Gender Pay Gap 2024

26 March 2024

Annual Gender Pay Gap figures published

In 2023 we published our first Group Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Strategy which is aligned to our wider ESG and business strategies. In that we reference our corporate purpose 'to help more consumers and businesses fulfil their ambitions'. We talk about the fact that in order to live our purpose and be a successful business that talented people want to be part of, our aim is to develop a team which is representative of the diverse backgrounds, cultures and viewpoints of our customers, colleagues and communities. The Gender Pay Gap is an important tool to help us to maintain our focus on improving our workforce gender diversity at all levels.

When we started reporting our Gender Pay Gap seven years ago, we referenced the fact that the biggest driver of our gender pay gap is the shape of our workforce and that remains a key challenge. Like many organisations we have a predominance of women at the more junior levels and fewer in senior leadership roles. External benchmarks demonstrate that we continue to make progress on our ED&I agenda but translating that into positive change in our Gender Pay Gap figures is a slower process.

We continue to use the expertise of external organisations to guide us and this has driven our ED&I agenda forward as well as resulting in external recognition. We were named a UK Best Workplace for Women for the fifth consecutive year and maintained our Silver TIDE mark from the Employers Network for Diversity Inclusion (enei) this year. We were given the Innovative Approach to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion award by enei for our internal podcast series which celebrate the diversity of our workforce. Our annual employee engagement survey also continues to show positive responses in relation to fair treatment and diversity and inclusion within our organisation which indicates that we are driving the right culture.

The highlights below give an overview of progress made in 2023 and what is coming up in 2024.

What are we doing to improve our GPG?

Key Highlights

Reported against our HMT Women in Finance Charter phase one targets and published phase two targets
Continued to develop our ED&I SteerCo made up predominately of Group ExCo members
Continuance and embedding of our Inclusioneer workforce champions with lead members for each protected characteristic
Maintained partnerships with BITC (Business in the Community), Everywoman and enei (Employers Network in Equality and Inclusion) who continue to provide expert guidance and advice
As members of the Automotive 30% Club, we demonstrated our ongoing commitment to inclusive leadership in the automotive sector, through awareness building and mentoring initiatives
Maintained a staff inclusion calendar including key faith festivals and awareness events, including National Inclusion Week
Provided opportunities for women going through important life stages to support each other through our maternity and menopause socials
Extended our internal ED&I podcast series that celebrates diversity and builds understanding by sharing employee stories on key related topics including bisexuality, disability, and religion
We were recognised in two categories at enei's annual Inclusivity Excellence Awards:
- Winner - Innovative Approach to Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion, for our podcast
- Highly Commended - Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Influencer of the Year, for one of our Inclusioneer workforce champions
Continued to embed our learning and development offering in support of our ED&I agenda which includes:
- Everyday Allyship -mandatory training programme for all people leaders to build understanding and encourage support
- Blazing my Trail - a programme designed to help staff build their confidence to reach their full potential
- Connect & Learn - a scheme to encourage staff to learn more about the people and teams who make up our diverse businesses
- MentorMe - a mentoring and reverse mentoring scheme to support talent progressionn and broaden understanding, particularly of more experienced employees
In 2023 we became corporate members of Neurodiversity in Business
Our Workwise flexible working, Absence and Menopause policies were supported by staff awareness sessions
We maintain our commitment to ensure diverse shortlists for roles and to progress and develop internal talent. This has been a focus in both Talent Boards and Succession planning conversations
We held staff briefings about our ESG strategy, including an update on our ED&I focus area and encouragement for colleagues to share personal data which will help us to monitor our progress in relation to creating a diverse workforce

What else are we doing in 2024?

We will be participating in the Business in the Community (BITC) Workwell Benchmark assessment that enables organisations to measure and improve their approach to wellbeing within the workplace
As members of the Automotive 30% Club, we will be demonstrating our ongoing commitment to inclusive leadership in the automotive sector by supporting key initiatives
The outcomes from the BITC Workwell Benchmark assessment and independently facilitated focus groups will be used to update our Wellbeing strategy and ensure there is a clear line of sight between this, our EDI and ESG strategies
ESG colleague briefings throughout the year will keep staff engaged and informed about our progress on ED&I as well as our wider ESG priorities
As signatories of HMT's Women in Finance Charter we will report against our phase two targets at the end of the year
We will continue to encourage staff to disclose their personal data so that we have more robust data to provide insight and guide our progress
We will continue to maintain our focus on personal development for the wider employee base and evolve our learning and development offering to support our ED&I agenda
We will continue to work in partnership with BITC (Business in the Community), Everywoman and enei (Employers Network in Equality and Inclusion), using their tools and expertise to drive forward our ED&I strategy and plans for 2024
We will continue to develop our award-winning podcast series and promote events and dates that celebrate diversity and encourage a culture of inclusion

What is the gender pay gap?

The GPG figures look at pay in the organisation from top to bottom as a whole, removing any notion of seniority, length of service, or specialism. They are an indication of male and female representation within the hierarchy of the business rather than an indication of a difference in male and female pay in the same role.

Equal pay

Men and women being paid the same for the same work.

Illustration of male and female with pound sign under each of them

The Gender Pay Gap

The difference between total hourly earnings for all men when compared to the total hourly earnings of all women within an organisation.

Gender Pay Gap infographic

Nationally, one of the main reasons for the Gender Pay Gap is that men are more likely to be in senior roles. As with other Financial Services companies this is the case at STB.