Universities must make flexible working ¡°the default¡±, including at?higher salary levels, to?truly tackle their gender pay gaps, according to a?report that poses the question: ¡°How long will it?be until we?see the first job-share vice-chancellor?¡±

The Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) , published on 14?March, finds that women working in UK?universities earn, on?average, 11.9?per cent less than men ¨C a?gap ¡°smaller than the national gender pay gap, currently reported at 14.4?per cent¡±. But there is?¡°extensive¡± variation between universities, with median gender pay gaps in?2022 ranging from zero to 41?per cent, and progress on?closing the gap appears to?be slowing.

The report blames ¡°a?number of structural barriers which may be?preventing pay parity¡±, including ¡°imbalanced maternity and paternity leave, unequal access to the job market for part-time workers, and biased recruitment metrics¡± such as those based on academic publication records, which fail to take account of the part-time working or career breaks that are often part of women¡¯s lives as?mothers.

Among its recommendations is that institutions ¡°should consider how many more roles can be offered on a part-time, job share or flexible basis¡±, including at higher salary bands.

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¡°To be truly progressive, flexible working should be the default, with a decision to advertise a job on a solely full-time basis made for operational reasons that cannot be mitigated,¡± adds the report, written by Rose Stephenson, Hepi¡¯s director of policy and advocacy.

Noting that credit should be given to the University of Reading, which has been advertising pro vice-chancellor roles on a job-share basis, the report asks: ¡°How long will it be until we see the first vice-chancellor role held on a job-share basis?¡±

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During her interviews with institutions, Ms Stephenson writes, she ¡°heard repeatedly that women are overrepresented in the lowest pay quartile because these roles are more likely to be part-time and therefore offer the flexibility that allows female colleagues to balance work with caring responsibilities¡±.

Testing that by looking at advertisements on the website jobs.ac.uk over five weeks, in the ?70,000-?80,000 job bracket 6?per cent of jobs were offered on a part-time basis, falling to 4?per cent in the ?80,000-?90,000 bracket.

¡°Even at the lower salary scales, only 19?per cent of roles are offered on a part-time basis,¡± says the Hepi report.

Yet across the UK workforce, it notes, 26?per cent of employees work part time.

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¡°With female colleagues ¨C particularly mothers ¨C being more likely to work part time, there simply are not the flexible jobs available, at higher-paid roles, to lead to pay equity. In a post-Covid world, there is no?reason why most jobs cannot be undertaken on a flexible or part-time basis,¡± Ms Stephenson told Times Higher Education.

The report is also clear that institutions should create more opportunities ¡°for fathers to work part time or flexibly, to progress equality both at work and in the home¡±, she added.

¡°For this to happen, more jobs need to be offered on a part-time or flexible basis,¡± said Ms Stephenson, something that ¡°should already be high on institutions¡¯ agendas, given the imminent implementation¡± of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act?2023, which will give employees the right to ask for flexible working from day one in a new job.

john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com