Search Country You are here: HOME ABOUT PA | BRINGING INGENUITY TO LIFE CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY Corporate responsibility Anti-slavery statement Read our anti-slavery statement Gender Pay Gap Each year, the UK government requires companies to publish data on their Gender Pay Gap (GPG). Below, we set out our 2020 GPG data. It's important to note that GPG is different to equal pay. Equal pay is a direct comparison between two individuals, whereas GPG is a comparison between the average pay of all men and all women, regardless of their role. We are confident that we have equal pay across PA. That's because we conduct equal pay audits annually, comparing the salaries of those who do the same jobs or work of equal value and analysing this for bias before correcting any discrepancies. Although we saw a slight reduction in our GPG between 2019 and 2020, we are not where we want to be and will make more progress. The primary reason for the gap in salaries, like others in our industry, continues to be the relatively lower number of women in our more senior ranks. As detailed below, we have initiatives underway to address this. We recognise we have a way to go and are committed to doing all we can to close the gap. Mean and median pay and bonus gaps Pay Gaps 2018 2019 actual 2019 excl. share awards* 2020 Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median Hourly Pay** 27.7% 30.7% 21.5% 23.7% 25.3% 28.3% 22.6% 24.8% Bonus^ 54.7% 32.8% 53.6% 33.9% 53.6% 33.9% 51.8% 38.9% *In 2019, we gave the vast majority of our people PA share awards to celebrate our outstanding financial performance. The share awards were initially paid in the snapshot month, so are included as part of hourly pay for GPG purposes. This disproportionately lowered our GPG in that year, so we have also shared our results excluding the award to offer a fairer comparison. **Includes all ranks apart from the non-executive chair. Excludes those who weren't on full pay during the snapshot month of April – this includes joiners and leavers in the month and those on reduced or nil pay due to sickness or leave. ^Includes all ranks apart from the non-executive chair. Excludes those that weren't eligible to receive bonus, for example due to start date. When comparing the mean hourly pay of 2020 to that of 2019 excluding the share awards, we can see our GPG decreased slightly in 2020. Proportion of men and women in each salary quartile Quartiles 2018 2019 2020 Women Men Women Men Women Men Upper quartile 12% 88% 18% 82% 16% 84% Upper-middle quartile 24% 76% 26% 74% 28% 72% Lower-middle quartile 34% 66% 36% 64% 38% 62% Lower quartile 51% 49% 48% 52% 46% 54% Between 2018 and 2021, we've increased the percentage of women across our firm. The proportion of women has increased in our: upper quartile from 12% to 16% upper-middle quartile from 24% to 28% lower-middle quartile from 34% to 38%. Proportion of men and women who received a bonus Bonus 2018 2019 2020 Women 98.9% 96.7% 100.0% Men 97.8% 96.9% 99.6% Why do we have a Gender Pay Gap? Several factors drive our GPG. But the biggest contributors in our firm are: underrepresentation of women in senior and, therefore, more highly paid roles – demonstrated by our upper and upper-middle quartiles more women in junior ranks – demonstrated by our lower quartile. In addition, our efforts to attract more women at graduate level causes our GPG to increase as it lowers the average salary for women a higher proportion of women working part-time than men – while this doesn't affect the GPG, which we calculate using hourly rates, it does affect the bonus gap. We see similar trends across the consulting industry and, unfortunately, throughout society in general. By owning these challenges within our firm and proactively working to eliminate our gender pay gap, we'll help build a positive human future for everyone. How we're addressing our Gender Pay Gap Addressing our GPG will require creating an environment where more women progress to our senior roles. So, we're looking at all our processes and policies to take proactive steps that help women thrive in their careers. Some of our most recent and ongoing work includes: reviewing our talent pipelines to identify gender and other diversity gaps, and providing development programmes, coaching and mentoring to close them upskilling our leaders by introducing new learning modules, including ‘cultivating a purpose-led and inclusive culture’ and ‘nurturing talent and building capability’ reviewing how we better support flexible and part-time working, as well as working families, which can have a greater impact on women looking at our recruitment processes and setting a target for a 50/50 gender split at the graduate level, which we've hit in the latest round of graduate recruitment setting inclusion and diversity objectives for our firm to ensure we're accountable for our progress. Our Women's Network is also driving several activities aimed at supporting the development and progression of women across PA. Recent initiatives include: 360 Voice Circles – bringing together small groups of women to discuss and explore career topics, share professional and personal insights, provide mentoring, support, guidance and coaching, and offer access to senior women role models Ask an Expert series – featuring PA experts who share their advice on professional development. We have work to do, and we're committed to ensuring we do what's right for our people. We confirm that PA's gender pay gap data was calculated in accordance with, and meets the requirements of, The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017. Hamish Maule Chief Operating Officer PA Consulting Environmental responsibility Within PA, we continue to improve our green credentials and work to reduce our impact to the environment. In 2013 we were awarded the Carbon Trust Standard in the UK after making a considerable reduction in our Carbon Footprint. Following the first re-certification period with the Carbon Trust in 2015 and as part of our on-going achievements in reducing our carbon footprint further, we successfully maintained our accreditation having displayed a 9.1% absolute reduction in our carbon footprint in the UK. We continue with our commitment to reduce our impact on the environment by operating an Environmental Management System in compliance with ISO14001 in all PA owned offices and have successfully maintained this accreditation since awarded in 2013. In line with the accreditation and our environmental policy statement, we have achieved various objectives and goals. These include developing an ecology based strategy for land associated with PA owned property to reduce invasive species and to protect natural habitat to encourage flora and fauna to thrive. We have developed a program to introduce new eco hand driers in place of hand towels in all PA owned offices in an effort to reduce waste. We are also investigating ways to reduce the waste sent to landfill from PA owned offices to 0%. We continue to explore and implement new and innovative energy saving initiatives in line with our Carbon Trust approved strategy and are fully compliant with the new Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS.) regulations. We are working closely with a national energy optimization scheme and are expecting to expand this provision. Over the next 12 months, we expect to extend the scope of our Environmental Management System. Our most recent Global Carbon Footprint Report shows a marked decrease in the Group’s carbon footprint as compared with the previous year which equates to an overall carbon emissions reduction of 15% globally. As part of our benefits package for our people, we offer a plan that promotes greener transport by giving our UK people a tax-saving incentive to buy a new bicycle. Furthermore, our car plan scheme continues to encourage our people to choose new low emission cars. We have recently reduced the emissions specification cap from 160g/km to 130g/km to encourage purchase of better performing cars from an environmental perspective. PA continue to look for new and innovative ways to reduce our impact on the environment. Where possible, we will adopt new technologies and develop new approaches to achieve our objectives year-on-year. Preventing bribery PA Consulting Group is committed to operating in an ethical way throughout the world and we are particularly aware of the danger of bribery. Our Code of Conduct, which we review regularly, is our key defence against bribery of, or by, our people and describes our procedure on how to report suspicious practices, either openly or in confidence. Our Code of Conduct demonstrates that PA always strives to do the "right thing" rather than the "easy thing" and that we understand the consequences of poor behaviour. We encourage our employees to review these policies regularly and provide a variety of training to our employees to ensure compliance. We take action to ensure that those in our supply chain also have appropriate procedures in place. We will take relevant action against those who fail to meet our standards. Ken Toombs Chief Executive Officer PA Consulting Group If you would like to see our code of conduct, please contact us. Tax strategy The PA Consulting Group's tax strategy is to plan and operate in a transparent manner. We want our tax position to be fair – and be seen as being fair - for our shareholders and for society in all countries where we operate. This document sets out how PA implements this strategy. It covers four areas: Our approach to managing tax risks Our attitude towards tax planning Tax compliance and levels of acceptable risk Our approach towards dealing with tax authorities Our approach to managing tax risks As part of its overall risk management policy, the PA Board has put in place various structures and processes to deliver effective management of the group's tax risks: The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing PA's tax risks. It reports regularly to the Board. The Audit Committee approves the group's tax strategy and receives regular updates on tax matters. The Investment Committee has operational oversight of PA's tax affairs. The Investment Committee is responsible for approving the tax impact of all material transactions. The CFO, as Senior Accounting Officer, is responsible for ensuring that PA maintains appropriate tax accounting arrangements. This involves establishing financial controls and systems to ensure that the group files accurate tax returns and meets its legal obligations to tax authorities. Our attitude towards tax planning We continue to seek non-controversial ways to improve the group's tax position, and influence the key drivers of PA's tax rate. Our approach is to engage in efficient planning that supports PA's business and reflects its commercial and economic activities. In common with other businesses, PA uses external tax advisers to assist with more complex issues, and to help it validate in-house proposals. As a supplier to the UK and other national public sectors, PA fully supports the principles contained in the UK Government's Procurement Policy Note "Measures to promote tax compliance", issued by the UK Cabinet Office. We do not engage in abusive tax arrangements or artificial tax avoidance schemes. Tax compliance and levels of acceptable risk We aim to be a responsible taxpayer in all countries where we operate. PA's tax position is managed centrally from the UK. This team ensures that PA operates consistent and responsible tax processes, in all PA countries. We apply the same approach to all jurisdictions, including those countries where a tax authority has less capacity to scrutinise issues. We also encourage responsible tax behaviour in our supply chain, by requiring our suppliers to meet certain standards. However tax law can be complex, and occasionally there are differences of interpretation or areas of uncertainty. If challenged, PA will defend its tax positions, and will engage professional advisers to assist, when appropriate. Our approach towards dealing with tax authorities We aim to build good relationships with tax authorities in all countries where we do business. PA works transparently with local tax authorities in order to meet their statutory requirements. We adopt positive and proactive disclosure, and co-operative working practices. We seek to be treated as a taxpayer like any other, and we do not try to obtain preferential treatment in tax rulings or settlements. Our main tax relationship is with the tax authority in the UK, HMRC, because the majority of PA's subsidiaries and employees are based in the UK. We therefore hold regular meetings with HMRC to share information on PA's activities and to discuss the tax treatment of its transactions. In other jurisdictions, although there may be less regular contact with tax authorities, we still respond positively and transparently to their requests for information. 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