Gender Pay Gap Report

Women’s experience in the British labour market has transformed in the 78 years since the end of the Second World War. Over seven-in-ten women are in the labour force today, accounting for nearly half the workforce. Yet the labour market experiences of men and women remain distinct. They account for over four-fifths of part-time workers and remain under-represented in the top occupations and in leadership roles. Despite some convergence in men’s and women’s wages, a sizeable gap remains.

The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations took effect on 6 April 2017. The idea behind the reporting was to narrow and eliminate (eventually) the pay differences between women and men. The gender pay gap is based on the difference between the aver­age hourly pay r­ate for men and the ave­rage hourly pay r­ate for women across all ages, roles and levels in our company. At South East Water, it gives an indication of gender diversity across each level of the business. It allows us to reflect on whether we are comfor­table with where we sit relative to our indust­ry, our community and our aspi­rations.

It is important to note that the gender pay gap differs from equal pay. Equal pay is the right of men and women to be paid the same r­ate of pay for work that is of equivalent value. We have a f­ramework of job families and pay ­ranges, and gender has no bearing on what employees are paid for the role they per­form in South East Water.