The median pay gap is the difference between the midpoints in the ranges of hourly earnings of men and women. The same approach is applied to establish the difference between the midpoints in the ranges of hourly earnings of minority ethnic staff and white staff. It takes all salaries in the sample, lines them up in order from lowest to highest, and picks the middle salary. We believe this is a more representative measure of the pay gap at Imperial because it is not affected by outliers – a few individuals at the top or bottom of the range.

The mean gender pay gap confirms the difference between the average hourly earnings of men and women. The same approach is applied to establish the difference between the average hourly earnings of minority ethnic staff and white staff, plus the difference between the average hourly earnings of staff with no known disability and staff who have declared a disability.

The main reason for both gaps is predominately down to an under-representation of women, minority ethnic and disabled colleagues employed in the senior levels of Imperial: particularly the academic grades and Levels 6 and 7 in the Professional Services job family. This is reflected in the current Imperial representation in the upper quartiles.

Mean and median gender pay gap 2024

Mean and median gender pay gap

  • Median hourly rate for total pay: £25.81 for women; £28.78 for men
  • Imperial's median gender pay gap: 10.3% 
  • The national median gender pay gap: waiting for this to be released
  • The HEI median gender pay gap: waiting for this to be released
  • Mean hourly rate for total pay: £29.37 for women; £34.49 for men
  • Imperial's mean gender pay gap: 14.8%
  • The national mean gender pay: waiting for this to be released
  • The HEI mean gender pay gap: waiting for this to be released

Mean and median ethnicity pay gap

Mean and median ethnicity pay gap

  • Median hourly rate for total pay: £25.94 for BAME staff; £29.87 for white staff
  • Imperial's median ethnicity pay gap: 13.2% 
  • Mean hourly rate for total pay: £28.65 for BAME staff; £35.60 for white staff
  • Imperial's mean ethnicity pay gap: 19.5%

Mean and median disability pay gap

Mean and median disability pay gap

  • Median hourly rate for total pay: £25.50 for staff who have declared a disability; £27.60 for staff who have no known disability
  • Imperial's median disability pay gap: 7.6%
  • Mean hourly rate for total pay: £30.07 for staff who have declared a disability; £32.75 for staff who have no known disability
  • Imperial's mean disability pay gap: 8.2%