The gender pay gap
We have a gender pay gap because the vast majority of our staff – 87.7% – are women. This reflects the position within the wider NHS and healthcare system, which employs significantly more women than men. As the table below shows, the percentage of men and women employed by Suffolk Primary Care has remained largely unchanged for the last three years:
Year ending | Women | Men |
31/03/2024 | 87.7% | 12.3% |
31/03/2023 | 86.6% | 13.4% |
31/03/2022 | 87.2% | 12.8% |
The gender pay gap is not the same as equal pay, and reporting a gender pay gap does not mean that women are paid less than men for doing the same job. Instead, it shows that on average, men occupy higher paying roles than women.
Mean and median hourly pay
The gender pay gap is the percentage difference between average hourly earnings for men and women, calculated as a percentage of men’s hourly earnings rate. A positive percentage value indicates that men have a higher pay rate in comparison to women.
The table below gives details of our most recent gender pay gap analysis for the year ending 31 March 2024 compared with the previous two years:
Year | Difference in mean (average) hourly rate of pay | Difference in median hourly rate of pay |
31/03/2024 | 32.8% | 49.4% |
31/03/2023 | 33.5% | 49.5% |
31/03/2022 | 52% | 48.2% |
Both the median and mean gaps are unchanged this year as staffing has remained largely the same
Breakdown of staff in each pay quartile
Quartile | Women | Men |
2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
1 – Lower hourly pay quartile (lowest paid) | 86.1% | 94.1% | 93.7% | 13.9% | 5.9% | 6.3% |
2 – Lower middle hourly pay quartile | 96.5% | 96.0% | 95.8% | 3.5% | 4% | 4.2% |
3 – Upper middle hourly pay quartile | 93.9% | 91.1% | 91.7% | 6.1% | 8.9% | 8.3% |
4 – Upper hourly pay quartile (highest paid) | 72.2% | 65.4% | 69.5% | 27.8% | 34.7% | 30.5% |
It is important to note that most of our senior staff, which includes our practice operations managers and executive team, are women. Although GP partners are not included in gender pay gap reporting, the vast majority are also female.
Summary
We work hard to create a diverse and inclusive work environment which offers equal opportunities and treatment for all of our staff. We want our teams to feel valued and rewarded for the dedication they show to our patients, and are accredited by the Living Wage Foundation to support our lowest paid staff. We also review the pay of all staff annually.
We are committed to narrowing the gender pay gap by attracting more men to our workforce and continuing to increase the proportion of women in senior roles. However, the pay gap figure is unlikely to change significantly unless we are able to achieve a more even split between the total numbers of male and female staff we employ.
