At Cancer Research UK we’re committed to being transparent about our progress and performance. Today, we’ve published our [gender and ethnicity pay gap reports](https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/sites/default/files/gender_and_ethnicity_pay_gap_report_2024_final_r5.pdf) for the reporting period of April 2023 to April 2024.
We have combined our pay gap reporting for both Cancer Research UK and [Cancer Research Horizons](https://www.cancerresearchhorizons.com/), a wholly owned subsidiary, which aims to advance, develop and commercialise innovative science and research into effective treatments and diagnostics for cancer patients.
Equal pay means paying people the same for like-for-like work and it has been a legal requirement for over 50 years. We’re confident that we do this and have robust frameworks and guidelines that are applied consistently to ensure that pay is set fairly for similar roles across the charity.
Gender pay gaps
----------------
The gender and ethnicity pay gaps are not the same as equal pay. The gender pay gap is the difference in average pay between all female and male staff working at Cancer Research UK\*.
Our mean gender pay gap is 14.2%, down from 16.7% in 2023. The median pay gap has also reduced, down from 21.1% in 2023 to 13.8% in 2024.
We’re pleased that our 2024 results show a third year of improvement. Our gender pay gap is driven by the overall distribution of male and female staff across the charity. We employ significantly more female than male staff across the whole charity, with an overall gender split of 75% women and 25% men.
The sex distribution across grades is always changing due to recruitment and turnover, however in certain high-paid functions, such as technology and some senior management grades, we employ proportionately more male than female colleagues than our sex distribution overall, which then has an impact on our gender pay gap.
Retail colleagues also make up more than half of our staff and we employ far more female staff (80%) than male staff in our shops, as is typical of the UK retail sector. This means that the average hourly rate for female staff across the organisation is lower than it is for male staff.
Ethnicity pay gaps
-------------------
While publishing our ethnicity pay gap report is not a legal requirement, we welcome the opportunity to share data.
The ethnicity pay gap is calculated by comparing the average pay of White staff to other ethnic minority employees (this includes people who are Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnic minority communities, including people from a Middle Eastern background – in line with ONS recommendations). The difference is expressed as a percentage of the average White employee’s pay.
Our mean ethnicity pay gap is –3.3% compared with –5% in 2023. Our median ethnicity pay gap is –14% compared with –15.3% in 2023.
Our mean and median ethnicity pay gaps remain in favour of ethnic minority staff. The factors influencing our ethnicity pay gap remain predominately unchanged: we employ low numbers of ethnic minority colleagues across all levels and roles in the charity, we have a significantly higher proportion of ethnic minority colleagues in higher-paid parts of the charity (for example in technology) and a lower proportion of ethnic minority colleagues employed in our retail shops.
The next steps
---------------
We will continue to ensure that our staff are paid equally for equal work.
We’re pleased by the progress we’ve made in decreasing our pay gaps. We will continue running competitive processes where the best candidates are appointed.
We will also maintain our commitment to our top leadership levels being a minimum of 50% women and 12% from an ethnic minority background and work to increase the proportion of staff from ethnic minority backgrounds from 16% to 19% by 2027.
\* The data used to calculate our gender pay gap comes from HM Revenue & Customs records, meaning all staff are categorised as either ‘male’ or ‘female’. So, while we use the term ‘gender pay gap’ throughout our reporting, we understand that, for some people, the data used will be in relation to their sex but not their gender.