Diversity Pay Report
Our commitment
We have known for many years that driving an increasingly inclusive culture is critical to the continued success of the firm, and the events of the past year have only served to make this a clearer imperative. Both within our firm and externally, the level of expectation of business and employers has shifted and, when it comes to inclusion and diversity, we know we are not yet where we want to be. But the result of sustained commitment over more than two decades is that our firm truly embraces inclusion and diversity as an essential part of our Purpose, Culture and our Values. By combining dedicated leadership, clarity of aspirations and everyday intentional actions to make meaningful progress we are moving forward as our pay gap data shows.
Key to our approach has been putting inclusion first: during a year when social and racial inequalities were laid bare by the pandemic, division and discrimination between groups appeared widespread but our pursuit of a strategy that makes inclusion and diversity a matter for everyone, not just a few, proved powerful. We asked all our people to take personal responsibility for educating themselves and developing the critical skills of humility, empathy and bravery.
In terms of approach, we have continued to analyse the data, spot any issues, take action - applying our values all the way - and then measuring the rate of change, all the time holding ourselves to account. The transparency and accountability that our diversity metrics bring - including our pay gap data - is crucial in driving equity and fairness across our firm.
We first voluntarily published our gender pay gap in 2014, prior to the regulations being introduced in 2015. Since then we have held ourselves accountable to disclose more than we are required to, including our Partners in our data (currently excluded under the reporting requirements) and publishing our ethnicity pay and bonus gaps. Once again this year we are breaking down our ethnicity pay and bonus gaps to show our Black, Asian, Mixed Ethnicity pay gaps and, new for this year, our Chinese pay and bonus gap.
As we have sought to address the increasing social inequality in our country we have also prioritised activity to advance social mobility both at PwC and in our communities. We are delighted that our efforts have been recognised by the Social Mobility Foundation where we achieved the number one position for a second year running in the Social Mobility Employer Index. To ensure we move further forward, we are holding ourselves to account and this year also publishing our Socio-Economic Background (SEB) pay and bonus gaps.
The figures above all relate to PwC UK as a whole. The gender pay gap is a measure of the percentage difference in the average hourly pay of men and women working for PwC. The ethnicity pay gap is a measure of the percentage difference in the average hourly pay of white and ethnic minority employees working for PwC. The socio-economic background pay gap is a measure of the percentage difference in the average hourly pay of those from a lower socio-economic background based on parental occupation and those from a professional or intermediate socio economic background based on parental occupation (see Social Mobility Commission measurement guidance). All data is regardless of role in the organisation, length of service and any other differentiating factors.
The pay gaps including partners reflect actual partner income for FY21 together with a snapshot of actual employee cash for FY21 (including 30 June pay plus bonus payments for the FY21 financial year but excluding deferred FY20 staff bonuses which were included in the FY20 pay gap figures).
Headlines for 2021
While our strategy is inclusive of all diverse groups of people, of all ages, the source data within this report only represents gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background. Further diversity data can be found here.
We are delighted to report that we have seen a reduction in nearly all our pay gaps compared to 2020. Once again this reflects our commitment to delivering against our five-point action plan, particularly re-wiring a number of our people processes such as recruitment, work allocation and performance management and promotions. These actions serve to strengthen our talent pipeline and this year, of our internal admissions to partnership, 41% were female and 13% from an ethnic minority background. The pay gaps continue to be driven by the under-representation of ethnic minorities and females in senior roles within our business which is why we set new targets last year to accelerate our progress over the next five years. Very simply, delivering our targets is essential to closing our pay gaps. But in this first year of working towards our 2025 targets, we have laid a strong foundation for our future and we will continue to focus on all drivers of our pay gaps.
The only gaps which increased slightly were the combined partner/staff mean gaps which reflect the increased partner earnings for this year.
When it comes to social mobility, a significant part of our strategy relates to the outreach work we undertake in our communities; Bradford, one of the Government’s Opportunity Areas, is a good example of this. As a result of this activity, we have been able to widen access into the firm and, with a greater level of disclosure of parental occupation shared by 80% of our people, our attention is now on ensuring equal access to opportunities to progress to the most senior levels and to address the pay/bonus gaps.
It is important to note that these gaps are different from equal pay and at PwC we are committed to ensuring our people are paid equally for doing equivalent jobs across our business. We take action to address any gaps and to make sure all our policies and practices are fair. You can find out more about our approach to pay here.
Our gender pay gap data in detail
Entity |
Date |
Gender pay gap (median) |
Gender pay gap (mean) |
Gender bonus gap (median) |
Gender bonus gap (mean) |
Males receiving bonus |
Females receiving bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PwC UK | At 5 April 2021 |
6.0% |
9.4% |
8.7% |
21.0% |
98.0% |
98.5% |
PwC UK |
At 5 April 2020 |
7.8% |
11.0% |
14.6% |
26.3% |
96.4% |
97.4% |
PwC UK |
At 5 April 2019 |
7.0% |
9.7% |
28.2% |
30.6% |
91.9% |
92.3% |
PwC UK |
At 5 April 2018 |
11.3% |
12.2% |
37.3% |
37.8% |
67.7% |
70.3% |
PwC UK |
At 5 April 2017 |
14.2% |
13.7% |
39.5% |
37.5% |
72.6% |
74.3% |
PwC Services Ltd |
At 5 April 2021 |
7.3% |
9.4% |
6.7% |
20.1% |
97.9% |
98.3% |
PwC LLP |
5 April 2021 |
30.5% |
28.3% |
52.9% |
45.2% |
100% |
99.8% |
Staff & partners combined |
2021 |
10.1% |
38.8% |
|
Date |
Lower quartile |
Lower middle quartile |
Upper middle quartile |
Top quartile |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Population |
|
Male |
Female |
Male |
Female |
Male |
Female |
Male |
Female |
PwC UK (includes all staff) |
At 5 April 2021 |
52.7% |
47.3% |
49.0% |
51.0% |
52.4% |
47.6% |
58.1% |
41.9% |
PwC Services Ltd |
At 5 April 2021 |
53.7% |
46.3% |
50.6% |
49.4% |
52.9% |
47.1% |
59.1% |
40.9% |
PwC LLP |
At 5 April 2021 |
11.2% |
88.8% |
39.7% |
60.3% |
48.6% |
51.4% |
57.0% |
43.0% |
Staff and partner combined |
2021 |
52.2% |
47.8% |
47.4% |
52.6% |
51.4% |
48.6% |
63.9% |
36.1% |
* Quartiles are calculated by ranking the pay for each employee from lowest to highest. This list is then divided into four equal sized groups of men and women. The above shows the percentage of men and women in each of these groups.
Our ethnicity pay gap data in detail
Entity |
Date |
Ethnicity pay gap (median) |
Ethnicity pay gap (mean) |
Ethnicity bonus gap (median) |
Ethnicity bonus gap (mean) |
Ethnic minorities receiving bonus |
White staff receiving bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PwC UK |
At 5 April 2021 |
-2.9% |
7.6% |
13.1% |
28.8% |
97.8% |
98.4% |
PwC UK |
At 5 April 2020 |
1.1% |
9.2% |
36.3% |
36.9% |
96.5% |
97.6% |
PwC UK |
At 5 April 2019 |
4.7% |
10.8% |
47.2% |
39.4% |
91.4% |
94.7% |
PwC UK |
At 5 April 2018 |
10.1% |
13.5% |
31.3% |
33.8% |
59.6% |
72.0% |
PwC Services Ltd |
At 5 April 2021 |
-8.7% |
3.6% |
6.2% |
24.8% |
97.7% |
98.2% |
PwC LLP |
At 5 April 2021 |
15.3% |
11.8% |
30.8% |
26.0% |
100% |
99.8% |
Staff & partners combined |
2021 2020 |
-0.3% 3.5% |
33.4% 31.6% |
|
Date |
Lower quartile |
Lower middle quartile |
Upper middle quartile |
Top quartile |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Population |
|
White |
Ethnic minority |
White |
Ethnic minority |
White |
Ethnic minority |
White |
Ethnic minority |
PwC UK (includes all staff) |
At 5 April 2021 |
78.4% |
21.6% |
66.1% |
33.9% |
63.1% |
36.9% |
77.5% |
22.5% |
PwC Services Ltd |
At 5 April 2021 |
79.0% |
21.0% |
64.8% |
35.2% |
62.0% |
38.0% |
73.7% |
26.3% |
PwC LLP |
At 5 April 2021 |
88.6% |
11.4% |
86.9% |
13.1% |
92.0% |
8.0% |
91.7% |
8.3% |
Staff and partner combined |
2021 |
76.2% |
23.8% |
67.2% |
32.8% |
63.1% |
36.9% |
80.4% |
19.6% |
* Quartiles are calculated by ranking the pay for each employee from lowest to highest. This list is then divided into four equal sized groups of ethnic minority employees and white employees. The above shows the percentage of ethnic minority and white employees in each of these groups.
Breakdown of pay gap by ethnic minority - staff only
Ethnic group |
Median pay gap 2021 |
Median pay gap 2020 |
Mean pay gap 2021 |
Mean pay gap 2020 |
Median bonus gap 2021 |
Median bonus gap 2020 |
Mean bonus gap 2021 |
Mean bonus gap 2020 |
Asian |
-3.4% |
0.2% |
7.1% |
9.1% |
13.7% |
37.5% |
28.2% |
36.8% |
Black |
1.1% |
6.7% |
13.4% |
14.9% |
11.5% |
45.1% |
39.5% |
53.5% |
Mixed |
-3.8% |
0.4% |
5.7% |
7.7% |
3.9% |
11.9% |
19.9% |
21.1% |
Chinese |
4.9% |
NA |
15.9% |
NA |
29.0% |
NA |
36.5% |
NA |
Total |
-2.9% |
1.1% |
7.6% |
9.2% |
13.1% |
36.3% |
28.8% |
36.9% |
* This disaggregated pay gap data is calculated as the difference between the average earnings received by employees from a specific ethnic background compared to White Ethnic Groups.
Breakdown of pay gap by ethnicity - staff and partners combined
Ethnic group |
Median pay gap 2021 |
Median pay gap 2020 |
Mean pay gap 2021 |
Mean pay gap 2020 |
Asian |
-1.0% |
2.7% |
34.6% |
33.3% |
Black |
3.3% |
8.3% |
42.5% |
40.9% |
Mixed |
-0.3% |
2.2% |
30.3% |
26.1% |
Chinese |
6.3% | NA | 43.9% |
NA |
Total |
-0.3% | 3.5% | 33.4% |
31.6% |
Socio-economic background
Socio-economic background |
Median pay gap 2021 |
Mean pay gap 2021 |
Median bonus gap 2021 |
Mean bonus gap 2021 |
PwC UK at 5 April 2021 |
10.9% |
6.2% |
24.1% |
12.7% |
Staff and partners combined |
12.1% |
4.8% |
NA | NA |
|
Date |
Lower Quartile |
Lower middle quartile |
Upper middle quartile |
Top quartile |
||||
Population |
|
Professional & Intermediate |
Lower |
Professional & Intermediate |
Lower |
Professional & Intermediate |
Lower |
Professional & Intermediate |
Lower |
PwC UK (includes all staff) |
At 5 April 2021 |
80.4% |
19.6% |
80.4% |
19.6% |
83.7% |
16.3% |
84.4% |
15.6% |
Notes
Regulatory data is based on a snapshot date of April 21. The hourly pay gap data is hourly pay (including bonuses) in April 21 and the bonus gap data is all relevant bonus and recognition payments in the year to 5 April 21
Data including partners reflects the FY21 financial year. This reflects distributable profits for partners and staff total cash (pay plus relevant bonuses, including the July 21 staff bonus for the FY21 financial year).
A mean gap is a calculation of the difference in average pay or bonus of a person in one group in our organisation versus the average pay/bonus of a person in a comparator group, regardless of the role held within our organisation.
A median gap is a calculation of the relevant pay/bonus gap based on the reward of the individual in the exact midpoint between the lowest and highest-paid person in one group in the organisation versus the equivalent person in the comparator group'.
Quartiles are calculated by ranking the pay for each employee from lowest to highest. This list is then divided into four equal sized groups of one group and the comparator group. To the right it shows the percentage of people in each of these groups.
Negative pay gaps reflect a pay gap in favour of the minority group.
By law, we are only required to calculate and disclose our gender pay figures. In addition to this, we are continually assessing pay from a range of other perspectives, including in relation to our ethnic minority employees.
PwC has two employing entities: PwC Services and PwC LLP. Employment between these two entities is largely driven as a result of historical mergers and acquisitions. We are legally required to report on both entities, however data shown under PwC UK shows pay information for our combined population and is most representative of the firm.
What are we doing to close our pay gaps?
We are pleased to be making progress but we know we need to stay focused. Over the past year we have been working on this agenda more collaboratively with our staff who are helping to shape our work and contribute to our progress and this is clearly paying dividends and will continue in the future. Here you can find our five-point action plan and more information on the actions we are taking to drive transformative change across our firm to make sure all our people have a strong sense of belonging and trust in our firm.
Progress against our five-point plan
Details can be found here.
We can confirm the data reported is accurate.
Kevin Ellis
PwC UK Chairman and Senior Partner
Laura Hinton
Chief People Officer
