Gender pay gap at Macmillan Publishers International Limited UK favours women but for bonuses

The gender pay gap at Macmillan Publishers International (MPIL UK), which comprises Pan Macmillan, Priddy Books, and the distribution business and shared services across these – HR, legal, finance and IT – is in favour of women according to the business’ latest gender pay gap report, but swings in favour of men when it comes to bonus payments.

The mean hourly gender pay gap stood at -2%, a pay gap in favour of women, on the snapshot date of 5th April 2022, compared to 0.2% in favour of men in 2021. Median hourly pay also stood in favour of women, if slightly less favourably so than in 2021: -19% in 2022 compared to -23% in 2021.

Overall, the company employs more women (67%) than men (33%) and in all but one pay quartile, the proportion of women is higher than men. However, the average bonus earnings for men are higher than for women, with a mean bonus gender pay gap at 18% in 2022, but this has reduced compared to last year, when it was 53%.

Moreover, the proportion of men receiving bonuses at MPIL UK is slightly higher than women: 94% of men and 92% of women receive a bonus. The median bonus earnings for men and women are equal (0%), and at leadership level there is equal representation of men and women.

The gender bonus gap was attributed to there being a relatively high proportion of men in the highest pay quartile. “The gap has closed significantly compared to 2021 and MPIL UK will seek to narrow this further,” the report states.

At the time the snapshot data was taken, MPIL UK employed 631 people across three locations: Swansea, Basingstoke and London. The pay data is based on “full-pay” employees. According to the company, 95.9% of employees were included in the pay analysis.

In the report, the organisation said: “The snapshot of gender pay gap data from April 2022 demonstrates that pay across MPIL UK is broadly balanced across genders. At MPIL UK, we value diversity in our workforce and aspire always to base compensation decisions on skills, knowledge and experience alone. To support this, we carry out regular formal benchmarking of salaries against both internal and external measures.

“We recognise that the gender pay gap persists globally across all sectors, largely as a result of deep-rooted and systemic inequalities. As an employer committed to furthering diversity, equity and inclusion, we have a responsibility to help dismantle the multiple, interconnected barriers women face in their careers. While we’re proud of the progress we have made so far in driving gender equality at MPIL, we have a clear ambition to deliver more.”

Actions being taken and noted in the report include: new recruitment practices which mean all divisions of MPIL UK are now using a shared recruitment system which enables customisation to anonymise candidates’ information; regular reviews of family-friendly policies; hybrid and flexible working; the introduction of  a range of initiatives to encourage people from underrepresented communities into publishing and the recruitment of a new diversity and inclusion specialist.