open to members and non-members

12.30-1.30pm, Thu 24 Nov

Nihon Room, Pembroke College Cambridge, CB2 1RF

Cambridge UCU are pleased to welcome Helen Carr (UCU’s National Head of Equality and Participation) to speak and lead a discussion on the gender pay gap in Higher Education.

Equal pay legislation has been in place in the UK for 40 years. But even now in many cases, people doing the same job, or work of equal value don’t get the same or equal pay. The gender pay gap in Britain remains the highest in the European Union of 16.4%. In higher education, for all academics the gender pay gap is 12.6% nationally. In Cambridge, the gender pay gap is 17.4%, significantly higher than the national average.*

There are many reasons for the gap. But whatever its complexity, it presents HE institutions with a fundamental problem. Some institutions have made bold though problematic steps to deal with the issue. Essex, for example, recently bumped pay for female professors to close the gap. Closing the gap is a campaigning priority for UCU and was one of the key demands of our industrial action this year.

This meeting – open to members and non-members alike – will provide the basis for a Cambridge campaign that will working with and supporting existing frameworks like Athena Swan. For more on the pay gap in HE: https://www.ucu.org.uk/equalpay.

*Source: Times Higher Education Pay Survey 2015