Macmillan Publishers International again records gender pay gaps in favour of women

Following the pattern of previous years, Macmillan Publishers International Limited UK (MPIL) — which comprises Pan Macmillan UK, Priddy Books and Macmillan Learning UK, as well as the distribution wing Macmillan Distribution Limited (MDL) and shared functions including HR and IT — has again published gender pay gaps in favour of women. 

In the latest snapshot report, the mean gap stands at -13% in favour of women and the median gender pay gap -32% in favour of women, a rise from last year, when the gaps stood at -2% and -19% respectively.

The data shows the company has the highest proportion of women in its top pay quartile since it began recording the gender pay gap in 2017, with the top quartile standing at 68% women and 32% men. The UK leadership team at Macmillan Distribution has an equal gender split with 50% men and 50% women and the leadership team at Pan Macmillan is 75% female and 25% male.

Average hourly pay for women was up 6% but for men was down 4%; one factor in this was a recruitment drive in Macmillan Distribution at Swansea, with more than 40 new warehouse operatives joining the company, the majority of whom were men and in the lower pay quartile. There was also an increase in women appointed within the top pay quartile.

However once again there was a disparity in the figures for bonuses, with the mean bonus pay gap standing at 56% in favour of men, and the median at 0%, "demonstrating that the mean bonus pay gap is being skewed by several high-earning males in the top pay quartile across MPIL", the company said.

The pay gap data of the publishing and distribution wings of MPIL were not broken out separately.

Briony Grogan, who joined Pan Macmillan in June 2023 as director of people and culture, said: “Overall, our data demonstrates an improvement in the gender pay gap in favour of women and it’s encouraging that we have seen the representation of women in the top quartile increase to 68% — the highest it has been since we began recording the gap in 2017. However, we must also acknowledge that the gap is widened by a relatively high proportion of men in the lower quartile at the warehouse in Swansea.

"While the gender pay gap is a useful tool in driving progress, it doesn’t capture the full range of experiences of our people. Tackling gender inequality is a long game and so we remain committed to building an equitable workplace that actively supports women, with plans including a robust new talent development programme and a third-party professional coaching programme for returning parents launching later this year."

Penguin Random House UK, Hachette UK and HarperCollins UK have also recently revealed their latest gender pay gap data, with a range of results and reporting styles. 

MPIL does not currently report its ethnicity pay gap data, or other pay gaps, but intends to broaden its reporting next year.