In 2021, the Gender Pay Gap Information Act was signed into law, and regulations followed in 2022 that require all companies in Ireland who employ more than 250 (150 since 2024) people to annually report on their Gender Pay Gap (GPG).
National College of Ireland published our third report on December 18th, 2024.
When discussing the “Gender Pay Gap,” it is important that it is not confused with “Equal Pay.” In Ireland, it is illegal to not pay the same money to two people doing the same job in the same circumstances. The “Gender Pay Gap” refers to the institutional overview of the difference in pay for men and women across all levels and contract types.
Understanding the gender pay gap and its complexities:
It can be challenging to understand the gender pay gap for NCI due to the range of projects and roles within the College. There are further complexities to consider such as the wider society values that are placed on areas such as early years versus post graduate education. At National College of Ireland, there are two areas in particular that affect the pay gap. These areas are Associate Faculty (AF) and the Early Learning Initiative (ELI).
If one removes the outliers (AF and ELI), NCI’s Gender Pay Gap is a mean of 4.8% and a median of 6.6%. This is below national average and a reduction on 2023 when it was a mean of 15.7% and median of 13.6%
When Associate Faculty and ELI are included, NCI’s Gender Pay Gap is more significant, with a mean of 24.4% and a median of 40.7%, a reduction on 2023 when the same figures were 28.4% and 41.4%. This is due to the complexities of these two areas, and the analysis of the very differing sectors within NCI being put together, as required.
Within our Associate Faculty, the Gender Pay Gap is -10.9% and median of -7.8%, similar to 2023, which was -10.9% and median of -7.8%. The change over the last 24 months is largely due to there being more women teaching on post graduate programmes which is a higher paid area.
The Early Learning Initiative (ELI) is a specialist programme targeted at eliminating educational disadvantage, with a focus on early childhood development. This sector is highly gendered and often low paid, and we see this both nationally and internationally.
Regarding pay, conditions, progression, and encouraging and supporting ELI staff to gain qualifications, NCI/ELI has been ahead of the sector. ELI staff are offered full-time permanent contracts and educational opportunities. ELI staff members are also provided with family friendly flexibility, and this flexibility allows them to balance their jobs and caring responsibilities.
The majority of ELI staff are women (94% in 2024), and most of these women do have caring responsibilities to consider, so most of our ELI staff members opt to utilise those family friendly flexibility options as these options have been hugely significant when it comes to ensuring that people are able to stay in employment, progress in their careers, and advance their education.
Within ELI, the Gender Pay Gap is a mean of 20.6% and median of 30,6%, a huge change on 2023 when the same figures were -54.3% and mean of -39.1% (a minus pay gap indicates women are paid more). In 2023, the few men who worked in ELI were in the lowest quartile and therefore there was a minus gender pay gap, but in 2024 this has changed dramatically, as the small percentage of men in ELI are in roles in the highest quadrant and the third quadrant. ELI highlights the impact on percentages of slight changes where the gender balance of staff is significantly skewed.
An element of the model of NCI’s Early Learning Initiative is the empowerment of women from the local community, some of whom have been educationally and/or economically disadvantaged, but because their hourly rate is being analysed alongside the College’s academic and professional staff in a gender pay analysis, there is a fundamental impact on the overall Gender Pay Gap figure in National College of Ireland.
For more information and further details, please find NCI’s third Gender Pay Gap Report 2024 to learn more.