More companies than ever are meeting the UK gender pay gap reporting deadline. Of the roughly 11,000 businesses required to submit their data, 10,650 managed to do so on time.
That’s a significant improvement from just a few years ago, when late submissions were far more common, down from 14% in 2020–21, 9% in 2023–24, to just 5% this year. Only 188 companies had filed late at the time of reporting.
It’s a positive step in terms of compliance but the pay gap itself remains stubbornly persistent.
Pay still leans in favour of men
Of the companies that submitted by the 5 April deadline, 78% reported a gender pay gap in favour of men. That’s 8,294 businesses just a slight increase on last year’s figure of 8,101. In 2020, that number was 5,667, showing that although reporting has increased, the core issue has barely shifted.
While it’s encouraging to see more data transparency, the figures continue to reinforce how deeply rooted gender inequality is across UK workplaces.
Leadership roles, still mostly male
The data shows little movement when it comes to women in leadership. Women make up around 42% of those in the top pay quartile and 46% in the upper middle, virtually unchanged from last year. This flatline suggests the glass ceiling isn’t cracking nearly fast enough.
Finance and tech sectors show wider gaps
In finance, the picture is even more bleak. New research from Sifted shows the majority of financial firms report pay gaps larger than the UK average. Atom Bank posted a median hourly pay gap of 32.4%, Checkout.com 21.3%, and Revolut 12.7%.
Tech isn’t doing much better. UKTN analysis puts the average median pay gap in tech at around 17.5%. For industries that pride themselves on innovation, progress on equality seems to lag behind.
Alex Pusenjak, VP People and Culture at Fluent Commerce:
“With the gender pay gap remaining virtually unchanged this year, organisations need to be taking serious action. Words are not enough. The gender pay gap isn’t an ‘issue’ for the CEO or the Senior Leadership Team to ‘resolve’. Systems and processes have to be adopted where everyone has accountability to ensure employees are being remunerated fairly and equally, regardless of their gender. This should be assessed at regular intervals to guarantee real change is made.
“To ensure gender and pay equity, leadership teams need to be educated on what it is and why it’s important. Only then can organisations start thinking about the ‘how’. It’s important to make the business case for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, incorporating it to everything from the beginning. Employee Resource Groups that are tasked with proactively working on positive initiatives can also be instrumental in creating lasting and meaningful change.
“The UK’s gender pay gap will not come down unless we all take responsibility to reduce it. Employers need to step up and provide women with equality in the workplace and pay them what they’re worth—the same as men.”
Takeaway
While the numbers suggest progress in meeting reporting deadlines, the issue goes far deeper than admin. Women remain underrepresented in senior roles and the majority of businesses still pay men more than women. Without structural changes, transparency alone won’t close the gap.
The challenge now isn’t just to report the data, it’s to act on it.
