Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap Reports 2025
This report sets out our Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap as of 2 April 2025, as well as reflecting on our progress so far.
Pay Gap analysis looks at the difference in average pay across an organisation, reflecting how roles and seniority are distributed, rather than whether individuals are paid equally for the same work.
While Gender Pay Gap reporting is mandatory, we voluntarily publish our Ethnicity Pay Gap; reflecting our commitment to inclusion and our belief that transparency drives progress.
As a new Chief People Officer to Hargreaves Lansdown in January 2026, I look to the future and am energised by what we can do differently to drive improvement on our inclusivity goals.
Declaration
I confirm that the data reported is accurate.
Lisa Hillier
Chief People Officer
What’s the difference between equal pay and pay gaps?
Equal Pay
Equal pay is the right for men and women to be paid the same for the same, or equivalent, work or work of equal value. Hargreaves Lansdown has a clear, fair, and bias-free approach to pay, underpinned by a robust role-sizing process. We have checks in place as part of our annual performance and pay review process to ensure colleagues are paid equitably based on their role, skills and experience.
Gender Pay Gap
The Gender Pay Gap measures the difference between men and women's earnings across the business by expressing the percentage difference between men and women's average hourly pay.
For example, if the average man’s pay was £20 per hour and average woman’s pay was £17 per hour, women would earn 85% of the amount men earn, giving a mean Gender Pay Gap of 15%.
The median is the figure that falls in the middle of a range when the pay of all relevant employees are lined up from lowest to highest. The median gap is calculated by taking the difference between the employee in the middle of the range of male pay and the middle employee in the range of female pay.
HL’s Gender Pay Gap
All data provided is as of the 5 April of the years listed within the table.
| 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mean Gender Pay Gap | 7.9% | 20.2% |
| Median Gender Pay Gap | 19.5% | 22.2% |
| Mean Gender Bonus Gap | 27.0% | 28.5% |
| Median Gender Bonus Gap | 33.9% | 19.2% |
| Proportion of Employees in receipt of Bonus - Women | 63.8% | 45.8% |
| Proportion of Employees in receipt of Bonus - Men | 67.2% | 57.7% |
HL’s gender proportion (%) by pay quartile
| 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Quartile - Men | 52% | 50% |
| Lower Quartile - Women | 48% | 50% |
| Lower Middle Quartile - Men | 55% | 54% |
| Lower Middle Quartile - Women | 45% | 46% |
| Upper Middle Quartile - Men | 61% | 62% |
| Upper Middle Quartile - Women | 39% | 38% |
| Upper Quartile - Men | 69% | 70% |
| Upper Quartile - Women | 31% | 30% |
HL’s Ethnicity Pay Gap
All data provided is as of the 5 April of the years listed within the table.
| 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mean Ethnicity Pay Gap | 9.2% | 15.9% |
| Median Ethnicity Pay Gap | 23.8% | 26.7% |
| Mean Ethnicity Bonus Gap | 28.7% | -16.7% |
| Median Ethnicity Bonus Gap | 42% | 16.2% |
5 April 2025: Ethnicity Pay Gaps in comparison to White colleagues’ pay
Pay Gap | Bonus Gap | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | Median | Mean | Median | |
| Black, Asian and Mixed/Other Ethnicities (combined) | 15.9% | 26.7% | -16.7% | 16.2% |
| Black | 29.7% | 31.4% | 3.4% | 60.5% |
| Asian | 11.1% | 26.1% | 51.7% | 58.2% |
| *Mixed/Other Ethnicities | 12.3% | 20.0% | 39.4% | 54.5% |
| Ethnicity Not Disclosed | 1.9% | 21.1% | 49.4% | 42.3% |
Proportion of colleagues receiving a bonus
| 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| White | 71.1% | 59.6% |
| Asian | 82.2% | 32.1% |
| Black | 45.6% | 15.7% |
| *Mixed/Other Ethnicities | 71.1% | 43.0% |
| Not Disclosed | 53.7% | 40.0% |
| Black, Asian and Mixed/Other Ethnicities (combined) | 50.0% | 30.5% |
*Due to the total number of colleagues who have disclosed as ‘Mixed’ or ‘Other’ being too low to report on each category separately, we have chosen to combine the colleagues rather than to exclude the data completely.
HL’s Ethnicity proportion by pay quartile
| White | Ethnic Minority | Not disclosed | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | |
| Lower Quartile | 58.9% | 59.0% | 19.0% | 24.0% | 22.0% | 17.0% |
| Lower Middle Quartile | 71.8% | 70.0% | 15.2% | 16.0% | 13.0% | 14.0% |
| Upper Middle Quartile | 80.6% | 81.8% | 9.5% | 8.4% | 9.9% | 9.9% |
| Upper Quartile | 77.9% | 77.4% | 9.2% | 10.1% | 13.0% | 12.5% |
What the data is telling us
Both Gender and Ethnicity pay gaps have widened year-on-year, particularly on median measures. Most bonus gaps however have narrowed, in particular the median gap for both ethnicity and gender bonus pay. Our gender and ethnicity goals are part of a multi-year approach and, while we have seen progress overall since we began reporting, we expect to see upwards and downwards variation as we go through the journey to create sustainable change.
Our gender and ethnicity pay gap is primarily driven by representation at senior levels and within higher-paid roles. We have seen a number of new appointments this year, particularly in our Senior Leadership Team this year. We have also recalibrated our representation targets to reflect changes in our workforce composition. This ensures our ambitions remain proportionate and aligned to our current structure.
Key drivers of the pay gaps
Reduced representation of women at senior levels following colleague movements and new appointments.
Ethnic minority representation at senior levels remains small and has not kept pace with growth in the white colleague population.
Women and ethnic minority colleagues continue to be overrepresented in lower-banded roles, with reduced female representation in mid-career professional and middle management roles.
Men and white colleagues are more likely to be in market-premium (non-core) salary ranges.
Bonus gaps are influenced by participation in higher-quantum incentive schemes, bonus consolidation at lower bands, and increased maternity leave during the bonus period (2024-2025)
We are committed to understanding the drivers behind these gaps more and using these insights to inform change.
How are we continuing to build a diverse and inclusive culture in 2026 and 2027?
We know that sustainable progress on our Gender Pay Gap will rely on inclusive leadership, accessible development and fair decision‑making. This is supported by insights from our listening survey where colleagues have highlighted where they need clearer support, and we are using this feedback to prioritise action.
We are committed to continuing to prioritise increasing female representation within senior leadership and the upper pay quartile. Progress will be assessed through senior representation data, promotion outcomes and succession planning review, alongside our Women in Finance Charter commitments.
We will:
Embed inclusion expectations in leadership objectives to strengthen accountability by committing to balanced shortlists for senior roles.
Introduce a programme to support a female leader talent pipeline.
Embed D&I prompts in performance, promotion and succession discussions to support equitable decisions.
Introduce consistent career conversation guidelines to improve clarity and support for development.
Define role‑readiness criteria for priority roles in a way that ensures fair access to progression.
Ensure we have the right access to development based on feedback from our listening survey.
Building on this multi-year journey, our focus for 2026/27 centers on three areas: representation, culture, and strengthening leadership pipelines. Together, these actions are intended to address both the current distribution of pay and long-term progression into senior roles.
Impact of our Colleague Networks
Our colleague networks continue to support our aspirations to foster a culture of inclusiveness as well as increase female and ethnic minority representation. In particular, our Gender Diversity Network and Cultural Diversity Network have been instrumental in fostering inclusivity and driving positive change within HL.
Furthermore, they have made strides in promoting awareness and support for health-related issues such endometriosis and menopause, with the appointment of Endometriosis and Menopause Champions who received specialised training.
Building a Stronger and More Inclusive Talent Pipeline
One of our goals is to build a balanced and sustainable talent pipeline into senior roles, strengthening representation over time.
We will continue to work with national and regional initiatives — including the Women in Finance Charter — and strengthen our partnerships with UWE and the University of Bristol to widen early‑career access and build a more diverse future talent pipeline. These relationships help us reach under‑represented groups, create pathways into the sector and support long‑term progress in reducing our gender pay gaps.
Expanding Early Career Pathways
We’ve focused our early career pathways to improve representation across the organisation, delivering 90+ paid internships through our Strive Programme and continuing our involvement in 10,000 Black Interns. We’ve also expanded our apprenticeship routes to widen access and progression, particularly in areas such as Digital, where women remain underrepresented across the UK. These initiatives help us build a more balanced and diverse future talent pipeline which we hope to see as outer-years benefits.
Development Through Industry Partnerships
We have joined the award-winning KPMG Cross Company Mentoring Programme, giving colleagues access to experienced leaders from across the industry. The programme is designed to strengthen development and improve progression opportunities — a key factor in reducing our pay gaps.
Our Commitment to Equity and Inclusion
We are proud members of the 30% Club and the 50:50 Equality Project, and accredited signatories of the Race at Work Charter and the Bristol Women in Business Charter. These commitments reflect our dedication to driving sustainable change both within HL and across the wider sector.