Gender pay gap

NCHA is committed to the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment for all colleagues, regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, age, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability. As such, we use a gender-neutral job evaluation scheme to grade roles and determine pay.

We are required by law to publish an annual gender pay gap report. The figures below come from the most recent snapshot date, 5 April 2025.

Figures

• The mean gender pay gap is 12.0%
• The median gender pay gap is 12.7%
• The mean gender bonus gap is 4.9%
• The median gender bonus gap is 0.1%
• The proportion of male colleagues in NCHA receiving a bonus is 27% and the proportion of female colleagues receiving a bonus is 33%.

Pay quartiles

• 30% of people in the lower pay quartile are men, and 70% are women
• 30% of people in the lower middle pay quartile are men, and 70% are women
• 44% of people in the upper middle pay quartile are men, and 56% are women
• 48% of people in the upper pay quartile are men, and 53% are women.

These figures have been calculated using the methodologies used in the Gender pay gap reporting: guidance for employers.

Summary

The mean gender pay gap has reduced this year compared to previous years:

• The proportion of women in all quartiles has decreased since last year, as the proportion of women in the organisation has decreased overall by less than 3% 
• The bonus payments include long service awards, refer a friend, colleague recognition awards, and a bonus payment from Nottinghamshire County Council for care workers.

Why we have a gender pay gap

Most of the issues that contribute to NCHA's gender pay gap are reflected in the UK economy and are not unique to NCHA:

• Women are underrepresented in senior roles at NCHA. Our workforce on the snapshot date is made up of 63% women. Women occupied 67% of managerial roles overall, but only 43% of senior leadership roles. This trend is replicated across the UK economy, as women are less likely to hold senior roles and more likely to be in frontline roles.
• Occupational segregation, which remains what we consider the main reason for our GPG results. Women are overrepresented in lower paid care roles in NCHA. This is reflected in the fact that women are over-represented in the lower two quartiles. 
• More women than men are part time. 80% of our part time colleagues were women on the snapshot date. The number of jobs performed on a part time, or zero-hour basis was higher in the lower quartile (44%) compared to the upper quartile (17%). The number of jobs available at higher grades that are part-time may affect employment choices and flexibility. 
• Current pay arrangements: a review of the data by quartiles shows that our pay gaps are due to overrepresentation of women in lower quartiles and underrepresentation of women in higher quartiles. The uneven representation and the difference between the lowest paid colleagues in our organisation and the highest paid colleagues in our organisation create the gap overall. 

The gender pay gap is different to equal pay

Equal pay deals with the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value. It is unlawful to pay people unequally because of their gender. The gender pay gap shows the difference in the average pay between all men and women in all jobs in a workforce.

NCHA is committed to the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment for all colleagues, regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, age, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability. As such, we use a gender-neutral job evaluation scheme to grade roles and determine pay.

Our gender pay gap is the result of the roles in which men and women work within the organisation and the salaries that these roles attract.

Across the UK economy, men are more likely than women to be in senior roles (especially very senior roles at the top of organisations), while women are more likely than men to be in frontline roles at the lower end of an organisation. Women are also more likely than men to have had breaks from work that have affected their career progression, for example to bring up children or provide care. Women are also more likely to work part time, and part time work is often concentrated at lower ends of the pay spectrum.

This pattern from the UK economy overall is reflected in the make-up of NCHA's workforce, where most frontline colleagues are women, while men hold the majority of senior and senior manager roles.

Addressing the gender pay gap

We will continue to: 

• Increase the representation of women in higher paid positions including managerial roles with initiatives like the Rooney Rule for women who meet the shortlist criteria for people manager roles and above and embed the use of diverse recruitment interview panels (where feasible).
• Continue to monitor workforce data in relation to gender and ethnicity to understand the impact of our recruitment processes on appointments to people manager roles and in addition analyse data around leavers to identify and address any unknown barriers.
• Ensure that development opportunities e.g. leadership development including NCHA’s Future Aspiring Leaders program and apprenticeships, have representative numbers of women and ethnically diverse colleagues on them.
• Increase the number of men working in our care and support directorate and women in property services through targeted apprenticeships and recruitment campaigns.
• Use anonymised applicant data to reduce unconscious bias in recruitment.
• Continue to work with the Diverse Heritage Colleague Forum and Diversity Champion colleague networks to better support the organisation and the EDI Strategy. Foster inclusion and improve sense of belonging through colleague consultation and collaboration.
• Benefits – Remind colleagues of the family friendly benefits that are available to them including Harry’s Pledge and our support for carers in the workforce.
• Continue to promote Peer Support Groups, including Menopause and Neurodiversity.  Aim to attract, support and retain women, mainly those in their late 40s and early 50s who are generally affected by the menopause and at the peak of their career in terms of experience and therefore potentially eligible for senior management roles.

We will continue working with colleagues, trade unions, the EDI Panel and relevant colleague forums to achieve these goals.