The Office for Nuclear Regulation’s (ONR) gender pay gap has slightly increased by 1.6%, a new annual report shows.
Analysis has concluded that ONR’s gender pay gap increased from 24.4% to 26.0% during the last 12 months.
The overall figure has fallen by 6.9% since ONR started reporting this data in 2017.
This year's small increase, the first for three years, is mainly due to changes at senior level within the organisation.
The gap primarily reflects workforce demographics and legacy industry trends, particularly the historic under-representation of women in STEM and the nuclear sector.
More women are currently employed in lower-paid bands, where roles span corporate and operational support, while technical roles – which tend to be higher paid - remain predominantly held by men.
The gender pay gap is different from equal pay – the latter being the legal requirement under the Equality Act 2010 that men and women are paid equally for the same work.
Following analysis across pay bands, technical specialisms and corporate functions, it is clear that ONR’s gender pay gap does not reflect an equal pay issue.
However, ONR remains committed to actions that improve gender diversity and aim to eradicate the gender pay gap.
Women now make up 37.8% of ONR’s workforce, moving the organisation closer to the Nuclear Sector Deal target of 40% by 2030, a goal it is expected to reach ahead of time.
In regulatory promotions, women make up 35% of grade changes during 2024/25, compared to 22% female representation in these roles overall.
ONR’s Board is 85.7% female, and female representation at senior civil service level (SCS1) has increased to 42.9%.
A third of ONR’s apprentices are women, and the organisation continues to sponsor the Nuclear Graduates scheme and offer degree-level apprenticeships to build the pipeline of talent.
ONR recognises that there is more work to do, particularly in increasing female representation at the most senior levels, as the organisation currently has no women at senior civil service level 2, and in attracting more women into technical roles.
ONR’s recruitment processes are designed to be gender-neutral, including anonymous applications, gender-balanced interview panels, and partnerships with specialist organisations.
ONR is also collaborating with partners across the nuclear sector to encourage more women to pursue careers in STEM.
ONR remains committed to targeted actions that address barriers and support the medium and long-term development of women across the organisation.
Peter Thompson, ONR’s Director of HR, said: “I am disappointed that there has been an increase in our gender pay gap. The challenges we face with the nature of our workforce and talent pools we predominantly recruit from are not unique to our organisation and we remain firmly committed to making progress and addressing them effectively.
Our sustained efforts are designed to ensure ongoing improvement, particularly by making all roles accessible and appealing to women. Through focused strategy, sector collaboration, and transparent reporting, we are determined to close the gender pay gap and meet the challenges ahead.”
As a public sector organisation, ONR is required by The Equalities Act 2010 to publish its gender pay gap results against six prescribed indicators of gender pay equality.
It is committed to putting actions in place to improve gender diversity at all levels, reducing the gender pay gap, and ultimately eradicating it.
Sharing this data publicly is important as it demonstrates ONR’s work towards achieving more diversity and inclusion, putting commitments to openness and transparency into practice.
This aligns with ONR’s organisational values of being fair, open-minded, supportive and accountable and runs in parallel with the strategic theme of ‘Creating a culture of inclusion and excellence’, as described in our Strategy 2020–25.
Read the full gender pay report.