Sex is a protected characteristic under the UK Government's Equality Act 2010.
Under the Equality Act 2010, it is illegal to discriminate against individuals due to their sex or gender. This means that individuals cannot be directly or indirectly discriminated for belonging to one of the gender binary.
What is 'Sexism'?
'Sexism' is founded on the perceived difference between men and women as justification for their differential treatment. Sexism dangerously perpetuates harmful stereotypes for both men and women and can sustain the constructed gender hierarchy, further trapping women in gender inequality.
Discrimination of any kind based on sex is prohibited under Equality Act 2010 and is not tolerated at St Mary's. St Mary's has zero tolerance for sexism in our community.
What can universities do?
St Mary's has demonstrated its commitment to gender equality through our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) agenda as is outlined in our People Strategy; and through our membership to Advance HE's Athena Swan Charter. Our self-assessment team are currently working hard as we prepare for our Athena Swan Bronze Award Submission.
St Mary's Gender Pay Gap Report
In compliance and support of The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017, St Mary's is aware of the gender pay gap in our institution and we are consistently monitoring our progress and working towards equality. Closing the gender pay gap at St Mary's is imperative to our efforts to address gender inequality at St. Mary’s.
St Mary's Gender Pay Gap Report 2019 shows that; since 2018, the overall mean pay gap has increased by 2.75% to 17.89%, and the median pay gap has increased by 1.81% to 20.96% in favour of male staff. The mean bonus pay has been in favour of females previously, and remains so. Female bonus pay is still greater by 15.51%.