GENDER PAY GAP
GENDER PAY GAP
GENDER PAY GAP
Guidance Note and Data Statement
Understanding the numbers (definitions)
Hourly pay is calculated for all eligible employees in receipt of full pay in April 2026.
The Mean pay/bonus gap is calculated by taking the average male pay rate and average female pay rate. The gap is the percentage difference between the two averages.
The Median pay/bonus gap is calculated by ranking all men and women separately, high to low by pay rate and the middle woman’s pay/bonus is compared to the middle man’s pay/bonus. The gap is the percentage difference between the middle man and the middle woman.
Quartile pay bands are calculated by taking the total number of full pay relevant employees and dividing it by four, to get four groups with an equal number of employees in each. All full pay relevant employees are then sorted in order of hourly rate.
Proportion receiving a bonus in the 12 months to April 2026, are of those employed in April 2026.
The gender pay gap is different to equal pay. Equal pay deals with the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value. It is unlawful to pay people unequally because they are a man or a woman.
We’re sensitive to the fact that some employees may not wish to identify as either male or female as per the classifications in gender pay gap reporting. Therefore our priority is to avoid publishing information that becomes attributable to individuals, and we will apply the most appropriate judgment in future years depending on the size of the data set available.
Data statement
Unlike our previous gender pay gap reports, from 2026 onwards, salaried partners will no longer be included as relevant employees in our employee gender pay gap calculations. This aligns with the 'Statutory guidance Gender pay gap reporting: guidance for employers'. Instead, voluntary pay gap calculations are included based on our entire partnership, including salaried and equity partners.
Gender Pay Gap Statistics (employees)
Gender Pay Gap Statistics (Partners)
Ethnicity Bonus Pay Gap statistics (employees)
Disability Pay Gap Statistics (employees)
Development opportunities
Gender Pay Gap Statistics (employees)
Our 2026 firm-wide employee mean gender pay gap has reduced by 9.0%-point, from 21.1% to 12.1%, which indicates that on average male employees have a higher hourly rate of pay in comparison to the female employees. The exclusion of salaried partners from this year's employee gender pay gap calculations means that it is not a like-for-like comparison with the 2025 results.
However, a like-for-like comparison can be drawn between the gender pay gap calculations when considering all employees and all partners (salaried and equity partners) combined; here, a decrease is seen in mean gender pay gap from 50.6% in 2025 to 47.9% in 2026.
Our median employee gender pay gap has also reduced this year by 9.5%-point compared to 2025 (from 32.1% to 22.6%), meaning that when the data is lined up from lowest to highest hourly rate of pay, the employee at mid-point of the males had a higher pay when compared to the mid-point of the female employees. When considering employees and all partners (salaried and equity partners) combined we see a decrease in median gender pay gap from 41.6% in 2025 to 36.8% in 2026.
Executive Services have a high proportion of females, potentially skewing the firm-wide gender pay gap figures. When excluding Executive Services from the 2026 employee gender pay gap calculations, the mean gender pay gap for employees reduces from 12.1% to 8.3%, and the median gender pay gap for employees reduces from 22.6% to 14.8%.
Gender pay gap excluding executive services
Mean
Median
Gender pay gap including employees and all partners
Mean
Median
The overall proportion of female employees across the firm in our upper pay quartile has increased further, from 60.5% in 2025 to 65.4% in 2026. The mean gender gap within this upper quartile is 5.9% (a decrease from 2025, which was 11.8%) and the median gender pay gap for the upper quartile is 2.4% (a decrease from 2025, which was 6.9%).
Gender Bonus Pay Gap Statistics (employees)
Mean and median gender bonus pay gap 2025 and 2026
Bonus statistics for employees are calculated based on any bonus paid to relevant employees in the 12-month period ending on the 5 April snapshot date.
Between 2025 and 2026, our mean gender bonus pay gap reduced significantly from 49.0% to 24.4%, likely driven by changes in overall bonus distribution. However, the median gender bonus pay gap increased from 11.1% to 30.0%, suggesting that while average outcomes improved, potentially men cluster just above the median bonus level, while women cluster below the median bonus level.
Gender proportions who received a bonus out of the total population (2025 and 2026)
Out of the total workforce, 36.6% of all females employed on 5 April 2026 received a bonus in the 12 months prior to April 2026. In comparison, 43.1% of all male employees employed on 5 April 2026 received a bonus.
Male
2026
2025
Female
2026
2025
Gender split among employees receiving a bonus
Looking only at the group of employees who received a bonus, data revealed that the overall number of employees receiving a bonus grew slightly, with growth driven by an increase in the number of females and representation: from 63.2% (251) in 2025 to 66.7% female (271) in 2026. The number and proportion of male employees who received a bonus decreased from 36.8% (146) in 2025 to 33.3% male (135) in 2026.
Male
Number
Male
%
Female
Number
Female
%
Ethnicity Pay Gap Statistics (employees)
Mean and median ethnicity pay gap firm-wide and by pay quartiles (employees)
The firm-wide ethnicity pay gap is small, with a mean ethnicity gap of 1.9% (up from 1.1% in 2025) and a median ethnicity gap of -7.6% (down from -0.1% in 2025), indicating that on average the hourly pay between white and ethnically minoritised employees is broadly balanced. The negative median indicates that the median pay for ethnically minoritised employees is higher than the median pay for white employees.
Across most pay quartiles, ethnic representation and pay gaps are broadly aligned, with relatively small mean and median ethnicity pay gaps where representation is moderate or higher. In the lower and middle quartiles, minoritised ethnic representation is lowest (5.4%–7.0%), and pay gaps are small or negative, indicating broadly equitable pay outcomes for minoritised ethnic employees within these bands.
In contrast, the upper pay quartile shows a different pattern: although minoritised ethnic representation increases to 12.1%, the mean ethnicity pay gap rises to 13.4% but the median gap remains relatively small 2.1%. The mean being larger than the median suggests that the pay gap is likely driven by a small number of higher-paid roles rather than affecting the employees in the middle of the pay distribution.
Footnote: Our ethnicity pay gap statistics are additional, non-mandatory figures which show the mean and median pay gaps between white employees and employees from ethnic minorities (including Black, Asian, and Mixed ethnicities). The data used to calculate these pay gaps is based on 89.5% of relevant employees providing their ethnicity information in response to our diversity data collection process.
Employee ethnicity representation firm-wide and by pay quartiles
Mean and median ethnicity pay gap firm-wide and by pay quartiles (employees)
Ethnicity Bonus Pay Gap statistics (employees)
Bonus ethnicity pay gap and the % of those that received a bonus by ethnicity
Amongst those who received a bonus, 8.1% of employees were from underrepresented minoritised ethnic backgrounds. The zero median gap suggests that the typical bonus values are equal, however the negative mean bonus pay gap (‑10.7%) suggests that higher bonuses are earned by minoritised ethnic employees compared to white colleagues. One should interpret this with caution, as the mean (average) is very sensitive to extreme values and small group sizes. The lower representation (8.1% of bonus recipients identified as minoritised ethnic) means this figure may be influenced by a small number of high-value bonuses rather than representing most employees.
Disability Pay Gap Statistics (employees)
The firm-wide mean disability pay gap is -1.7% (down from 0.9% in 2025) and a median disability pay gap of -1.9% (down from 3.5% in 2025), indicating that the average and median hourly pay for employees who shared to have a disability is slightly higher than that of employees with no disability.
Disability representation is consistent across pay quartiles, with around 9–11% of employees identifying as disabled at each pay quartile and 10.1% firm‑wide, indicating no clear under‑representation in any pay quartile. This aligns with the pay gap data, where the firm‑wide mean and median disability pay gaps are slightly negative or near zero, suggesting broadly equitable or slightly higher pay outcomes for disabled employees overall.
However, at the upper‑middle and upper quartiles, the presence of positive median pay gaps (1.4% and 3.2%) indicates that typical pay outcomes are slightly better for non‑disabled employees despite similar representation levels. The disability pay gaps are likely due to differences in how pay is spread across employees, rather than disabled employees having less access to higher-paid roles since they are represented in similar proportions at all pay levels.
Footnote: Our disability pay gap statistics are additional, non-mandatory figures which show the mean and median pay gaps between employees who shared to have no disability and employees who shared to have a disability. The data used to calculate these pay gaps is based on 89.5% of relevant employees providing their disability information in response to our diversity data collection process.
Mean and median disability pay gap firm-wide and by pay quartiles (employees)
Disability Bonus Gap Statistics (employees)
Bonus disability pay gap and the % of those that received a bonus by disability status.
10.3% of employees who shared they have a disability received a bonus. While the mean disability bonus pay gap is negative (‑3.7%), suggesting slightly higher average bonuses for disabled employees, the positive median gap (25.0%) shows that typical bonus amounts tend to be higher for non‑disabled employees. One should interpret this with caution as the median for disabled employees is based on fewer observations and can become more sensitive to small changes in rank positions, whereas the bonus spread for the larger group with non-disabled employees may have a more even spread of bonuses.
Development opportunities at Womble Bond Dickinson
Promotions in 2025/2026 (gender split) and gender pay gap by job group
Promotions in the 12 months ending on 5 April 2026 reveal that a higher proportion of females have been promoted within each job group in comparison to their male counterparts, apart from the promotions to associate level which has seen a 50/50 gender split. Despite the higher promotion rates for female colleagues in nearly every job groups, it is only the proportion of female colleagues promoted to legal director, managing associate and Business Services roles which is higher than the percentage of females already in these roles. The proportion of females promoted to paralegals, solicitors and associates are lower than the proportion of females already in these roles.
Gender pay gaps vary notably by job group. Business Services (mean gender pay gap of 7.7% and median gender pay gap of 18.5%) and legal directors (mean gender pay gap of 5.8% and median gender pay gap of 9.3%) show the largest positive gaps, indicating higher typical pay for men in these areas. Associates and paralegals have negative mean (respectively -1.1% and -10.9%) and median gaps (respectively -6.2% and -2.1%), suggesting higher pay for female employees on average (negative mean), and for the typical female associate and paralegal (negative median). Other roles, such as managing associates and solicitors show relatively small gaps, indicating broadly balanced pay outcomes.
Gender Pay Gap Statistics (Partners)
In addition to the legislative requirement to publish the gender pay gap annually under the Equality Act 2010, Womble Bond Dickinson also voluntarily includes the data in respect of our partnership (salaried and equity partners). Segmenting the data shows the distinction between salaried partners, junior equity partners, and full equity partners. Equity partners receive a share of the profit which is more volatile and not directly comparable to the fixed monthly salaries of salaried partners where pay is more stable.
Partner Gender Pay Gap (Equity partners only), 2025 and 2026
When looking at full and junior equity partners combined, our 2026 equity partner mean gender pay gap has decreased by 1.5%-point compared to 2025 (from 15.6% to 14.1%). When including salaried partners within the partnership gender pay gap calculations, the mean gender pay gap increases to 28.3%.
Our median equity partner (full and junior equity partners) gender pay gap has increased by 2.8%-point compared to 2025 (from 17.9% to 20.7%). When including salaried partners within the partnership gender pay gap calculations, the median gender pay gap increases to 38.0%.
GPG results for each separate partner groups, 2026
Our mean gender pay gap decreased for 2026 when calculated for full-equity, junior equity and salaried partners separately. Full-equity partners have seen a decrease in mean gender pay gap of 2.0%-point compared to 2025, from 11.2% to 9.2%. Junior equity partners have seen a decrease of 5.0%-point compared to last year, from 9.3% to 4.3%. Salaried partners seen a decrease of 7.3%-point, from 10.6% in 2025 to 3.3% in 2026.
The median gender pay gap for full equity partners decreased by 1.0%-point from 16.0% in 2025 to 15.0% in 2026. Junior equity partners' median gender pay gap decreased by 1.6%-point (from 9.5% to 7.9%). For salaried partners we have seen a decrease in median gender pay gap compared to last year (from 8.7% to -1.5%).
Full equity partners
Mean
Median
Junior equity partners
Mean
Median
Salaried partners
Mean
Median
Male / female distribution within four equal pay quartiles (equity partners only)
The equity partner population shifts across the pay quartiles, with a reduced proportion of females in the lower pay quartile compared to 2025 (34.8% in 2025 to 29.2% in 2026) but an increase in female equity partners moving into the lower middle quartile (from 26.1% in 2025 to 37.5% in 2026). The upper middle pay quartile has seen an decrease from 25.0% last year to 20.8% in 2026. The proportion of females in the upper pay quartile remained stable from 2025 to 2026 with 8.7% female equity partners across both years.
Gender Bonus Gap Statistics (Equity Partners)
Mean and median gender bonus pay gap 2025 and 2026
Bonus statistics for both salaried partners and equity partners are based on any bonus paid to relevant partners in the 12-month period ending on the 5 April snapshot date.
The mean bonus gap for equity partners increased by 21.1%-point compared to last year, from -11.2% in 2025 to 9.9% in 2026. Where female equity partners on average received a higher bonus in 2025 than their male counterparts, the opposite was true in 2026 with males receiving a higher bonus on average compared to their female counterparts. When including salaried partners within the partnership bonus gender pay gap calculations, the mean bonus gender pay gap increases to 35.3%.
The median bonus gap for equity partners decreased by 7.2%-point, from 0.0% to -7.2%. When including salaried partners within the partnership bonus gender pay gap calculations, the median bonus gender pay gap increases to 0.0%.
Gender proportions who received a bonus out of the total equity partnership population (2025 and 2026)
Looking at the entire equity partnership, 52.2% of all female equity partners received a bonus, in comparison to 41.7% of all male equity partners who received a bonus.
Male
2026
2025
Female
2026
2025
When including salaried partners within the partner group, the bonus gender split calculations show that of all partners who received a bonus in the 12 months to April 2026, 60.9% was paid to female partners and 42.7% was paid to male partners.
Gender split among equity partners receiving a bonus
Looking only at the group of equity partners who received a bonus, 71.4% was paid to male equity partners and 28.6% was paid to female equity partners in the 12 months to April 2026.
%
Male
Female
Number
Male
Female
When including salaried partners within the partner group, the bonus gender split calculations show that 59.4% was paid to male partners and 40.6% was paid to female partners.
