Aardman Gender Pay Gap 2024
Aardman is committed to building and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce, believing this to be essential if we are to become the most inspirational animation company in the world. Since we first reported on Gender Pay in 2020 and discovered that we did have a Gender Pay Gap, we have been working hard to ensure that our culture, policies and processes are equitable and fair for all.
Understanding the numbers
It is important to understand that Gender Pay is different from Equal Pay. Equal Pay requires that men and women are paid equally for the same/similar level of work, and we ensure, through regular Equal Pay audits, that men and women at Aardman are paid equally for work of equal value. Gender Pay is the difference in average hourly pay between men and women.
In alignment with the current requirements for Gender Pay Gap reporting, gender must be reported in a binary way, recognising only men and women. This means the gap does not take into account non-binary or other gender identities. Aardman does, however, recognise and welcome other gender identities, including by ensuring they are presented as options in other staff surveys and reporting.
In reporting on the Gender Pay Gap, key reporting statistics examine median and mean pay data. The median is calculated by arranging all the hourly pay rates of women in order from lowest to highest. The same is then done for all the hourly pay rates for men. The median shows the difference in pay between the middle-ranked man and the middle-ranked woman.
The mean pay gap is the difference between the average hourly pay of all the men and women.
Aardman's Gender Pay Gap
|
Overall Gender Pay Gap |
2024 |
2023 |
|
Mean Pay Gap |
11.1% |
16.8% |
|
Median Pay Gap |
18.0% |
22.2% |
|
Mean Bonus Gap |
75.3% |
8.9% |
|
Median Bonus Gap |
58.1% |
10.2% |
|
Bonus Eligibility |
2024 |
2023 |
|
Men |
2.5% |
76.9% |
|
Women |
2.6% |
78.2% |
|
Pay Quartiles |
Men |
Women |
||
|
2024 |
2023 |
2024 |
2023 |
|
|
Upper |
58.6% |
67.6% |
41.4% |
32.4% |
|
Upper Middle |
58.6% |
61.8% |
41.4% |
38.2% |
|
Lower Middle |
41.8% |
43.1% |
58.2% |
56.9% |
|
Lower |
41.8% |
38.2% |
58.2% |
61.8% |
Understanding our results
We have proportionately more men than women in our upper two pay quartiles and more women than men in our lower two quartiles. However, we are pleased to see that the percentage of women in the upper two quartiles has increased from 2023, and this is an encouraging sign that our flexible and family friendly culture is supporting our Partners in balancing family and work life. As previously reported, we are proud to have low staff turnover, but conversely, this has resulted in fewer opportunities to promote women into more senior level roles. With the reported increase in numbers of women in the upper two quartiles, we see this an indicator that other initiatives such as Unconscious Bias training and aiming for 50/50 gender split in the shortlisting process is working.
Our Bonus Gap has increased from 2023. No profit share payment was made to partners during the 12 months up to the snapshot date in 2024. This means that the eligibility for men and women receiving any kind of bonus payment was considerably reduced from the figures in 2023. Bonus payments paid were maternity return to work bonuses & contractual bonuses. The reduction in numbers of partners eligible for a bonus payment has contributed to the increase in our Bonus Gap.
While it is disappointing that our Bonus Gap has increased, we know that when we are able to make Profit share bonus payments, all eligible partners receive the same amount, regardless of salary. However, differences do exist with profit share payments, this is because we have more women than men that work part time and therefore receive a pro-rated bonus amount.
What we are doing to close the gap?
We are very encouraged to report that our Median pay gap has reduced by 4.2% and the mean by 5.7% in 2024. We believe that the initiatives we have in place are having a positive impact on our Gender Pay Gap.
We will continue to aim for 50/50 gender split in the shortlisting for all vacancies. We continue to monitor the language in all our recruitment processes to ensure there is no gender bias and will highlight flexibility and hybrid working options where possible.
Our drive to invest in trainees across all areas of the company will continue. We have seen an increase in women in roles more traditionally held by men and we feel optimistic that this initiative will see an equal gender split across all pay quartiles over time.
Our ‘Aardwomen’ group continues to provide an inclusive and supportive space where women can talk freely about their experiences within the industry. Our Mentorship Scheme for 2025 has started with a new cohort. This hugely positive scheme has previously created successful pairings across all areas of the company, involving men and women. Bringing together shared knowledge and experience to help further professional development within Aardman.
In summary
Whilst we are encouraged with the reduction in our Gender Pay Gap, we remain fully committed to reducing the gap further at Aardman. We will continue with the initiatives that we have implemented and ensure that our policies and processes are always focussed on inclusivity and fairness for all partners.