At Openmind Networks, addressing the gender pay gap is a continuous priority. Our CEO & Founder, Alex Duncan, shares insights into our unwavering commitment to equality across all aspects of our organization, outlining how it’s woven into our policies, people strategy, and core values.
At Openmind Networks, we are deeply committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive workplace. This report outlines our ongoing dedication to closing the gender pay gap, a core focus woven into our policies and people strategy. While our data reveals areas for improvement, we are proactively implementing strategies to attract diverse talent and empowering all employees to thrive.
A Message from our CEO
Closing the gender representation gap is a key focus for us not just during reporting, but throughout our policies, our people strategy and our core initiatives. We have always had proper equality management of male and female salaries during our hiring and salary reviews and continue to have equality and fair pay principles for all at the core of all we do. While there is still more to work on, in having females represented at the highest level in our organization, we remain committed to removing barriers in the workplace so that our people can thrive throughout their careers.
Gender pay gap reporting is truly “representation gap reporting” and is one part of a much-needed wider strategy to address female participation rates and employment gaps between genders. It won’t on its own identify or solve the myriad of structural, cultural and policy causes for these differences, but it is a critical and welcome element.
– Alex Duncan, CEO & Founder, Openmind Networks
Understanding the Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap is the difference in average earnings between men and women across an entire workforce, sector, or country, reflecting that, on average, women earn less than men.
Importantly, the gender pay gap is not the same as “equal pay for equal work”, which refers to the legal principle than men and women performing the same or comparable jobs must receive the same pay; an organization can technically comply with equal pay laws yet still have a significant gender pay gap if women are concentrated in lower-paying roles.
A gender pay gap does not indicate discrimination or an absence of equal pay for equal value work – it represents a gender representation gap. If women hold more lower paid jobs in an organization than men, the gender pay gap is usually wider.
Gender pay gap reporting often further highlights important challenges that business and policy-makers are grappling with, such as:
- Why are not enough women in senior positions in our organizations?
- Why are more women in lower paid roles?
This gap arises from complex, interconnected factors. These can include occupational segregation, where women are concentrated in lower-paying industries or roles, and career breaks disproportionately taken by women for caregiving responsibilities, which impact their career progression and lifetime earnings. Furthermore, fewer women in senior, higher-paying leadership positions contribute significantly, as do subtle and overt biases in hiring, promotion, and pay decisions.
For Openmind Networks, addressing this imbalance and actively working to break the mold of a male-dominated software industry is an area of crucial importance, reflecting a commitment to fostering a more equitable and inclusive workforce.
Looking Ahead
Our strategy to address the gender pay gap focuses on two key pillars.
Firstly, attracting female talent. This will involve proactive measures to broaden our candidate pools by reviewing job descriptions to ensure gender neutral language, continued utilization of our diverse recruitment channels and implementing unconscious bias training. This ensures we will attract a wider range of qualified individuals, into roles where they may be underrepresented, especially in technical and leadership positions within the historically male-dominated software industry.
Secondly, by enhancing and further promoting our current benefit programmes that offer support to all employees, we aim to design and create a supportive environment that enables all people to thrive and advance their careers without unnecessary obstacles.
Data Calculations and Metrics
Here’s an overview of the methodology and metrics used in our reporting:
Mean and Median Hourly Remuneration Gap
Mean Hourly Pay Gap: The difference between the average hourly pay of male and female employees.
Median Hourly Pay Gap: The difference between the median (middle) hourly pay of male and female employees.
Mean and Median Bonus Remuneration Gap
Mean Bonus Pay Gap: The difference between the average bonus pay of male and female employees.
Median Bonus Pay Gap: The difference between the median bonus pay of male and female employees.
Proportion of Employees Receiving Bonus Remuneration
- Percentage of male employees who received a bonus.
- Percentage of female employees who received a bonus.
Proportion of Employees Receiving Benefits-in-Kind
- Percentage of male employees who received benefits-in-kind.
- Percentage of female employees who received benefits-in-kind.
Hourly Remuneration Quartile Pay Bands
Lower Quartile: Percentage of male and female employees in the lowest 25% of earners.
Lower-Middle Quartile: Percentage of male and female employees in the second 25% of earners.
Upper-Middle Quartile: Percentage of male and female employees in the third 25% of earners.
Upper Quartile: Percentage of male and female employees in the highest 25% of earners.
Mean and Median Pay Gaps
The mean and median pay gap in hourly pay between all male and female employees;
| Mean Gender Pay Gap % | Median Gender Pay Gap % | |
| Mean & Median Overall Population Hourly Gender Pay Gap % | 13.8% | 3.2% |
Pay Bands
Pay Band Quartiles
The percentage of male and female employees in each of the four pay band quartiles is as follows;
| Bands | Male % | Female % |
| Lower | 56.25% | 43.75% |
| Lower Middle | 87.5% | 18.75% |
| Upper Middle | 56.25% | 43.75% |
| Upper | 86.67% | 13.3% |
Pay Band Quartiles Mean & Median Gap*
| Bands | Mean | Median |
| Lower | -0.10% | 3% |
| Lower Middle | 0.39% | -1.2% |
| Upper Middle | -3% | -3.8% |
| Upper | 1.4% | -19.8% |
*a positive % indicates in favor of males
Bonus Bands
Bonus Gap
The mean and median bonus pay gap between male and female employees
| Mean Pay Gap % | Median Pay Gap % | |
| Bonus Mean & Median Pay Gap % | 42.6% | 12.3% |
Bonus Gap by Quartile*
| Bands | Mean | Median |
| Lower | -6.5% | -10% |
| Lower Middle | 2.7% | 4.3% |
| Upper Middle | -4.3% | -6.7% |
| Upper | 63% | 71% |
*a positive % indicates in favor of males
Benefit in Kind*
| Male | Female | |
| % of BIK received | 71.1% | 28.8% |
*not all employees have opted to avail of BIK
Conclusion
The Gender Pay Gap Report reveals a notable disparity, with a mean hourly pay gap of 13.8% and a significant bonus gap, indicating fewer women in higher-paying and bonus-receiving roles. While challenges exist, particularly in the underrepresentation of women in upper pay quartiles, we are actively committed to addressing these imbalances. There are instances where female pay is in their favor within specific pay bands, underscoring the complexity of the gap.
Our strategic initiatives, focusing on attracting diverse talent, fostering the progression of high performing individuals into senior roles through targeted development, and enhancing benefit programs, demonstrate a proactive approach to creating a more equitable and inclusive workforce.
Openmind Networks is committed to building an inclusive and equitable workplace. For more information about our Gender Pay Gap report, our commitment to equality and diversity, or to learn more about our ongoing initiatives, please contact our team.
