FCA pay gap data 2026

Since 2022, we have made significant progress in reducing our pay gaps, with sustained year-on-year improvements across most measures.

In 2026, this trend has continued, with further reductions in the gender and disability pay gaps. The only exception is a small increase in the median ethnicity pay gap by 0.2 percentage points. While this highlights continued progress overall, it also reinforces that structural challenges remain and require sustained, targeted action.

Our latest figures, alongside results from previous years, are set out below. 

Our analysis shows that our remaining pay gaps are primarily driven by differences in the distribution of colleagues across roles and grade levels, rather than a result of unfair pay practices.

This structural imbalance means some groups remain under-represented in senior, higher paid positions.

There also remains a significant gender imbalance in our professional support grade.

Improving representation at these levels is therefore central to further reducing our pay gaps. 

We are taking targeted action to address areas of under-representation supported by focused interventions within our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programme, alongside the actions set out in our gender pay gap action plan.  

Strong disclosure rates underpin this work. We encourage all colleagues to share their personal data, as higher disclosure improves the accuracy of workforce analysis and enables more targeted action. See our disclosure rates in Annex A.

Our pay gaps are calculated in line with UK gender pay gap regulations and cover the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.  

We apply the same methodology to calculate our ethnicity and disability pay gaps. All calculations are based on data as of 31 March 2026 and reflect salary changes carried out in April 2025.  

Read Annex A for more detail on our methodology.

Figure 2 shows the gender distribution split by salary quartiles in 2026.  

This shows the percentage of men and women in 4 equally sized groups, ranked from lowest to highest hourly pay.  

Figure 3 shows the mean gender pay gap broken down by contractual grade for 2026 and 2025.

Workforce distribution across grades

Our gender pay gap is primarily driven by a workforce distribution imbalance across grades and particularly within the professional support grade.  

Across the FCA, women represent 52.5% of the workforce, but 83.5% are in associate roles or below. There are over 10 times more women than men in the professional support grade. This, coupled with their under-representation in more senior roles, remains the primary driver of the overall pay gap. The salary quartiles reflect this, with women over-represented in the lower quartiles and under-represented in the upper quartile.

Within individual grades, the mean gender pay gaps are relatively small, with the only significant gaps favouring women.

Recalculating the 2026 gender pay gap and excluding the professional support population reduces the median pay gap from 8.6% to 6.3% and the mean pay gap from 10.7% to 6.8%. This confirms the material influence of this grade on the overall gender pay gap position.

Impact of changes to the flexible benefits allowance calculation

The 2026 pay gap fell partly because we changed how we calculate the flexible benefits allowance from June 2025. These changes had the greatest impact on colleagues in the professional support grade, where more colleagues are women.  

Additional increases to the flexible benefit allowance percentages from June 2026 should help reduce the pay gap further in 2027. This is expected to have the greatest impact for colleagues earning below £80,000 (full-time equivalent). 

Through our DEI programme, we are carrying out targeted interventions to improve representation.

By 2030, we aim to achieve a 50% gender balance at the manager grade level.

We’re also working towards greater balance at the professional support grade level, with an incremental target of 85% female and 15% male representation by 2030, and 75% female and 25% male representation by 2035.

We have published our first gender pay gap action plan, which sets out the measures in place to address the gender pay gap. This includes targeted interventions to improve the representation of women in senior roles and support gender balance across the organisation.

Read our gender pay gap action plan.

Figure 4 shows the ethnicity distribution split by salary quartiles in 2026.

Since 2025, there has been an increase of 3 percentage points in the distribution of minority ethnic colleagues in the lower quartile, helping explain the small rise in the median pay gap in 2026. 

We have also analysed the mean ethnicity pay gap by contractual grade against the Office for National Statistics (ONS) 5 ethnicity categories.  

Click on the tabs below to see a breakdown for each contractual grade. 

Figure 7 below shows the mean ethnicity pay gap broken down by the associate grade against the ONS ethnicity categories.

In 2026, our median ethnicity pay gap increased slightly by 0.2 percentage points, compared to 2025. The mean pay gap reduced by 0.7 percentage points.

Our ethnicity disclosure rate remains high at 97%, giving confidence in the accuracy of our data and supporting more robust analysis. This highlights that the gap is primarily driven by workforce distribution.  

Workforce distribution across grades

Minority ethnic colleagues are under-represented in senior roles and over-represented in more junior roles. Overall, 36.5% of colleagues identify as minority ethnic, with 88% in associate roles or below. This is reflected in the salary quartiles, where representation decreases at higher quartiles (Figure 4).  

There has been some positive progress in 2026 with 25% of minority ethnic colleagues in the upper salary quartile, up from 24% in 2025.

Pay gaps within grades are generally small, although some variation remains, particularly in professional support and head of department grades.  

Analysis within the associate grade (Figure 7) shows no consistent or material pay gaps within roles, with outcomes in several cases favouring minority ethnic colleagues. This confirms the gap is driven by representation across grades, rather than pay differences within roles. 

Minority ethnic representation has increased across most of our pipeline grades over the past year. While this progress is encouraging, we remain focused on areas where our diversity representation targets have not yet been met. 

We are carrying out targeted interventions to improve representation.

By 2030, we aim to achieve:

• 25% ethnicity target at technical specialist and manager contractual grades.
• 20% ethnicity target for our senior leadership team.  
• 4% black representation at our senior leadership team.  

We are particularly focusing on increasing minority ethnic representation and progression into manager and senior leadership grades, where representation remains lower. This is supported by a sustained focus on recruitment, career development and retention to drive long-term improvements in workforce distribution.

Figure 8 shows the distribution of disabled and non-disabled colleagues by salary quartiles in 2026.

Figure 9 shows the mean disability pay gap by contractual grade for 2026 and 2025. 

Disability pay gaps are relatively small and are primarily influenced by workforce distribution and lower disclosure rates.

Disabled colleagues are represented across all salary quartiles, broadly reflecting the overall workforce profile, with increased representation across all quartiles since 2025. However, there remains a slightly higher concentration of disabled colleagues in lower-paid roles and lower representation in senior roles (Figure 8).

At a contractual grade level, pay gaps are generally small, suggesting the overall gap is driven by workforce distribution rather than pay differences within roles.

Undeclared disability status

Of colleagues who disclosed their disability status (Figure 11), 11.6% identified as disabled and 4.7% selected ‘prefer not to say’. However, a significant number of colleagues (19% of the total relevant population) remain undeclared.  

This undeclared group has the lowest average hourly pay rate of pay that would likely further reduce the overall disability pay gap were they to be included. Lower overall disability disclosure rates also mean that small changes in the data can result in greater year-on-year volatility. 

We are committed to reducing the disability pay gap and creating an inclusive and equitable culture in which colleagues feel safe, supported and confident to disclose their disability status.

We’ll continue to take an evidence-based approach to understand the drivers of the gap and use this insight to inform targeted interventions. 

As part of our refreshed internal DEI programme, a key focus is improving the experience of colleagues with disabilities or neurodiversity. This includes making sure our recruitment, progression and performance processes are fair, accessible and inclusive. 

Figure 10 shows the mean pay gap for minority ethnic women at associate grade against the ONS ethnicity categories.

Minority ethnic women continue to experience the largest pay gaps compared with white men.  

While the gap has narrowed slightly year on year, it remains primarily driven by distribution in the workforce. Minority ethnic women remain more concentrated in junior roles, while white men are more concentrated in senior roles.  

For example, at the professional support grade, 37.8% of roles are held by minority ethnic women compared with 5.1% by white men.

At the head of department level, this position is reversed, with 5.8% minority ethnic women compared with 42.7% white men.

Analysis at associate grade (shown in Figure 10) indicates that differences are generally small at levels 8 and 9. However, pay gaps more often favour white men at senior and lead associate levels, which are higher paid roles. This reinforces that improving progression into senior roles is the key lever for reducing the intersectional pay gap.

While the intersectional pay gap is primarily driven by differences in representation at senior levels, various elements of our DEI programme aim to address this imbalance.  

We use targeted outreach initiatives to attract a diverse range of candidates, strengthening the pipeline of talent across gender and ethnicity. This includes our:  

• Black Futures Programme.
• Females of the Future Programme.  

Also, dedicated networks – including the minority ethnic women’s network ‘Elevate’ – provide support for engagement, development and progression for intersectional groups.

We set out further measures in our Gender pay gap action plan.  

Together, these actions provide a foundation to address the under-representation of minority ethnic women at senior grades.  

A continued focus on progression and outcomes will be critical to delivering sustained improvement. 

Below, we set out the employees included and excluded from our reporting data (the ‘relevant population’). Our relevant population for 2026 is 5,100 employees.

This includes colleagues working at both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulatory (PSR). 

This methodology is in line with statutory guidance on pay gap reporting published by the Government Equalities Office.

We use the same population for our ethnicity and disability pay gap analysis as we use for gender pay gap reporting.

This means only employees who meet the gender pay gap reporting criteria are included.

Our disclosure rates are shown in Figure 11 and include employees who selected ‘prefer not to say’ for disability and ethnicity.  

Not all tables in this report will align with these disclosure figures. This includes where:

• Employees are grouped by contractual grade.
• The ‘prefer not to say’ disclosure category is excluded. 

Disclosure rates should be considered when reviewing movements in pay gap reporting, particularly for smaller populations where relatively small shifts in the underlying data can result in larger percentage changes.

Our pay gaps are calculated on both a median and mean basis, in line with UK gender pay gap reporting requirements.  

Expand the sections below for more detail on terms we use in this report.