Our gender pay gap report 2023 to 2024

This is CDPS’s second year reporting on our gender pay gap. Whilst CDPS is not required to report on our gender pay gap, we believe it is important to work in the open and work to promote inclusivity in all aspects. 

We confirm that the gender pay gap data contained in this report is accurate and has been produced in accordance with the guidance issued on GOV.UK. Gender pay gap reporting is calculated on an annual basis and shows the percentage difference between the hourly earnings of men and women. This is different to Equal Pay which considers the pay difference between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value. 

This report highlights that our gender pay gap has decreased from 20.68% to -8.52%. As an organisation we are pleased that our figures are well below the UK wide average of 7.7% in April 2023, but acknowledge that we need to maintain a balance in the future. The main reason for the decrease in our negative pay gap is CDPS’s growth in staff numbers at all levels, rather than any decrease to our commitments to equality. 

The total number of people employed in March 2023 was 29, with 62% female staff. When reviewing the quartile ratios females occupy 75% of the highest paid jobs, 86% of the lowest paid jobs and 43% of the lower to middle paid jobs. 

CDPS recognises that the high proportion of female representation at a senior level may skew the average to show that women are paid more than men. We do not aim to pay women more, and regularly monitor our pay structures to ensure equity and fairness. We believe everyone should be paid based on their role and recognise development through our pay progression scheme which allows all staff to reach the top of their role’s pay band. 

The mean pay gap is calculated by adding up the hourly pay of all the women in an organisation and dividing by the number of women, doing the same sum for the men, then comparing the two figures. Males’ mean wage is 8.52% lower than females.  

The median pay gap is calculated by finding the exact middle point between the lowest and highest paid female in an organisation and the lowest and highest paid male, then comparing the two figures to calculate the difference in salaries. Males median wage is 1.16% lower than females. 

-8.52% mean pay gap 

For every £1 that the average man earned, the average woman earned £1.09. 

-1.16% median pay gap 

For every £1 that the average man earned, the average woman earned £1.01. 

Compared to the 2022 workforce, we are reporting a significant increase in staffing numbers, 22 more than the previous report which included 7 staff members. This increase in staffing numbers has led to a more even spread of salary across the quartiles especially regarding male members of staff. 

Pay quartiles 

The high percentage of female to male staff distorts the quartile-to-quartile comparison. The ratio of staff females to males is 18:11 for the company as a whole. However, as an organisation, females occupy 75% of the highest paid positions, 86% of the lower paid positions and 43% of the middle-paid positions. 

We are passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of disability, neurodivergence, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, gender and gender presentation, marital status, sexual orientation, culture, or religion.  

We recognise that while men apply for jobs where they meet 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalised people tend only to apply when they check every box. We therefore encourage people who think they have what it takes, but don’t necessarily meet every single point on the job description, to get in touch to have a chat and see if they’d be a good fit. We are also a proud and committed Living Wage Employer. 

As an organisation we appoint on merit and our focus is on aptitude and skills required to perform the role. We ensure that our recruitment processes remove unfair bias by operating a blind shortlisting process which involves removing any identifying factors from an application, such as name, age, gender and gender presentation, location, years of work, experience, and school. We use structured interviews, sharing questions with candidates seven days prior to interview, and a gender split panel to ensure candidates can maximise their performance. During our recruitment process we recognise the diverse needs of the various members of our workforce, and our fundamental principles are to ensure that equality, diversity, and inclusion are embedded throughout CDPS.