Caroline Hawkings, CEO UK, comments on Savanta’s gender pay gap results

All employers with more than 250 employees in England, Wales and Scotland must report their gender pay gap figures by the end of each financial year.

For the first time, Savanta has met the criteria and published its statistics. Caroline Hawkings, CEO UK, comments on the results.

“For the first time, Savanta has had to publish its gender pay stats. While we’re now legally obligated to do this, it’s something I feel we should be happy to do as a progressive company aiming to be transparent to its team.

“My initial feeling was that with a female CEO, and a female UK General Manager – as well as a high proportion of senior women across the team – we’d perform well. So when I saw the results, I must admit my heart sank. The stats are there in black and white for all to see on the government website, so I won’t start quoting numbers, but let’s just say we have work to do.

“We must face up to the fact that we need to change, do more, and be fully committed to closing the gap. Inevitably, this is not as easy as I wish it could be.

“So, what can we do? The government stats are a fairly blunt tool, and aren’t great at representing any nuance, so the first thing we have done is dig into the data (we are researchers after all!) and look at where specific issues exist and understand what’s driving the gap.

“Armed with this information I am working with my senior team and my DE&I Committee to create a plan which looks into all areas likely to drive improvement – hiring practices, promotions process, career management, learning & development, as well as our policies to ensure they are genuinely focused on creating a more equitable workplace.

“One positive outcome is that being more equitable is not just about benefitting the females in my team, but other groups where pay gaps can exist. To that end, having reported the data for gender we are now looking to do the same by ethnicity.

“I am aware this won’t be as quick as I would like or as others may expect, but as our first female CEO I am committed to doing better. I am hoping that it won’t be too long before I can log onto GOV.UK and replace that sinking feeling with a beaming smile on behalf of all the other women that I am privileged to lead.”

– Caroline Hawkings, CEO UK, Savanta

To download Savanta’s Gender Pay Gap Report 2022 please click here