PDSA

PDSA Gender Pay Gap

We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity in employment and selecting employees on merit, irrespective of race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, sex, age, relationship status, religion/belief, or sexual orientation.

We are passionate about having understandable, equitable and transparent reward policies that enable us to achieve our mission and reflect our culture, and we are committed to reducing our gender pay gap.

Under legislation introduced in April 2017, UK employers with more than 250 employees are required to publish their gender pay gap. The gender pay gap reflects the average hourly earnings for men and women undertaking the same or similar jobs.

We have a robust benchmarking and job evaluation process that ensures we are paying our employees fairly, regardless of gender. We continually review our pay and benefits with extensive benchmarking and market research.

PDSA employees are predominantly female, which is representative of animal welfare charities.

Our gender pay gap analysis is based on hourly rates of pay at the statutory snapshot date in 2025 and reflects the distribution of men and women across pay levels within PDSA. Gender pay gap reporting does not compare men and women doing the same role; instead, it shows the overall difference in average earnings between genders across the organisation.

Overall Gender Pay Gap

The overall difference between men’s and women’s earnings at PDSA is 18.8% on a mean basis and 14.7% on a median basis.

This gap is primarily driven by fewer men occupying roles within the lower pay quartiles, alongside a higher proportion of men in the upper pay quartile. This distribution impacts average hourly earnings rather than indicating unequal pay for equal work.

Compared with the previous year:

  • The mean gender pay gap has reduced by 2.1%
  • The median gender pay gap has reduced by 11.6%.

These reductions are largely attributable to a 6.3% decrease in the number of male employees, particularly within the upper pay quartiles.

Despite this progress, our overall gender pay gap remains higher than the national average of 12.8%, reflecting the continued concentration of male employees in higher-paid roles.

Pay quartiles

PDSA pay quartile pyramid infographic

When looking at gender representation by pay quartile:

  • The lower and lower-middle quartiles show minimal or no gender pay gap, with women representing over 90% of roles.
  • The upper-middle quartile shows a modest gender pay gap.
  • The upper quartile has the largest gender pay gap, reflecting a higher proportion of men in senior or specialist roles.

The chart below illustrates the gender distribution across pay quartiles, based on hourly pay ranges.

PDSA pay quartile percentage table

Our analysis shows that the gender pay gap at PDSA is largely influenced by the distribution of men and women across pay quartiles.

Women make up 87% of our overall workforce, and are well represented across all pay quartiles, particularly in the lower and middle ranges. However, men remain proportionally more represented in the upper pay quartile, which has the greatest impact on the overall gender pay gap.

Conversely, there are fewer men in the lower pay quartiles, which further increases the difference in average hourly pay when comparing men and women across the organisation. Importantly, the data does not indicate unequal pay for equal work. PDSA operates structured pay frameworks to ensure roles are paid consistently regardless of gender.

Bonus payments

No bonus payments were made during the reporting period.

Our commitment

We recognise that reducing the gender pay gap requires sustained focus. We are committed to:

  • Monitoring gender representation across pay quartiles and senior roles.
  • Ensuring fair and transparent recruitment, pay, and progression processes.
  • Supporting development and progression opportunities across the organisation.
  • Reviewing workforce trends annually to track progress and inform future actions.

We will continue to use our gender pay gap data to inform workforce planning and to support our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

I confirm that PDSA’s gender pay gap calculations are accurate and meet the requirements of the Regulations.

Jan McLoughlin | Director General