Gender Pay Gap
Gender Pay Gap 2025
Each year, employers with more than 250 employees are required to report their gender pay gap to the government and publish the results. This reporting continues to give us valuable insight into how our workforce is structured and helps us focus our efforts where they will have the greatest positive impact. By continuing to analyse these results each year, we are able to strengthen our understanding and make more informed decisions that support long-term improvement.
Our figures are based on data collected on 6 April 2025, including bonuses paid in the 12 months leading up to that date. All data is presented after salary exchange adjustments, and gender is recorded in a binary format.
The gender pay gap shows the difference in average hourly earnings between men and women across the business, regardless of role or seniority. This is different from equal pay, which ensures men and women are paid equally for carrying out the same or similar work.
On the snapshot date, 386 employees were included in our calculations.
You can view Ashtons Gender Pay Gap Report 2025 by clicking here: Ashtons Legal Gender Pay Gap Report 2025.
Review of our data
This year, our gender pay gap figures show some changes. Our mean (average) gender pay gap increased from 24.2% to 28.5%, while our median (middle) pay gap increased slightly from 33.3% to 33.4%. The stable median suggests that pay for typical roles is unchanged, whereas the shift in the mean reflects the changing mix of roles at different seniority levels.
The rise in the mean gap shows that there is still important work to do. We are using these insights to inform our ongoing focus on long-term, meaningful improvement. We closely monitor our gender pay gap as part of our annual salary review processes and recognise that addressing long-standing structural issues within the legal profession requires ongoing effort. Understanding these movements helps us target our initiatives more effectively.
Bonus gap results
We have seen a change in our bonus gender pay gap results. The median bonus gap is 17%, and the mean bonus gap is 31.3%, both in favour of men. This is a shift from 2024, where the median bonus gap was –2% (favouring women) and the mean was 22.8%.
The snapshot date was 6 April 2025, and bonuses paid in May 2024 were used to calculate the gap. These bonuses reflected the 2023/2024 financial year, during which all eligible employees received a 6% firm wide bonus, with some employees also receiving discretionary bonuses.
The change in the bonus gap is influenced by differences in bonus structures and working patterns. Understanding these factors helps us ensure our bonus approach remains fair and aligned with our broader inclusion goals.
Pay quartiles
Women remain well represented across all quartiles. The slight increase in female representation in the upper quartile is positive, and we will continue focusing on strengthening balance at senior levels.
Women accounted for 82.5% of roles in the upper middle quartile range compared with 17.5% for men, remaining broadly consistent with the previous year. The lower middle quartile saw the largest change, with women representing 96.9% of employees—a notable increase from 91.6% in 2024. Meanwhile, the lower quartile remained female majority at 75.5%.
These patterns reflect both the firm’s overall gender composition and the distribution of roles across departments. Our continued investment in leadership development, progression pathways and diversity initiatives supports our aim of increasing female representation at senior levels.
Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and Inclusion remain central to our strategy, and our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee continues to receive full support across the business. Our current initiatives include:
- Family-friendly policies, including enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption pay.
- Paid Time Off, empowering employees to take the time they need.
- Working Policy with the flexibility to work when and where you work best, while meeting business needs.
- Inclusive access to our leadership programmes.
- Career conversations, coaching, and mentoring.
- Supporting women’s career progression.
- Improving gender balance in senior roles.
- Reviewing recruitment, promotion, and succession routes.
These results reflect the positive impact of our continued investment in development, flexibility, and inclusive career pathways across the firm.
We have also recently rolled out mental health training to all Partners and managers, and unconscious bias training is ongoing.
Our commitment
We remain fully committed to improving gender balance and pay equity across the firm. We will continue to monitor our data, evaluate our internal processes, and take action that supports sustained, measurable progress.