Press releases

Legal & General publishes UK Gender Pay Gap Report for 2020

Legal & General Group Plc (Legal & General) has reported a continued decrease in its median gender pay gap for 2020

22 Mar 2021


Full press release

In new figures published today, Legal & General disclosed that its Group-wide median gender pay gap narrowed by 1.9%, to 26.6%. The improvement was driven by progress in its investment management division and CALA Homes, with a narrowing of 0.8% and 5.7% respectively.

However, these gains were offset by a widening of the median gap in its largest holding company, L&G Resources (by 4.4%). 2020 also saw the Group-wide mean pay gap widen by 3.2%: a deterioration when compared to the movement between 2018 and 2019, where the gap widened by 0.4%.

Like other companies in the core industries across which Legal & General operates, particularly financial services and investment management, the gender pay gap is the result of having historically employed more men than women in more senior, higher-paid roles. As well as actively working to address this gender imbalance, Legal & General is tackling the underlying causes of its pay gap by creating a more diverse workforce and a more inclusive culture through sustained, long-term action:

  • Gaining a better view of workforce diversity: Continuing to gather and track diversity data to inform strategy.
  • Improving access and addressing under-representation: Creating career opportunities for under-represented groups. In particular, L&G announced a £250,000 investment as a founding partner in FastFutures – a 12-week digital and business skills programme for young people.
  • Greater agility and flexibility: Continuing to support working parents with additional flexibility during periods of school closure, along with additional measures to ensure all employees were supported throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Internal education and accountability: Better informing the executive committee and leadership on diversity and inclusion issues and holding them to account on progress. In 2020 this included piloting an inclusive leadership toolkit to enable line managers to understand the importance of building diverse and inclusive teams as well as an internal listening programme.
  • Influencing and looking outside the business: Partnering with several external bodies – including the Diversity Project; LGBT Great; #talkaboutblack; Investing in Ethnicity; FastFutures and the Vision Foundation – to build an understanding of what meaningful action looks like, as well as using Legal & General’s leverage as an investor to engage with investee companies and hold them to account for addressing diversity and inclusion issues.

In 2020, Legal & General also established its Global D&I Council, which reports to the Group Executive Committee and Group Board. The Council is responsible for driving forward an ambitious D&I agenda, which includes initiatives to further embed inclusive practices in the way the organisation recruits, retains and progresses its people.

Emma Hardaker-Jones, Group HR Director at Legal & General: "The gender pay gap is a result of deep-seated social inequalities. At Legal & General, we are taking long-term view and addressing the gap by improving diversity, equity and inclusion within our business and across society. Our actions will enable us to build a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace, where everyone can contribute and succeed. We will know that we are bringing our ambition to life when we see a continued, sustained narrowing of the gap. There is much more to be done, but we are making progress and are committed to driving this change forward."

Further information

99A6870

John Godfrey

Director of Levelling Up (2006 - 2023)

Group Communications

T: 020 3124 2090

Email John Godfrey

Notes to editors

Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with £1.2 trillion in total assets under management1 of which 40% is international. We have a unique and highly synergistic business model, which continues to drive strong returns. Legal & General provides powerful asset origination and management capabilities directly to clients, which also underpin our leading retirement and protection solutions. We are a leading international player in Pension Risk Transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income. Our purpose is to improve the lives of our customers and create value for our shareholders. Through inclusive capitalism, we are investing in long-term assets, such as real estate and infrastructure, that can help build a better society for the future.

1Data as at 31 December 2023.