. However, there is still more to do—both internally and externally.
We pledge to continue our education-focused charity partners and to work with global universities to offer internships and training programmes, expanding opportunities and broadening the candidate pool so that there will be more diversity in all areas of business in the future.
Gender disparity in sales and business development impacting bonus pay
Bonus data represented in this report includes both bonus and commission payments. We have a commission structure for our business development (sales) team. We have a discretionary bonus structure for the majority of employees. Employees are generally only eligible for one of these schemes.
At the time that the data reflects, our business development (sales) team was male-dominated. The imbalance in bonus pay is a result of the hourly pay gap, but it was further widened by the male-dominated business development team.
Summary
Publishing our gender pay gap report for our UK employees is one of many steps towards addressing gender pay disparities across our organisation, both in the UK and globally. While we've made progress, there is still much to learn and improve across the entire organisation. We remain committed to closing the pay gap and driving meaningful change for all our colleagues.
Further reading
- Research from PWC indicates that it could take over 45 years to close the gender pay gap in the UK.
- The gender pay gap varies by sector, with finance and insurance having the largest gap on average. TUC research puts finance and insurance at 27.9%, and Isio at 23%.
- The World Economic Forum details how the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the time it will take to close the global gender pay gap to 136 years.
- The Tech Nation Report 2024 explores trends in the UK tech industry further.
- Google offers a summary of UK and global gender pay gap research.