The gender pay gap at banking organisation HSBC has grown from 59% in 2017 to 61% in 2018, according to its latest update.
The 2017 figure already marked HSBC out as the employer with the largest disparity between male and female employees’ pay among UK banks.
The latest report means that female staff at HSBC earn 39p for every £1 accrued by male employees. The bank’s median pay gap has also grown from 29% to 30% over the same period.
HSBC originally warned in its 2017 report that the 2018 pay gap would likely be wider. According to the bank, this disparity is being driven by structural issues, including an abundance of men in senior leadership roles, an over-representation of women in junior positions, and more female employees opting to work part-time.
In her statement alongside the report, Elaine Arden, group head of HR at HSBC, said: “Our pay strategy is designed to attract and motivate the very best people, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, disability or any other factor unrelated to performance or experience.
“We review market pay benchmarks based on grade, job, business and geography – this helps us to understand pay differences, if any, for similar roles. Our analysis shows that, in the UK, men and women are paid broadly comparable rates to market.
“We are confident in our approach to pay, and if we identify any pay differences between men and women in similar roles, which cannot be explained by reasons such as performance, behaviour rating or experience, we make appropriate adjustments.”
Among the bank’s competitors, Lloyds Baking Group recently reported a gender pay gap of 31.5%, while Royal Bank of Scotland disclosed a disparity of 37.2% in February 2018.
Across all sectors, the average gender pay gap is around 17%, according to the Office for National Statistics.