The UK arm of the International Baccalaureate has come under fire after it published gender pay gap data that revealed women were paid 15p less per hour than men, and 51p less in every £1 for bonuses.

The data was revealed this week on the UK government’s gender pay gap service, where information on pay for men and women is published annually. This is the first time the IB has published its data for the UK.

The bonus pay disparity is particularly notable when considered in the context that 23.9 per cent of women in the IB received a bonus, compared with 20.4 per cent of men.

Other data published also showed that women occupy 49.2 per cent of the highest-paid jobs and 66.7 per cent of the lowest-paid jobs in the organisation (see image below).

Liz Free, the director and CEO of International School Rheintal - an IB school - wrote on Twitter that the data was published after she contacted the organisation with concerns over the lack of female representation on its head of school course.

Women @iborganization paid 15% less per £ than men. Following concerns about lack of any representation of women in their Head of School course, I investigated pay gap. They had not reported in UK. After my email, they have now published. #WomenEd @tes https://t.co/muctK4dSY1 pic.twitter.com/qbzCN0cPrF

- Liz Free FCCT FRSA (@LizAMFree) October 2, 2021

In response to the figures, she said the pay disparity was “wholly unacceptable” and that she “expect[ed] to see a change in this organisation. [The IB] need to take some serious action.”

International Baccalaureate gender pay gap ‘wholly unacceptable’

Other international teachers replied that they were “astounded” by the data and that it was “highly disappointing news”.

Responding on Twitter and in a statement to Tes, the IB said it was working to close this gap and changes were expected in the near future.

“Pay disparities remain a global challenge. Closing gaps benefit everyone. We are prioritising work to become more equitable and expect to make progress in the months ahead”.

Thank you for raising this critical issue. Pay disparities remain a global challenge. Closing gaps benefit everyone. We are prioritising work to become more equitable and expect to make progress in the months ahead.

- International Baccalaureate (@iborganization) October 5, 2021