Our latest gender pay gap figures

Today, Starling is releasing its latest gender pay gap figures for 2020. Since its 2019 report*, the median gender pay gap has decreased from 20% to 15.62%, while the mean has narrowed from 28.09% to 21.27%.

The figures are calculated based on an average of what Starling pays all men and women regardless of their role, so the numbers don’t mean that women are paid less for equal work than men.

The data shows that on average, women at Starling earn £78.73 for every £100 earned by men. When you use the median - the midpoint of all salaries - women earn £84.38 for every £100 earned by men.

Gender pay gap 2019 and 2020

Gender pay reports are published in April of each year based on data as at the preceding April. The deadline for reporting for 2019 data was suspended as a result of Covid-19. We are now publishing our official 2019 data together with 2020, which will be ahead of the normal deadline (April 2021).

Starling’s pay gap exists largely because there are more men than women in higher paid roles. This year’s latest figures show that we’re continuing to get a greater proportion of women into senior roles. Women occupied 26% of jobs in the highest-paying quartile in 2020, up from 21% in 2019.

Proportion of women and men in highest paying roles

Our goal at Starling is eventually to eliminate the gap. Not only is this right and fair, we believe it is likely to make for a more successful company. And that, in turn, should mean a better service for our customers.

One approach we are taking to eliminate the gap is focusing on our talent pipeline. In 2021 we’re launching our inaugural Starling Management Programme. This will be fully inclusive and open to all those in their early management career. We will be ensuring that we have representations from all diversity strands including gender.

As part of our ongoing commitment to the Women in Finance Charter and other initiatives, our aspiration for 2021 is for 40% of senior leadership positions to be held by women - we are currently at 43%.

But gender is only part of the picture.

If 2020 was the year of the pandemic, it was also the year when the world was reminded of the need to work harder on diversity on all fronts. At Starling we’re committed to narrowing the representation gap to produce more racial and ethnic diversity, particularly at a management level. We are collecting data with a view to finding new pathways to promotion internally, as well as working to attract new and diverse talent from outside.

* Gender pay gap figures for 2019 published by Starling in April 2019 have been updated