International law firm Hogan Lovells has reported a 12.3% mean gender pay gap among employees, excluding partners. It has also voluntarily chosen to report its ethnicity pay gap data, finding an 11.2% mean difference.
Ahead of the second reporting deadline on 4 April 2019, Hogan Lovells is one of a number of firms that has chosen to report data on its ethnicity and partner gender pay gaps, neither of which are required as part of the regulations. For partners, the firm’s mean gender pay gap stands at -2.1%, in favour of women, which is not dissimilar from the -2.8% it reported in 2018.
The firm’s overall mean gender pay gap, including all Hogan Lovells UK employing entities and total compensation for all partners, is 52.9%; this is a slight rise from 51.8% last year.
In the report published last year, Hogan Lovells found an 8.7% mean ethnicity pay gap. The number has risen by 2.5% this year, while the overall mean ethnicity pay gap, including all employing entities and total partner compensation, has risen from 33.2% to 46.3%. The firm attributes this, in part, to small shifts in the proportions of its black, Asian and minority ethnic (Bame) employees.
Of the 91% of employees who chose to provide their ethnicity data, 17% identify as Bame. In the firm’s upper pay quartile, 56% are women, while in the lowest quartile this rises to 73%. These numbers have remained roughly the same over the past year.
The proportion of women and men receiving bonus payments is 51.4% and 49.1%, respectively, and the mean gender bonus gap is 52.7%, up from 47.9% last year.
Hogan Lovells has stated that the bonus pay gap is likely due to there being a high proportion of women in senior, non-fee earning roles, and the significant proportion that work part-time or have taken a period of family leave. With an average of one in five female employees working part time, this affects pro-rated bonuses.
The firm’s goal is to have 30% female partners by 2022; this number currently stands at 27%. Meanwhile, the number of Bame students recruited in 2017 and 2018 for training contracts was 47%.
Hogan Lovells reported that it is using various methods to address diversity within the firm, one of which is a series of employee networks supporting women, male champions, parents and carers, LGBT+ staff and those from diverse cultural backgrounds.
The firm also provides coaching, reverse mentoring and maternity mentoring for those returning from leave, as well as working with external organisations to aid with social mobility, diverse recruitment and returnships.
Susan Bright, regional managing partner, UK and Africa at Hogan Lovells, said: “We are an equal pay employer, ensuring fair and competitive reward for equivalent work. We are proud to be a family-friendly employer and to promote agile and part-time working opportunities for all.
“We are committed to workplace equality and to recruiting, retaining and advancing a diverse workforce where all our people can be themselves and feel empowered to succeed.”