The RIBA has called on the architecture sector to exceed current government requirements on pay transparency and publish data on differentials between male and female staff regardless of company size.

Under new requirements, firms with 250 employees or more need to publish a gender-specific breakdown of mean and median hourly rates of pay, and bonus details.

While firms including Foster & Partner, Zaha Hadid Architects and BDP have complied – revealing average hourly pay discrepancies of up to 29.5% in the latter’s case – the vast majority of UK practices employ fewer than 250 staff and are therefore exempt from reporting.

But the RIBA has chosen to voluntarily publish its own equal pay data and called on small and medium-sized firms to do the same, in a move likely to be seen as an acceptance that gender-related pay differences are an issue the whole sector needs to get to grips with.

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