MI5 publishes Gender Pay Gap report 2020

Published date: 15 Dec 2020

Today, MI5, along with SIS and GCHQ, has published its Gender Pay Gap report.

Although the intelligence agencies are not bound to disclose their figures, we believe it is important to be as open as possible about our progress. Gender Pay Gap reporting is a positive driver for change and is a way for us to hold ourselves to account and contribute to a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

This year's report shows that the mean pay for men is 13% higher than for women. This is the percentage difference between average hourly earnings for men and women, and is not the same as equal pay issues where men and women are paid different amounts for carrying out the same or similar jobs of equal value, which would be unlawful. 

The report also shows we have exceeded the target of 35% female staff at Senior Civil Servant roles for the fourth year in a row. We continue to maintain our ambitious target of reaching 45% female representation across all senior manager roles by 2021.

Director Ken McCallum said:

"MI5 is committed to accelerating pace to deliver a diverse and inclusive workplace, harnessing and growing the talents of all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds to keep the country safe.

As an organisation, we have become more diverse and inclusive in recent years, but we still have further to go. This year's report sets out clearly the steps we need to take to deliver these shifts, and they carry my full support".

A number of successful initiatives are already in place to support the progression of women at MI5. This includes an Inspiring Women Leaders programme, and mentoring for female employees who aspire to work in senior management roles. We also continue to see high staff engagement with our gender network. 

The full Gender Pay Gap report can be read here.