A message from Scott Criddle, Group Vice President, UK Country Lead and EMEA Capacity Lead, Publicis Sapient U.K.
At Publicis Sapient, our purpose is to help all our people thrive in the brave pursuit of next. That purpose can only be achieved by teams that represent diverse backgrounds, experiences, disciplines and crafts. Our DEI ambition is to inspire a sense of belonging, where our people can truly thrive, prosper, and drive positive change that leads to innovation and creativity that directly benefits our clients, our people and our organisation.
This ambition is part of our evolved DEI strategy which has a focus on gender equity and has been a collaboration between our community networks, graduate cohorts, listening sessions from multiple stakeholder groups and leadership teams.
While 2023 has been challenging in a context influenced by a variety of internal and external factors, we stay committed to creating extraordinary impact for our people, clients, communities and stakeholders; and have clear objectives and action plans in order to develop an inclusive culture of equity and social justice, so that all our people feel they belong.
The annual Gender Pay Gap Report is a valued opportunity to review the progress we are making against our gender action plans. To ensure accountability, we have revitalized our Gender Equity Plan, and continue to review and introduce interventions such as supporting parents with family friendly policies, new learning opportunities, and initiatives promoting agile work. This also includes reviewing and setting gender representation targets and driving gender balanced and diverse shortlists for interviews.
In 2023, hiring dropped due to business demands, but gender representation improved to 35.4% from 34.2% in 2022 – with nearly 40% of new hires being women. While we aim for more, we are pleased with the progress and committed to addressing systemic equity and inclusion issues, recognizing these require time and effort.
Key Points
- Our gender and bonus median pay gap has improved in a few years, though in 2023 this gap shows an increase from the previous year. This increase in gap is because we have a higher proportion of women in our early career stages and have made significant progress in strengething our pipeline – with 60% of our junior talent being women. This increase of representation in the junior levels does lead to an increase in the mean and median pay gap, which we believe will be overcome when we have a more balanced gender distribution across all career stages. Even at senior levels we are moving in the right direction and have increased our gender representation at Director + and executive levels in the UK. Last year we onboarded senior women leaders into the business and this is an area we want to continue to progress as we know there are fewer women in leadership roles, and this is key to bridging the overall gender pay gap.
- The increase in the bonus gap is also the result of Publicis Sapient introducing the Sapient Fixed Bonus for Associates and Senior Associates, which is reflected in the change in bonus mean and median due to a higher percentage of women at junior levels compared to senior levels; that reduces the average bonus payout.
- With regards to internal promotions, In 2022-23 we have promoted 24% more women than the previous year and 48% of all promotions between May’22 to April 23 were women, a 7% increase from the previous year.
The Gender Pay Gap Results at a Glance
The gender pay gap is the percentage difference in average pay between men and women across an organisation. This is calculated for all employees regardless of their career stage and whether they are full time or part time.
This is different from equal pay, which is defined as “the right for men and women to be paid the same when doing the same, or equivalent, work” (Equality Act, 2010).
It‘s important to note that a gender pay gap does not mean women are paid less than men for doing the same or equivalent job or work. What it reflects is the mean and median pay gap, which could be due to representation and distribution of men versus women across career stages, especially if there are more men occupying higher paying roles that pay a premium.
Below is a detailed view of both the median and mean average pay, bonus gap and the % of representation by pay quartile bands for Publicis Sapient, all calculated as per Government guidelines.
Our Commitment & Actions
At Publicis Sapient, we remain committed to building a safe, inclusive and collaborative environment that enables our purpose and reflects our values. We continue to focus on creating the ecosystem to develop, grow and retain diverse people and help them thrive while forming a sense of pride and connection. Our gender equity plan is based on this commitment.
Gender Balance and Pipeline in Leadership and Across Broader Workforce
We have seen slight improvement in our gender representation across the Executive leadership and overall representation in the UK (~1% since last year). We will continue to build this talent pipeline externally and internally through new role opportunities. Our 2023 early career program had a strong pipeline of talent with the potential to grow into future leadership positions. However, we are also aware that there are business shifts and potential challenges on the horizon that could delay our ambitions.
Also noteworthy is the Next Generation Leadership Team (NGLT) program that provides a cross section of our talent, including the women in the program, with a great opportunity for exposure and impact.
We also continue to focus on talent acquisition practices like ensuring diverse shortlists, gender neutral adverts and descriptions, and conducting inclusive hiring practices for teams and hiring managers.
Inclusive Work Environment and Culture
Well-Being, Enhanced Policies and Benefits
We continuously review our policies and enhance them to ensure they support the well being of our people. While we had introduced a menopause policy in 2022, we have since conducted several awareness sessions to help educate individuals, managers and leaders on what support is needed for women. This is something we continue to focus on to reduce the stigma and also build a more supportive workplace.
Other areas include support for carers through partnerships such as ‘Work+Family’. Using this benefit, our people have access to emergency childcare, backup adult and elder care, ongoing care, and expert advice on work and family issues. Through this, and many other policies and initiatives that we enhanced or introduced, we aim to continue to build a more supportive and inclusive workplace.
Sponsorship & Development Programmes for Women
Our Rise Women Sponsorship Programme for global women leaders continues to go from strength-to-strength, and we recently launched a second cohort with women leaders that includes participants from the UK. Some of our industry and capability teams have also organized and led sponsorship programs like the ‘FSI Together for Success’ program, and these have been vital for development and networking opportunities. We have also sponsored several women to present in conferences and also attend leading women in tech conferences for more visibility and exposure. The PS Women’s Developers Group, created and led by our women developers, cultivates an inclusive environment and encourages those who identify as women to advance their skills and leadership potential. The community works to up-skill it’s members on a range of technologies, and hosts organised panels discussing career paths and lived experiences of senior women in the business.
Our Business Resource Groups like VivaWomen!, Embrace, Enable, Headlines, Divergent Minds, Carers Connect, ÉGALITÉ, Parents UK, Hola are all working towards creating an enabling culture and inspiring and empowering women to achieve their potential. This is done through various methods, including community events, safe space discussions, skill building and connection.
Our journey is far from complete. The challenges we face are complex and demand our collective effort and commitment. Together, we can continue to make strides towards a more inclusive, equitable, and just future for all at Publicis Sapient.
FAQ and Definitions
FAQ and Definitions