Gender pay report 2020
Explaining our Gender Pay Gap
Our industry is challenged due to the highly skilled nature of our work and repeated generations of women being dissuaded from considering, studying or training for a career within STEM. While there has been concerted effort to reverse the trend, there remains a structural female talent shortage, especially at a senior level.
Our longer-term approach to attracting and growing female talent means efforts to rebalance the distribution of women through different levels of the organisation will take time to bear results.
Part of our strategy is to invest in entry level and early career female talent that will progress to become senior leaders in the future and we are delighted to see more women joining Ramboll. Female representation is growing fastest at junior levels, contributing to our gender pay gap for 2020.
- : 27.82%
Median Hourly Pay Gap
- : 28.14%
Mean Hourly Pay Gap
- : 30.65%
Median Bonus Gap
- : 51.30%
Mean Bonus Gap
- : 49%
Women Paid a Bonus
- : 52%
Men Paid a Bonus
Gender representation by pay quartile
“We believe that achieving better diversity within Ramboll, is not only an ethical imperative, but a commercial one too. Every day our teams conceive creative solutions to engineering, environmental or social challenges and we’re deeply proud of the work we do. Our progress when it comes to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) is already showing us that diverse and inclusive teams are able to unlock even more ideas.
While our EDI ambitions continue to grow so that we better reflect the communities we serve, we have not lost sight of our first commitment to gender equity and, in particular, our target for 30% of senior roles to be held by women by the end of 2022.
Our 2020 Gender Pay Gap does not necessarily follow the trend you might expect from an employer taking active steps to enhance women’s inclusion and equality. However, I am confident that we are laying the essential groundwork for meaningful and sustainable long-term improvement.”
Philippa Spence, UK Managing Director, Ramboll
Meaningful change
To achieve better gender balance throughout every level of our company and help to close the gender pay gap, we have initiatives in place to
- Attract more women into STEM careers or to return after career breaks
- Develop women to help them progress their careers and boost representation at senior levels
- Retain women by addressing causes that may lead some to leave Ramboll or the industry entirely
By the end of 2022, we aim for 30% of management and leadership positions to be held by women.
Return to Work
Ramboll has recently launched a dedicated Return to Work programme offering supported opportunities for people returning to engineering, project management or consultancy after a career break. There are many reasons people take time out of their career, but caring responsibilities are arguably one of the most common, while also disproportionately affecting women. We hope this programme will help us benefit from the experience and expertise of a more diverse talent pool, whilst equipping participants with the confidence, opportunity and practical accommodations to return to a career they love.
Inspiring the next generation of women
Through internal EDI networks, passionate employees continue to work towards meaningful change both within Ramboll and society at large. Our STEM network delivers regular school outreach programmes to encourage young people to consider a career in engineering or consulting, while promoting diversity. And our Gender Balance network provides more targeted inspiration for young women and girls, such as through annual International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) campaigns.
Flexible Working Culture
Ramboll is proud to be one of the most flexible employers in our industry. Although flexible working was already accommodated within all employee contracts, a high-profile new guide for employees and line managers to promote the benefits and make it easier to have conversations about flexible working has been well received. Embedding a flexible working culture is good for all employees, but is especially valuable to anyone at risk of leaving or pausing their career due to personal circumstances.
Women’s Inclusion
After tragic news events highlighted endemic issues affecting women’s safety in the UK, we held a Health & Safety Standdown where teams discussed the topic and how it related to their personal and professional lives. The feedback has prompted the creation of a new Inclusion programme, initially aimed at Directors, to raise awareness of the ways women and minority groups can feel excluded or vulnerable, provide advice on how to mitigate these risks and intervening should the need arise.
Women Mentoring Circles
This year we introduced peer-to-peer networking circles for women at the upper end of our Emerging Talent pool and in management and leadership roles. Each small group determines their own agenda for discussing and exchanging experiences, sharing learning and inspiring upward progression.
“I just wanted to share my good news with you all – and thank you for your contribution to this ‘circle’ in the past year – you may not have realised, but you encouraged me to apply for promotion – and I was successful!” – Feedback from one of our mentoring circle participants
Formal training and development
Over the last few years, we have ensured every employee is part of a development programme and receives regular training. This has led to the introduction of our Early Careers programme for those new to industry such as our graduates and apprentices and additional targeted development and mentoring opportunities for high potential employees at Emerging Talent, Management and Leadership grades. With additional structure around setting development goals, reviewing progress and annual salary reviews and promotions, Ramboll has the mechanisms in place to support employee development and additional safeguards for ensuring they are applied without bias.