Gender Pay Gap Report 31 March 2026
As an organisation employing 250 or more employees, Shrewsbury College must report on its gender pay gap. This report is based on data for 31 March 2026. The Gender Pay Gap analyses the difference between the average earnings of male and female employees in an organisation. This is different to equal pay, which is the right for men and women to be paid at the same rate of pay for work that is of equal value. We are required to report on the following calculations:
- The percentage of men and women in each pay quarter (rate per hour)
- The mean (average) gender pay gap for hourly rate
- The median gender pay gap for hourly rate
- The percentage of men and women receiving bonus pay
- The mean (average) gender pay gap for bonus pay
- The median gender pay gap for bonus pay
The further education workforce is predominantly female. The National FE Workforce Data Collection for 2023-2024 shows that:
- 65.5% of all staff working in FE are female.
- The proportion of women in teaching roles is 59.3%.
- The proportion of women in senior management roles is 62%.
Findings
The headline findings for 2026 are that Shrewsbury College has seen an increase in the gender pay gap. The current mean gender pay gap is 19.36% (v 18.34% last year) and the median gender pay gap is 41.46% (v 36.79% last year). According to the Office for National Statistics, the national gender pay gap was 12.8% in April 2025.
Breakdown for Shrewsbury College:
The total number of relevant employees on the snapshot date was 725.
61% Female | 39% Male |
Percentage of men and women in each hourly pay quarter
Band | Males | Females | Hourly rate range | Quartile |
A | 33% (61) | 67% (122) | £10.85 - £13.65 | Lowest quartile |
B | 21% (38) | 79% (143) | £13.90 - £19.89 | Lower middle quartile |
C | 49% (89) | 51% (92) | £19.89 - £40.88 | Upper middle quartile |
D | 55% (99) | 45% (82) | £40.88 and higher | Upper quartile |
This data has been analysed to include the mean and median gender pay gap for each quartile below:
Lowest quartile
Mean hourly rate | Median hourly rate | |
Male | £13.13 | £12.83 |
Female | £12.97 | £12.83 |
Pay gap | £0.16 | £0.00 |
Gender pay gap | 1.21% | 0.0% |
There are twice as many women than men in this quartile, which includes roles such as cleaners, catering assistants, learning support roles, technicians and administration. The median hourly rate is the same for both males and females in this quartile.
Lower middle quartile
Mean hourly rate | Median hourly rate | |
Male | £15.86 | £15.53 |
Female | £16.05 | £15.78 |
Pay gap | -£0.19 | -£0.25 |
Gender pay gap | -1.19% | -1.61% |
This quartile also has significantly more women and includes higher paid administration and learning support roles and assessors. Females in this quartile have a higher mean and median hourly rate than males.
Upper middle quartile
Mean hourly rate | Median hourly rate | |
Male | £28.47 | £30.00 |
Female | £30.27 | £30.00 |
Pay gap | -£1.80 | £0.00 |
Gender pay gap | -6.32% | 0.00% |
The number of male and female employees in this quartile is almost the same. This quartile includes team leaders, some managerial roles and teachers. Females in this quartile have a higher mean hourly rate. The median hourly rate is the same for males and females in this quartile.
Upper quartile
Mean hourly rate | Median hourly rate | |
Male | £42.51 | £40.88 |
Female | £41.39 | £40.88 |
Pay gap | -£1.12 | £0.00 |
Gender pay gap | 2.68% | 0% |
This quartile includes teachers, programme leaders and the Senior Leadership Team. There is no difference in the median hourly rate for men and women and a very small gap in the mean hourly rate.
Mean gender pay gap for hourly pay
The mean gender pay gap is the difference between the average hourly rate of pay of male and female full pay relevant employees.
Mean hourly rate | |
Male | £28.41 |
Female | £22.91 |
Pay gap | £5.50 |
Gender pay gap | 19.36% |
Median gender pay gap for hourly pay
The median pay gap is the difference between the midpoint in the range of hourly pay for males and females.
Median hourly rate | |
Male | £30.00 |
Female | £17.75 |
Pay gap | £12.25 |
Gender pay gap | 40.83% |
Bonus pay
There is no bonus pay to report on.
The overall mean and median gender pay gap percentages are explained by the high number of females employed in the two lower quartiles, which are the lower paid roles and are more likely to be part-time or term-time roles.
Gender pay gap monitoring and action
An action plan which provides more details on the college’s identified actions and steps that we will take to improve gender pay has been published separately. Read the Shrewsbury College Action plan 2026 to 2027.