Gender Pay Gap Reporting 2025

Foreword 

We foster a workplace where colleagues can perform well, share fresh ideas, and offer diverse perspectives – supporting us to prioritise our members in everything we do. This allows us to attract and retain passionate people who drive our purpose.

Over the past year, we have taken steps to align with our objective of increasing diversity and inclusion. This includes implementing a diversity, equity and inclusion action plan, alongside the continuation and development of multiple community groups.

Reporting on our gender pay enable us to transparently communicate our progress and reaffirm our commitment to fair treatment of all individuals. While we acknowledge that the current pace of improvement in our mean hourly gender pay gap is not satisfactory, and this year we have seen a minor reduction in our median hourly gender pay gap, we remain confident that increasing the representation of women in senior roles at Railpen offers the most significant potential for closing the gap. This issue is common across the sector, and we are resolutely focused on making meaningful progress toward this goal.

Railpen’s gender pay gap

The tables below detail these changes, comparing 2025 with 2024:

A gender imbalance favouring males persists in the organisation’s Upper Quartile pay range, contributing to the overall gender pay gap.

We are implementing a series of targeted actions to promote greater gender balance.

Impact of bonus data on gender pay reporting

In April 2025, 93.0% of male employees and 92.2% of female employees at Railpen received a bonus relating to the 2024 year. These figures may vary annually due to eligibility cut-off dates for new entrants joining the bonus scheme.

Railpen distributes bonuses in April; therefore, in compliance with gender pay gap regulations (The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017), our hourly pay rate calculations include pro-rata bonus payments. This timing can present challenges for external benchmarking, as other organisations may award bonuses at different times throughout the year, which may impact the calculation and comparison of hourly pay rates.

Review of progress in 2025

Throughout 2025, as part of our ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), we have taken actions across several workstreams, including:

• Enhanced training on diversity, equity and inclusion

• A more transparent approach to performance and reward

• How we recruit diverse candidates

• Supporting our colleagues through a wide range of community groups.

• Development of a targeted action plan.

Enhanced training on diversity, equity and inclusion

At the end of summer 2024, the Learning & Development team, together with the DEI committee, conducted a trial run of a brand new DEI training module. This initiative featured two distinct elements: 'The Responsible Bystander', which was delivered face to face, and a five-part online bite-size series. Following a successful trial of both programmes, they were formally introduced into the training curriculum at the beginning of 2025. The launch of this was met with enthusiastic uptake and overwhelmingly positive feedback, highlighting the importance colleagues place on these learning opportunities. Our Learning & Development team has been instrumental, not only in creating the DEI module, but also in enhancing the ‘Managing the Railpen Way’ training sessions. These improvements ensure managers are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to lead diverse teams effectively while upholding our principles of fairness and inclusion throughout the organisation. The ongoing evolution of these programmes underlines our commitment to fostering a culture of learning, growth, and inclusivity for all colleagues.

A more transparent approach to performance and reward

We comprehensively reviewed our reward approach in 2024, with a particular emphasis on our bonus offering. We engaged with numerous colleagues through both individual discussions and multiple focus groups, allowing us to gather a wide range of perspectives. As a result, we introduced improvements to our performance conversations and refined the criteria for our bonus scheme ratings. These changes have increased the transparency of the link between performance and bonus outcomes, making it easier for everyone to understand how their contributions are recognised and rewarded.

How we recruit diverse candidates

Our Talent Acquisition team continues to play a pivotal role in attracting and shortlisting diverse candidates for vacancies, both internally and externally. They actively look for opportunities to boost the representation of talent from varied backgrounds through a range of sourcing strategies. Diversity, equity, and inclusion remain priorities in establishing selection criteria and processes, working closely with hiring managers to ensure fairness. Selection processes are designed to be transparent and efficient, with job adverts using gender-neutral language and clearly outlining essential, desirable, and behavioural requirements for each role. To further support diverse hiring, managers have access to the talent acquisition learning module within the Managing the Railpen Way programme.

Supporting our colleagues through a wide range of community groups

The growth and increased engagement of our four established community groups – Women’s, Menopause, Neurodiversity, and LGBTQIA – has been a highlight over the past year. Each group has seen a rise in membership, reflecting a positive trend in organisational participation and inclusivity. They have been proactive in organising a variety of events, including sessions with guest speakers and experts, which have played a key role in raising awareness and deepening understanding of issues affecting our colleagues. There has been a particular emphasis on practical ways to foster allyship within the workplace.

Beyond educational initiatives, these groups have also prioritised building meaningful connections among colleagues by hosting informal gatherings, such as tea & talk events. Such occasions have contributed to a supportive and welcoming environment, enabling participants to share experiences and build stronger relationships across the business. The vibrancy and activity of our community groups have enriched our organisational culture, ensuring that everyone feels valued and heard.

Our targeted action plan

During 2025, we focused on putting strong foundations in place to address our gender pay gap through clear commitments, governance and early delivery. We developed and enhanced a multi‑year Pay Gap Action Plan. The plan builds on our existing actions, reflects a detailed review of our pay gap data and people processes, and strengthens our focus on areas where sustained change will have the greatest impact.

Our focus for 2026 and onwards

Over the period 2026 to 2029, Railpen is committed to taking sustained and accountable action to reduce gender pay gaps and promote fairness across the colleague experience. Our approach is underpinned by a multi‑year Pay Gap Action Plan, which is reviewed regularly by senior leadership and reported through established governance forums.

Our key commitments are to:

• Strengthen gender balance at senior levels

  Improving gender representation in senior roles and leadership positions is a key driver of our overall gender pay gap.

• Embed accountability for pay equity at leadership level

  Our senior leaders are accountable for progress on gender pay gaps, and we’ll ensure that responsibility for delivery is visible and embedded within leadership governance.

• Ensure fair and inclusive recruitment and progression practices

  Attracting, recruiting and progressing talent in ways that are fair, transparent and inclusive, helps us mitigate the risk of pay gaps emerging or widening over time.

• Review organisational design and reward frameworks to mitigate bias

  We review organisational structures, job frameworks and reward practices to ensure they support equity, consistency and fairness across all roles and levels.

• Support equitable performance, development and career progression

  Strengthening development, performance and progression frameworks enabling all colleagues to have equitable access to opportunities to grow and advance their careers.

• Improve the quality and use of workforce data

  Our workforce diversity data quality helps us to better understand representation, identify barriers and inform meaningful action to reduce pay gaps.