Each year, organisations with more than 250 employees are required to report their gender pay gap data. The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of men and women. This is the seventh year that the Royal Institute of Brtish Architects has reported gender pay gap data.
For the third time, we are also publishing our ethnicity pay gap data. For this report, we categorise ethnicity as Black, Asian and ethnic minority, or white. We recognise the limitations and challenges of these categories, however this reflects the data we hold and the requirements of presenting the data in a standardised way. Our approach to collecting and reporting data will improve over time, but it is important that we publish this data even with these existing limitations. The ethnicity pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of Black, Asian and ethnic minority employees and white employees.
Insights from both sets of data enable us to develop targeted actions to improve gender and ethnicity representation and equity across our organisation.
Our 2023 gender and ethnicity pay gap data can be found below. This snapshot was taken on 5 April 2023, when RIBA employed 248 people.
Gender pay data
- median gender pay gap: 9.27% - down from 15.06% the previous year
- mean gender pay gap: 10.78% - down from 16.21% the previous year
- the proportion of men in the organisation receiving a bonus payment: 5.26% - up from 4.76% the previous year
- the proportion of women in the organisation receiving a bonus payment: 0% - no change
- mean bonus gender pay gap: 100% - no change
- median bonus gender pay gap: 100% - no change
Proportion of females and males at each salary quartile
| Quartile | Female | Male |
| Upper | 46.77% | 53.23% |
| Upper middle | 69.35% | 30.65% |
| Lower middle | 56.45% | 43.55% |
| Lower | 74.19% | 25.81% |
| Total workforce | Female | Male |
| 61.69% | 38.31% |
Ethnicity pay
- median ethnicity pay gap: 6% - up from 7.10% the previous year
- mean ethnicity pay gap: 10.02% - down from 10.12% the previous year
- the proportion of white people in the organisation receiving a bonus payment:1.6%
- the proportion of Black, Asian, and ethnic minority people in the organisation receiving a bonus payment: 3.85%
- mean bonus ethnicity pay gap: 40.24% - up from 9.74% the previous year
- median bonus ethnicity pay gap: 40.9% - up from 16.62% the previous year
Proportion of white and Black, Asian, and ethnic minority people at each salary level
| Quartile | White | Black, Asian, and ethnic minority | Not reportable |
| Upper | 82.26% | 16.13% | 1.61% |
| Upper middle | 72.58% | 19.35% | 8.06% |
| Lower middle | 72.26% | 14.52% | 3.23% |
| Lower | 66.13% | 33.87% | 0% |
| Total workforce | White | Black, Asian, and ethnic minority | Not reportable |
| 75.81% | 20.97% | 3.23% |
RIBA Chief Executive Dr Valerie Vaughan-Dick MBE said:
“This data provides a snapshot of the organisation one year ago, on 5 April 2023. It shows encouraging progress in the right direction, but there is still work to do to create a fairer and more equitable RIBA. Reviewing our gender and ethnicity pay gap data every year is vital to enable us to identify and address disparities within our organisation.
In 2023, our mean gender pay gap was 10.78%. This was a 5.79% reduction compared to the 2022 figure of 16.21% (down from 18.91% in 2021).
Our workforce remained mainly (61.69%) female. Women were underrepresented in the highest salary quartile (46.77%), although this was a small increase compared to 44.29% in 2022. This resulted in a median gender pay gap of 9.27%, down from 15.06% in 2022.
Our 2023 data shows that most (75.81%) RIBA employees were white and 20.97% were Black, Asian and ethnic minority, a slight increase from 18.37% in 2022. Our mean ethnicity pay gap was 10.02% - a small decrease from 10.12% in 2022. There was a higher proportion of white employees at every salary level. A small number of employees (3.23%) did not disclose their ethnicity.
In 2023, we embedded cultural change at RIBA, focusing on the key areas of recruitment, retention and progression.
We improved our recruitment processes to attract diverse talent – advertising jobs on a broader range of websites and reviewing job adverts to ensure they were gender neutral and appealed to a wider audience. We launched new guiding values – collective strength, commitment to excellence, and valuing our differences – which aim to embed equity, diversity and inclusion into everyday behaviours. We also completed a pay review and implemented a new pay and reward strategy.
In 2024, we continue to prioritise making RIBA a great place to work. All employees will undertake inclusion and diversity training, and our management development programme will help leaders support their teams, promoting retention.
We are reviewing all our policies, including key family friendly and dignity at work policies, to identify opportunities for improvement. We expect to see the positive impact of these measures reflected in our pay gap data in years to come.
Every organisation, no matter its size, must recognise its responsibility to close the gender and ethnicity pay gap. At RIBA, we want to lead by example and be open about where there is room for us to improve. So, I encourage all Chartered Practices to examine their own data and identify where action can be taken to support women and Black, Asian and ethnic minority employees.”
RIBA Director of Inclusion and Diversity Robbie Turner said:
“We are committed to closing our gender and ethnicity pay gap. The 2023 data shows we must still do more to address inequity, but it is a small step in the right direction. We are taking evidence-based measures to continue to drive this change.
Reviewing our pay data allows us to identify specific interventions to close the gap. While it is important to acknowledge that the data we hold does not capture the nuances of gender, cultural and ethnic identity, intersectionality, or individual experience, it provides a valuable overview of trends within our organisation. It enables us to track the impact of our work and hold ourselves accountable, to ensure RIBA becomes a more equitable place to work.”
Read RIBA’s gender pay gap reporting guidance. We’re working with practices to update our guidance and welcome any feedback.
