The Football Association (FA) has published its latest gender pay gap report, which outlined that its mean hourly pay gap fell by 4% since 2020, to 14% in favour of male employees.
The median hourly pay gap, which measures the difference in pay between mid-level male and female employees, has also significantly decreased since 2020, to 2.2% in favour of male staff. The median pay gap at The FA has reduced year-on-year since it was first reported in 2017, when it stood at 12%.
According to the association, which confirmed that it remains committed to closing the gap further, this is below the national average of 16% and also lower than the average pay gaps in other traditionally male-dominated industries. It reported that the majority of its gender pay gap is driven by having more men in the most senior roles.
Across all salary quartiles, The FA was found to have a larger proportion of male employees, from 62% in the lower quartile, to 67% and 61% in the upper middle and upper quartiles, respectively.
The association was not able to report on the gender differences in relation to bonus pay, as the Covid-19 pandemic caused it to pause all discretionary bonuses. Having since resumed the bonus scheme, it aims to reflect this data in next year’s report.
In addition, for the second year running The FA has voluntarily published its ethnicity pay gap as part of its commitment to increase representation across all areas. This gap has also reduced, with a median ethnicity pay gap of -9% and a mean ethnicity pay gap of -2%, both in favour of Black, Asian, mixed or other ethnic background employees, based on a 67% voluntary ethnicity disclosure rate.
Rachel Brace, the FA’s HR director, explained that a significant part of the association’s efforts to make English football a game for all is ensuring that its workforce at every level continues to become more diverse and feels even more inclusive.
“We have made a significant difference to the female representation of our workforce over the past few years, hiring and retaining talented women at all levels. This progress is reflected in a progressively lower gender pay gap year on year. We are proud of this progress and remain committed to going further as we seek to better reflect modern society and the communities we serve,” she said.