CHASE Gender Pay Gap Report 2024 Published – Why It Matters

Introduction

The gender pay gap remains a critical issue in the UK workforce, with implications beyond just numbers on a spreadsheet. Across industries, disparities in average earnings between men and women highlight persistent structural challenges that hinder equality. These gaps are increasingly scrutinised within the pharmaceutical, medtech, and biotech sectors as companies and organisations recognise the need to create equitable workplaces.

At CHASE, we understand the importance of addressing the gender pay gap, not only because of legislative requirements but because it reflects our broader commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion. This week, we published our 2024 gender pay gap report, marking another step forward on the road to workplace equity. Here, we’ll discuss our progress, challenges, and why this conversation matters to all organisations.

CHASE's gender pay gap improves

One of the key findings in CHASE's 2024 report is the improvement in our gender pay gap statistics. Over the past 12 months, we’ve reduced the gap from 17% to 14%. This significant step highlights our ongoing efforts.

Why does this reduction matter? It signals positive change, not just for CHASE as an organisation but for what is achievable across the broader pharmaceutical and medtech landscapes. Transparency and actionable strategies are key to making lasting progress in gender equity, and this improvement reflects how focused we are on this critical issue.

Balancing our workforce

At CHASE, we maintain a 70/30 female-to-male employee ratio, with women making up the majority of our workforce. This reflects a key factor in our gender pay figures, as a significant number of our employees are nurses working in outsourced projects for clients. Within the UK, nursing has historically been a female-dominated profession, as evidenced in data from the Royal College of Nursing and is often associated with lower salaries compared to other professions.

While this staffing composition can skew overall pay gap results, CHASE is committed to addressing pay equity for nurses. We understand that improving pay for nursing roles not only benefits our employees but enhances client satisfaction through better retention and performance. Ongoing efforts to reward our outsourced nurse teams fairly reflect our commitment to closing the gap in pay disparities across all roles.

Removing these nursing figures from our data leaves CHASE with a more equitable 60/40 female-to-male workforce split.

Women represent success across the board

Our focus on pay equality and gender diversity isn’t limited to one subset of the workforce. CHASE also continues to close the gaps in our leadership and higher-earning positions.

Leadership representation: Women account for 33% of the board’s executive directors.

Top Earners:

• Four out of CHASE’s top 10 earners are women.
• Eight out of our top 20 earners are women.

These statistics reflect how CHASE is ensuring representation at the highest levels of business. While representation is not yet completely equal, the trends are promising, and we’re committed to further improvements across our leadership and strategic roles.

At CHASE, 82% of employees work on outsourced client projects, meaning their remuneration often reflects market-specific benchmarks decided in collaboration with clients. Despite this, CHASE maintains pay equity across comparable roles for the 18% of core employees under our direct payroll influence.

Even more encouragingly, in some cases, the pay gap within comparable roles slightly favours women in our core employee group. This reinforces our belief that active efforts to train managers, remove unconscious bias, and create a culture of equity can yield real results.

Why gender pay equity matters

The importance of addressing the gender pay gap extends beyond compliance with government regulations. It’s essential for fostering talent, creating an inclusive corporate culture, and driving innovation.

For the pharma, medtech and biotech industries and the NHS, competitive advantage and workplace equity often go hand in hand. Employees increasingly want to work for organisations that prioritise equal opportunity and value diversity. Companies that lead in these areas attract the best talent and promote strategic ideas that shape the future.

While CHASE’s 2024 gender pay gap report highlights our progress, it also frames the ongoing work needed to ensure consistent progress.

Our commitment

Creating an inclusive workplace culture is more than a corporate responsibility; it’s a business imperative. At CHASE, diversity drives us, and equity inspires us. We remain committed to reducing pay gaps wherever they occur and promoting a more equal workspace at all levels of our organisation.

Key steps we’ll continue to focus on include:

• Training managers to mitigate unconscious biases in recruitment and performance appraisals.
• Enhancing the visibility of women in senior and decision-making positions.
• Aligning pay structures with market standards while ensuring fairness across all genders.

Read the full Gender Pay Gap Report 2024.