Our summary

The Shell UK Gender Pay Gap

From 5^th April 2017, the UK government will require all companies of more than 250 employees to publish their gender pay gap figures on an annual basis.

The gender pay gap is the difference in the average pay of all men and all women in an organisation. This is different to equal pay, which means paying men and women the same salary for equivalent work. Shell UK has had equal pay for many years and monitors it on an ongoing basis.

So, whilst men and women may be paid the same salary for equivalent levels of work, a higher number of men in senior positions, or in roles with higher pay, will mean a higher average pay for men than for women.

For Shell, it is therefore easier to think of the pay gap as a talent gap, since it's the uneven spread of men and women across the organisation which is causing the problem.

Shell UK's pay gap is caused primarily by two factors.

Firstly, Shell struggles to recruit as many women as men into technical roles, which are typically higher paid as they require skills that attract a premium in the market. Currently, only 16% of engineering graduates in the UK are women, which limits access to female technical talent.

Secondly, the number of men in senior roles is higher than the number of women. The reverse is true at the other end of the organisation, where there are more women. These challenges can be addressed through strong diversity and inclusion practices. We have already made considerable progress in some areas over the last few years.

In 2015, equal numbers of men and women were recruited into graduate technical roles in the UK for the first time. Shell has also been the only oil and gas company to win a Times Top 50 Employers for Women award three years in a row. But we are not complacent. We are committed to closing our gender pay gap. And in order to do so, we will continue to ensure that our performance review process remains unbiased, work with organisations like Women in Science and Engineering - which encourages girls and women to study and build careers in the sciences - set ambitious targets for women in senior positions, and train managers in subjects like unconscious bias. And we'll offer flexible working practices and HR policies that support balancing work and family life.

Gender balance is about equal participation of women and men in all areas of work at all levels and in all locations, and includes equal access to the same recognition, reward and career progression opportunities. Finding this balance will take many years and integrated efforts across the business.

Shell UK is committed to dealing with the root causes of gender inequality, to ultimately eliminate the gender pay gap.

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden: "let's close the gender gap"

Why doesn’t your husband just let you stay home?

Hey sweetie, when you got a minute can you get a cup of coffee.

Look who’s wearing earrings today.

You got promoted too?

Hey guys, no swearing there’s a woman in the room.

Are you sure you’ll be able to handle this course, it’s quite advanced?

We’ll do the more technical stuff and you can take notes, OK?

That’s incredible.

Can you imagine what that would feel like?

No, I can’t.

Nobody should have to experience something like this.

I know how valuable a gender balanced workforce is, we need different perspectives to help our businesses innovate, adapt and grow. We face challenges attracting and keeping women in the engineering and technology industries and we need to take action and of course, we need to end the biases that can erode confidence and cut short careers.

Shell is working to close the gender gap by supporting initiatives to encourage girls to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics by focusing on hiring and promoting women and by setting a global minimum standard for paid maternity leave.

Our industry needs the best people, which means creating an open and inclusive culture.

Be the difference. Close the gender gap. Make the future.