Dyson UK Gender Pay Gap Report 2023

Each year we publish Gender Pay Gap statistics for Dyson Technology Ltd (our engineering, research and development, commercial and group functions in the UK) and Dyson Ltd (the legal entity aligned to our GB market). Our Dyson UK company figures for 2023 are based on a single snapshot date of 5 April 2023 and compared with the same date in previous years.

Since Dyson started reporting on its Gender Pay Gap in the UK in 2017, we have maintained a positive trend within our engineering, research and development, commercial and group functions, Dyson Technology Ltd, from a median of 16.7% in 2017 to 12.4% in 2023. This is more favourable than the 16.7% figure reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 2023 for other Engineering and Related Technical Consultancy.

Since 2017, figures for our UK retail business have also improved, in 2023 the median difference was 3.1% (vs 9.8% in 2017). This is also more favourable than the 7.4% reported by ONS in 2023 for comparable Retailers.

The pie charts show the proportion of men and women in each pay quartile. The gender pay gap for Dyson Technology Ltd is attributed to the higher proportion of men in the top two quartiles, not because men and women are paid unequally for doing the same work. Since 2018, the proportion of women in the lowest quartile has decreased from 43% to 35%, demonstrating that more women are progressing within the business and into higher paid roles. In the same period, the proportion of women in the highest quartile has also increased from 19% to 25%, as more women move into higher paid roles. 

The spread across the quartiles remains similar to last year for Dyson Ltd and is broadly comparable to the total proportions of women (49%) and men (51%) in the total headcount.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of male and female employees, expressed as a percentage of the average hourly pay rate of male employees. The Gender Pay Gap is not the same as equal pay. Equal pay is about men and women receiving equal pay for carrying out roles that are the same, similar, or of equal value. Gender Pay Gap Reporting Regulations were implemented in the UK in 2017 – all companies with 250+ employees are required to publish details of their gender pay gap and bonus gap from a snapshot date (Dyson reports on 5 April).

Since launching our internal Diversity and Inclusion Strategy in 2022, we have focused on increasing the representation of women in leadership positions globally. Across all global senior management, 44% of appointees in 2023 identified as female. Today, we have more women in global leadership positions than ever before. 

For the second consecutive year, Dyson was recognised as one of the ‘World’s Best Employers’ (+61 places) and ‘World’s Top Companies for Women’ (+46 places) by Forbes Magazine. In the US, Dyson was also named as one of DiversityInc’s Top Regional Workplaces for Diversity.

In 2023, we designed and delivered a range of internal programmes to increase the representation of talent at all levels across the organisation, including Dyson’s Global Sponsorship Programme. This programme connects female and diverse talent with senior leaders across the business to support them in overcoming barriers to progression in the workplace. Additionally, our Women in Engineering Leadership Programme was designed to develop and support female talent progressing into senior leadership positions, across our Research, Design, Development and Supply Chain teams. This programme was recognised at the Singapore Employee Experience Awards, winning an award in the category of ‘Best Women’s Leadership Programme’. 

Our Global Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging team have supported the development of various employee networks. These networks acknowledge and celebrate many global and local awareness days as part of our calendar of events for Dyson people, such as Bristol Pride, Black History and Achievement Month, International Women’s Day and Women in Engineering Day. 

In August 2023, the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging team introduced their first global policy, The Primary Caregiver Support Policy. This policy demonstrates our continued commitment to inclusion and is aimed in supporting the Primary Caregiver of a child in their transition back to the workplace, following a form of Parental Leave.

For the last 15 years – through the James Dyson Foundation – we have been encouraging more women to study STEM subjects and pursue careers in engineering. It is part of our long-term commitment to make sustainable changes rather than simply target small year-on-year increases in our company employment figures. We opened the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology in 2017, and, as of December 2023, 33% of Undergraduate Engineers identify as female, compared to a sector average of 18% for engineering and technology undergraduate courses.

We are determined to do more to see real change across our global company and UK campuses. We will honour our commitment to continue delivering in this space so that together we can bring Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging to the forefront of everything we do. 

Dyson’s previous Gender Pay Gap Reports can be read here: 2022, 2021, and 2020.