Some 94.5% of companies in the railway industry pay their male employees more than their female staff, an analysis reveals, creating a pay gap. The figures, which are based on reporting from all companies in the United Kingdom with a headcount of 250 employees or more, show that three of the 55 companies that have reported their pay figures had a higher women’s median hourly pay than men.

Across the sector, men’s median hourly pay was 20% higher than that of a woman. This puts railway industry above the national average of 11.6%.

A high gender pay gap does not necessarily imply that women are paid less for the same jobs, which would be illegal under the 1970 Equal Pay Act. Instead, it may suggest that men tend to dominate the top-paying jobs within companies.

Women working in railway occupied 9.9% of the top-paying jobs in the industry, with the rest of the top spots (90.1%) occupied by men.

On the other end of the pay scale, women occupied 31.4% of the lowest-paid jobs in railway industry. On average, women also received 14.7% less in bonuses compared to their male co-workers.

Among companies in the railway industry, FIRST TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS LIMITED had the biggest difference in median hourly pay, with women earning 43.2% less than men. That means that for each £1 earned by men in the company, women earned 57p. It was followed by DIRECT RAIL SERVICES LIMITED with a pay gap of 39% and FREIGHTLINER HEAVY HAUL LIMITED with 39%.

At the other end, LUCCHINI UNIPART RAIL LIMITED paid women 4% more than men for each hour worked, followed by NOTTINGHAM TRAMS LIMITED, who paid women 0% less and RAIL FOR LONDON (INFRASTRUCTURE) LIMITED, who paid women 0% less.

However, the gender pay gap in railway industry has decreased in the 2021-22 reporting year compared to the year before.

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