University moves to close professor gender pay gap

Female professors at the University of Essex will be awarded a one-off salary hike, the institution has announced, in an attempt to eradicate the gender pay gap, writes Rachael Pells for the Independent.

In what is believed to be a sector first, the university will move female professors up three newly created pay levels, effectively raising their average salaries to the same as their male counterparts. Essex University vice-chancellor Anthony Forster said that the move was motivated by “impatience” at the industry-wide problem, with external policies “failing to close the pay gap quickly enough”.

The decision comes as newly released figures highlight persistent salary disputes between genders across the country. Analysis of industry pay levels by Times Higher Education shows that women on full-time academic contracts in the UK are paid around 11% less than their male peers.
Full report on the Independent site