Gender pay gap lunch protest at University of Oxford

Staff at the University of Oxford will take part in an 'unpaid women's non-working lunch' to protest at unequal pay at the university on Monday (12 November).

The lunch, organised by the local UCU branch, will take place outside the Clarendon building at the corner of Broad Street and Catte Street from 12:30pm.

The university has an average gender pay gap of 13.7%, which means that women at the university are effectively unpaid for the rest of the year from Monday.

One of the reasons cited for gender pay gaps is fewer women in top positions. According to the most recent statistics, women make up 54% of total staff in UK universities. However, only three in 10 (31%) senior managers and just a quarter (25%) of professors are women. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of staff earning over £50,000 in universities are men.

At Oxford, 76% of staff on senior grades (grades which sit above the university's main salary and grading structure) are men and 82% of those listed as earning over £100,000 in the university's financial statements for 2016-17 are men.

University of Oxford UCU co-President Anna Duncan said said: 'The University of Oxford has a significant section of its workforce that is effectively working for free until the end of the year. The university should be leading the way in closing the gender pay gap, ensuring women are better represented in senior positions, and achieving equal pay at all levels in the university.'