Our vision is to create an inclusive firm where there is no disparity in pay or opportunity regardless of gender or ethnicity. We have some way to go to achieve this because of lower representation of women and ethnic minorities at senior levels in our business. For gender, we have an equal gender balance up to Manager level but from Senior Manager level and upwards, the percentage of women in senior positions decreases. On average, 22% of our people are minority ethnic, but this figure is just 6% at partner level.
When we calculate our pay gaps at each level (the like-for-like pay gap) we see that people in our firm are remunerated comparably for work done at similar levels. However, our like-for-like bonus pay gap is wider, which we are looking at addressing by widening access to opportunities for all our people. As in most organisations, higher bonuses tend to be awarded to more senior people.
Therefore, owing to the difference in representation at senior levels in our business, the gender and ethnicity pay gaps increase when we take a snapshot of the average pay for all men and all women in our business (the reportable pay gap).
Our pay gaps for 2020/2021 are based on a data snapshot taken in April 2021.
The reportable mean pay gaps (employees only) are:
When partners are included, our mean pay gaps for 2020/21 are:
Our reportable mean bonus gaps (employees only) for 2020/21 are:
In 2021, we launched a new bonus scheme, which more closely links the firm’s investment in bonus to performance. This gives everyone an opportunity to earn a bonus, which is proportionate to their contribution to the firm’s success.
In line with a change in our financial year end, we also changed our reward cycle in 2021, awarding bonuses in April rather than October.
The following impacts of this change have affected our pay gap calculations this year:
Our data shows us that, whilst we don’t have an issue with like-for-like pay for the same role at the same level, we do need to address representation at senior levels to improve our reportable pay gap:
Grant Thornton is focused on creating an inclusive culture where all our people can thrive and on building a balanced, sustainable pipeline of talent across all levels.
“We are proud of our commitment and investment to make meaningful change by removing the barriers to success we know exist for women and minority ethnic colleagues. We are working hard to create a culture where all our people are equally empowered to reach their full potential and know that we have more to do.
“We are building strong foundations for the future by taking specific action that builds an inclusive culture and supports the recruitment, progress and development of women and minority ethnic talent.
“However, our data shows we have more to do to increase representation of women and minority ethnic colleagues at senior positions in our firm. We will continue to drive change by raising awareness, building accountability into our processes, and taking firm-wide remedial action where required.”
| GENDER PAY GAP | April 2021 | April 2020 |
| Reported pay gap (employees only) | ||
| Pay gap - mean | 23% | 25% |
| Pay gap - median | 19% | 24% |
| Bonus gap – mean | 56% | 53% |
| Bonus gap - median | 0% | 50% |
| % women received a bonus | 100% | 53% |
| Partners only | ||
| Pay gap – mean | 7% | 10% |
| Pay gap – median | 16% | 11% |
| All (employees and partners) | ||
| Pay gap – mean | 42% | 39% |
| Pay gap - median | 21% | 26% |
| ETHNICITY PAY GAP | April 2021 | April 2020 |
| Reported pay gap (employees only) | ||
| Pay gap - mean | 11% | 11% |
| Pay gap - median | 7% | 8% |
| Bonus gap – mean | 20% | 16% |
| % Minority ethnic received a bonus | 100% | 45% |
| All (employees and partners) | ||
| Pay gap – mean | 29% | 22% |
| As % of total population | ||
| % Partners minority ethnic | 6% | 8% |
| % Employees minority ethnic | 22% | 20% |
| % Partners and employees minority ethnic | 22% | 19% |
