Introduction from Professor Andy Long, Northumbria University's Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive
At Northumbria University we are proud of our diverse community. Our Strategy 2030 has a commitment to promote fairness in a community where all staff and students feel they belong. This commitment informs our approach to our people, including each stage of the staff and student journey from recruitment to retention, development, and progression. We aim to have a diverse workforce, including more colleagues from under-represented groups at middle and senior management levels, and we have an ambitious aim to eliminate median pay gaps related to gender, ethnicity and disability by the end of this strategy period.
We recognise that achieving this requires continuous effort and transparency and so these web pages aim to share more information on each pay gap, including tracking year-on-year progress and detailing the actions we have taken and plan to take.
Our 2025 data shows that our median gender, ethnicity, disability and LGBTQ+ pay gaps have all reduced from 2024. Looking at the mean pay gaps, the gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps have also decreased, although the LGBTQ+ mean pay gap has increased slightly. Our reporting shows that the primary cause of pay gaps is workforce composition, and not unequal pay for equal work.
Since 2024 the University has made progress against three long-standing priority areas. There is:
- increased representation of women in the upper pay quartile
- improved representation of ethnic minority colleagues, particularly in professional support roles
- a significant increase in disclosure rates, particularly for disability and sexual orientation, strengthening the quality of future pay gap analysis.
In this 2025 Pay Gap report we have again conducted thorough analysis. For gender pay we have looked in more detail by grade, by Faculty and Service, starting salaries, bonus pay, age and length of service. In all areas we have looked not only at overall pay gaps but also split by academic and professional support staff. In addition, we have looked at intersectional pay gaps relating to gender and ethnicity. This analysis has enabled us to identify targeted actions for the upcoming year.
The University recognises that identities are multifaceted, that inequalities are not restricted to separate characteristics and that some people experience multiple pay gaps. Narrowing pay gaps with the ambition of elimination is not quick or easy and requires meaningful, consistent and sustained changes in practice and cultural norms. This additional analysis provides us with a more comprehensive understanding of the disparities that exist and has helped us to develop targeted actions to achieve our ambitious aim.
Professor Andy Long
Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive
Links to our previous EDI reports can be found on our Reports and Data webpage.
