Fixing the gender pay gap across the real estate sector will not happen overnight, says Savills as it publishes its report for 2019.
The agent’s gender pay gap report shows little movement in its mean average hourly gender pay gap between 2018 and 2019, holding steady at 39%, and actually saw its bonus pay gap increase slightly from 79% to 80%.
Despite the small changes, the firm said it was committed to closing the gap.
Between 2018 and 2019, the agent has seen a 2% increase in the number of women in its upper pay quartile – women now make up one fifth of this segment of earners – and 23% of its UK board is now made up of women. The firm has also increased the number of women hired at director level over the past 12 months, up from 21% in 2018 to 23% last year, with the associate level female hires increasing from 35% to 38%. Some 42% of its director promotions in 2019 were women.
The firm is also seeking to redress the balance at the lower levels. Over the past year it has reported an increase in the proportion of men in the lower quartile of earners in the business, increasing from 24% in 2018 to 26% last year.
Siân Tunney, UK board director and chair of the Savills’ gender diversity group, said: “We still have a pay gap between the average earnings of men and women in our business, reflecting the historic under-representation of women at senior levels in the real estate sector, which means there is a higher proportion of men in these senior roles today than women. While this is reflective of our industry, we are passionate about changing it and are committed to complete transparency in the way we do it.”
The firm said it had been working hard to make positive and crucial changes to its HR policies, culture, training and approach to flexible working, all of which will help to reduce the pay gap over time.
“We have implemented some great initiatives to reduce the pay gap and to achieve a balanced workforce, but we know that there is no quick fix in order to close it fully. While we will aim for sooner, we need to look at closing this as a five to 10-year project,” said Tunney. “We also need to encourage women to act as role models in areas of our business which have been traditionally occupied by men, and ensure that they recognise the opportunities that exist for them.
“Our approach involves looking at recruitment processes right down to investing in programmes working with universities and schools to access different pathways for recruitment. This will help us identify a more diverse pool of talent to recruit the very best women and men into our business.”
UK managing director Richard Rees added: “It is vital to us that we make positive changes for the long term by identifying the right future leaders for our business and providing them with the training and support they need to achieve their full potential. We firmly believe in career progression for everyone and will continue to promote on merit to ensure every person in the business has a sense of purpose and belonging. It is our utmost priority to ensure a working environment in which everyone is happy, valued and can thrive.”
Read the report: Gender Pay Gap Report 2019: A Better Balance for Everyone
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette
