Gender and ethnicity pay gap report

There is a UK government requirement for all companies with over 250 employees to publish their gender pay gap data. At Cancer Research Horizons, we passed this number in 2023, and so this report is our first gender pay gap report.  

We have also included our ethnicity pay gap calculations in this report. This isn’t a legal requirement, but we welcome the opportunity to demonstrate how we’re doing and remain committed to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation by attracting, retaining and developing the very best talent to help us beat cancer. The 2023 gender and ethnicity pay figures are calculated on data available on our reporting date, 5 April 2023.  

The gender and ethnicity pay gaps are not the same as equal pay, which formed a part of the 2010 Equality Act. The act prohibits discrimination on grounds of race and gender and other protected characteristics, and involves females and males or White and ethnic minority employees being paid the same for like/similar work. At Cancer Research Horizons, we use several practices that give us confidence that pay for female and male staff and ethnic minority colleagues is set fairly for similar roles across the organisation. 

The gender pay gap is the difference in average pay between all females and males regardless of the work they perform. The ethnicity pay gap is calculated by comparing the average pay of White employees and other ethnic minority employees in an organisation, regardless of the roles they do. 

We share with Cancer Research UK a simple but powerful goal: bringing forward the day when all cancers are conquered. We also share the same commitments to help build a more inclusive and diverse community, at Cancer Research Horizons and beyond. We believe that creating an environment where people are rewarded in a fair and equal way, regardless of their characteristics and backgrounds, is the only way to excel in the pursuit of our purpose.

Both our gender and ethnicity pay gaps are higher than we would wish them to be. They are the result of the overall distribution of these groups across the organisation. 

Our mean (average) gender pay gap was 14.3% in favour of male staff. We employ more female than male colleagues. However, in some senior management grades, we employ proportionately more male than female colleagues than our gender distribution overall, which then has an impact on our gender pay gap. 

On ethnicity, 87% of our staff shared their ethnicity data, of which 18% were from an ethnic minority background, and our mean ethnicity pay gap was 11.3% (in favour of White staff). Our ethnicity pay gap is also driven by our overall ethnicity mix in different parts of the organisation. We employ proportionately more ethnic minority staff in lower paid roles, and fewer in higher paid roles than our ethnicity distribution overall, which then has an impact on our ethnicity pay gap.

We’re confident we set pay fairly for similar roles across the organisation. We have appropriate checks in place to make sure this remains consistent, and we look at things like average pay increases by key demographics, such as ethnicity and gender, when undertaking any large-scale pay changes.  

As this is the first year we’ve reported our gender and ethnicity pay gaps, we know we have more work to do to understand what’s driving these gaps. We’ll continue interrogating our data and engaging with staff to identify areas where we could make more targeted interventions. 

We’re working hard to create an inclusive environment for all staff, guided by the objectives set out in Cancer Research UK’s equality, diversity and inclusion strategy. You can read more about some of the work we’re delivering in the gender and ethnicity pay gap reports for Cancer Research UK.