Spotify has revealed its gender pay gap figures for the first time. The streaming giant’s UK headcount passed 250 in 2018, crossing the threshold that requires companies and organisations to publish their pay gap figures.
Spotify has an 11.6% mean gender pay gap and a 16.8% median pay gap, based on 2018 figures. The bonus gap was 19.7% (mean).
The median pay gap of 16.8% is slightly better than last year’s national average (17.9%). But Spotify UK MD Tom Connaughton said it “still falls short of where we want to be.”
“We are committed to working towards reducing the pay gap at Spotify, with the ultimate ambition of achieving a ‘zero’ pay gap for our people,” he said in the company’s gender pay report.
Women make up 35.9% of the upper pay quartile and 50% of the lower quartile at Spotify.
However, a higher proportion of women at Spotify (55.1%) received a bonus than men (53.7%). The bonus results were influenced by when staff realised stock options.
The under-representation of women in senior leadership and engineering roles is a challenge for the entire technology industry
Tom Connaughton
Spotify said it is working hard to increase representation of women at all levels and across Spotify globally, particularly in technical and leadership roles. Its global leadership team now consists of three women and four men.
“The under-representation of women in senior leadership and engineering roles is a challenge not only for Spotify but for the entire technology industry,” said Connaughton. “Increasing diversity in these roles is a priority for us.”
Across the UK business, the proportion of women increased from 42% in 2017 to 44% in 2018. Within the research and development team, the proportion of women in the UK increased from 11% to 18%.
Connaughton added: “We are committed to creating an environment where innovative and passionate people can be their true selves, achieve their ambitions, and operate at their highest level. We believe that diversity of experience, perspective and background leads to a better environment for all of us. This means creating, nurturing and protecting a plural and inclusive company culture.”
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