Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Property Industry Eye. Read the original article for full details.

Estate Agency Gender Pay Gap Widens to 28.7% as Early Progress Reverses

The gender pay gap at some of Britain's largest estate agencies has widened, reversing much of the progress made during the early years of mandatory reporting. Women at more than 25 large residential and commercial property agencies earned an average 28.7% less than men last year, according to analysis by Parapet Intelligence.

From 32.7% to 24.7% and back up again

The gap stood at 24.7% in 2020/21, meaning it has increased by four percentage points in five years. Mandatory gender pay gap reporting began in 2017/18, when the agencies in Parapet's analysis recorded an average gap of 32.7%. That fell to 24.7% by 2020/21 before climbing back to 28.7%.

Gender pay gap figures compare average earnings between men and women across an organisation, rather than comparing the salaries of men and women doing the same jobs. The results can therefore reflect how many men and women work in senior and higher-paid positions.

Bonus gap remains close to 50%

More women working at the agencies now receive bonuses than when reporting began. Parapet found that 75% of female employees received a bonus last year, compared with 63% in 2017/18. Among male employees, 78.9% received a bonus last year.

However, a substantial difference remains in the value of those payments. Men received average bonuses worth 48.7% more than women last year, compared with a 53.6% bonus gap eight years ago. The divide has narrowed, but remains considerably wider than the overall gender pay gap.

Vikki Bennett, co-founder of Parapet Intelligence, said it was "scandalous" that progress was witnessed when politically convenient, only for much of it to be undone when the issue falls out of the news. She said it "reeks of paying lip service to structural problems in the sector that need to be constantly under the microscope", adding that estate agency is an industry where plenty of women thrive, but if there really were equal opportunities the gender pay gap would reflect that.

Housebuilder pay gap more than doubles

Parapet also analysed gender pay data from around 40 large housebuilders, where the findings show an even greater deterioration since reporting began. The average gender pay gap has more than doubled: women earned an average 10.8% less than men in 2017/18, the gap had reached 20.5% five years ago, and last year it stood at 24.7%.

The bonus gap has also shifted further in favour of male employees. Men's median bonuses exceeded women's by 4.7% in 2017/18; last year, the difference had widened to 26.7%.

Bennett said pay equality for women had gone backwards since housebuilders were put on notice that the Government wanted to see progress, describing the situation as deeply troubling. She said it was time to put the issue back on the agenda and ensure senior teams understand that diverse teams and more equal earnings belong to companies that are agile, competitive and stronger.