PRS for Music publishes first Ethnicity Pay Gap Report and 2021 Gender Pay Gap Report

27 September 2021 - Press release

PRS for Music has today published its first Ethnicity Pay Gap Report, alongside its annual Gender Pay Gap Report. Both reports cover data from 2021.

 

Read the full Ethnicity Pay Gap Report.

Read the full Gender Pay Gap Report.

 

Based on information provided by 76.8% of PRS for Music employees who chose to disclose their ethnicity data, key findings from the Ethnicity Pay Gap Report show:

• A mean ethnicity pay gap of 20.0% and a median ethnicity pay gap of 26.3% in favour of white employees, predominantly driven by the proportion of Black, Asian or ethnic minority background employees in lower banded roles. 

• A mean ethnicity bonus gap of 58.4% and median ethnicity bonus gap of 42.7% in favour of those identifying as white, caused by a smaller ethnically diverse population in senior roles. These roles come with a greater bonus opportunity as a percentage of salary, and a higher base pay, creating an even wider bonus pay gap.

• A slightly higher percentage of employees from Black, Asian or ethnic minority backgrounds (83.1%) received bonus pay from April 2020 to April 2021, compared to 81.9% of white employees. All roles at all levels at PRS for Musichave the opportunity to earn a discretionary bonus.

 

Key findings from the Gender Pay Gap Report show:

• The mean gender pay gap has reduced from 13.5% in 2020 to 10.6% in 2021, while the median gender pay gap has increased from 20.8% to 25.3%. The change in the median gap is due to the number of women in lower salary quartiles increasing.

• Since PRS for Music’s last Gender Pay Gap Report in 2020, the organisation’s mean gender bonus gap has dropped 16.1 percentage points from 45.9% to 29.8%, while the median gender bonus gap has increased slightly to 45.8%, from 41.9%. The change in the mean shows PRS for Music has reduced the number of outliers who are men – those in higher bands and therefore on higher salaries with a greater bonus potential.

• The percentage of women in senior roles at PRS for Music has seen a modest increase over the last year, from 35% to 36%, as the organisation begins to see the impact of updated recruitment processes.

 

To address ethnicity and gender pay gaps within the organisation, PRS for Music continues to implement and revise its recruitment and talent processes to improve the diversity pipeline for all senior roles.

Inclusive recruitment practices and career development are the fundamental route to increasing the number of women and colleagues from other ethnicities in senior roles, and to reduce the pay gaps. PRS for Music has trained all hiring managers on recruiting in a fair and inclusive way and increased its use of recruitment agencies who specialise in placing diverse candidates, with balanced shortlists. Internally, the organisation is increasing its focus on nurturing diverse talent using talent reviews and career development plans, including coaching and management development.

Members of the Executive Leadership Team have been appointed as gender and ethnicity sponsors and an employee-led network – the Black, Asian and Other Diverse Ethnicities Workstream – is helping PRS for Music to identify and tackle cultural, procedural, and systemic biases, as well as celebrating what other ethnicities bring to the organisation. A gender employee-led network has gathered momentum and run several events, including a panel on International Women’s Day.

In addition, two new, full-time posts have been created that will provide further expertise in equality and diversity. These resources will support all PRS for Music’s inclusion activities, covering recruitment as well as talent and development, helping the organisation to achieve its ambitions of embedding a more diverse and inclusive culture.

PRS for Music remains committed to supporting PRS Foundation’s work relating to gender and ethnicity, and the UK Music Diversity Taskforce’s Ten-Point Plan to create an ever more inclusive music industry.

Andrea Czapary Martin, CEO, PRS for Music, said: “PRS for Music is committed to embedding diversity and inclusion not just into what we do, but how we do it. Inclusion is core to our company Values, ensuring our behaviour and actions respect and actively embrace difference. Alongside our annual Gender Pay Gap Report, reporting on our ethnicity pay gap enables us to better understand the PRS for Music team and to tailor our support for all employees. It is also important in meeting our commitment to the UK Music Ten-Point Plan. I am confident, not least when I see the passion and dedication across the PRS for Music team, that we will continue to improve fairness and opportunity between genders and ethnicities, as we build an ever more inclusive organisation.”