RecruitHer company gender scorecard: how it works
Before you apply for a job, you can already see how an employer treats women. Every large UK organisation has to publish its gender pay gap figures by law, and that data is free and public. The problem is that the raw numbers sit in spreadsheets and government pages that are hard to compare, and a single percentage rarely answers the question women actually have, which is whether this is a good place to build a career.
The RecruitHer company gender scorecard exists to answer that question. It takes the public data every UK employer reports, adds the context that the raw figure leaves out, and turns it into a clear, comparable read on how a company treats women. This guide explains where the data comes from, what the company gender scorecard measures, how each employer is scored, and how to use it whether you are job hunting or hiring.
What the RecruitHer company gender scorecard is
The company gender scorecard is a single page for each UK employer that pulls together what their own data says about women at work. Instead of one mean pay gap figure floating without context, you see the full picture: how men and women are paid across the organisation, how bonuses are shared, where women sit in the pay structure, and how all of that has changed over time.
Think of it as the difference between a thermometer and a weather forecast. The legal pay gap figure is the thermometer, one reading at one moment. The scorecard is the forecast, the reading plus the trend plus the context that tells you what it actually means for you.
Crucially, the scorecard is built on facts the employer has published themselves, not on anonymous reviews or guesswork. That makes it harder to game and more honest than a star rating. The numbers are the numbers, and we show you how to read them.
Where the data comes from
The foundation of every scorecard is the UK gender pay gap reporting system. Under the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017, any employer in Great Britain with 250 or more employees must report their gender pay gap data every year. Public sector bodies report by 30 March, and most private and voluntary sector employers report by 4 April, covering the previous year.
The data is submitted to, and published on, the government’s gender pay gap service at gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk. Around 10,000 organisations report each year, and every figure is free for anyone to look up. RecruitHer reads this official data directly, so the starting point for each scorecard is the employer’s own legally required disclosure.
We layer two more things on top. First, historical reporting, so you can see whether a company is improving or standing still, because one year on its own can mislead. Second, sector context, because a 9% gap means something different in a sector where the average is 5% than in one where the average is 20%. For a fuller explanation of the underlying system, our guide to gender pay gap reporting walks through who reports and why.
What the scorecard measures
UK law requires employers to publish six specific figures, and the scorecard is built around all of them rather than the headline number alone.
The mean gender pay gap is the difference in average hourly pay between men and women. The median gender pay gap is the difference between the middle man and the middle woman when everyone is lined up by pay, and it is usually the more reliable figure because a handful of very high earners cannot skew it. The mean and median bonus gaps show the same comparison for bonus pay. The proportion of men and women receiving a bonus shows whether rewards reach women at all. Finally, the pay quartiles show what share of women sit in the lowest paid quarter of the company compared with the highest paid quarter.
That last figure often tells the clearest story. A company can have a modest headline pay gap while women are clustered in junior roles and almost absent from senior ones. The scorecard surfaces that pattern instead of hiding it. If you want to understand each of these measures in detail, our guide on how to read a company’s gender pay gap figures breaks them down one by one.
How each company is scored
We translate the six published figures, plus the trend over time and the sector comparison, into a score that lets you compare employers quickly without losing the detail underneath.
A strong score reflects more than a small pay gap. It reflects women being represented across all pay quartiles, not just the bottom. It reflects bonuses reaching women as often as men. It reflects a gap that is steady or narrowing year on year rather than widening. And it reflects performance that holds up against others in the same sector, because every industry has its own baseline.
We are deliberately careful about what the score can and cannot tell you. Gender pay gap data measures the distribution of men and women across pay levels. It is not a measure of equal pay, which is the separate legal right to be paid the same as a colleague of another sex for the same work. A company can have a large reported gap and still pay people fairly for identical roles, simply because more men hold the senior jobs. The scorecard makes this distinction clear so you draw the right conclusion. The fix for a wide gap is usually getting more women into senior and higher paid roles, not cutting anyone’s pay.
We also weight recency and consistency. A score built on a single year of data is fragile, so where an employer has reported for several years we look at the shape of the trend, not just the latest point. A company that has narrowed its gap steadily, kept women moving into the top quartile and shared bonuses fairly earns more trust than one with a flattering figure that arrived suddenly and without explanation. The aim is a score you can rely on, not a snapshot that flatters or alarms.
How to tell if a company is a good place for women to work
When women ask “is this company a good place for women to work”, the pay gap is only the starting point. The scorecard helps you read the signals together rather than fixating on one number.
Start with the trend. A company at 12% and falling steadily is often a better bet than one at 8% that has crept upwards for three years, because the direction shows whether anyone is actually paying attention. Next, look at the quartiles. If women fill the top pay quartile in reasonable numbers, that tells you progression is real and not just a policy on a wall. Then check the bonus figures, which often reveal whether flexible and part-time workers, still mostly women, are quietly excluded from rewards.
Beyond the data, look for the things the figures hint at. Genuine flexible working, transparent pay bands, visible women in leadership, and proper support for returners are all markers of an employer that backs women in practice. The scorecard points you to the right questions, and you can confirm the rest in the interview. Our guide to finding jobs that actually fit you covers what to ask and how to read the answers.
How to use the scorecard in your job search
The most useful moment to check a scorecard is before you apply, so you can spend your energy on employers worth your time. Use it to build a shortlist, to compare two offers side by side, and to prepare sharper questions for interview. If a company scores well, you can ask how they keep it that way. If it scores poorly, you can ask what they are doing about it and judge whether the answer is concrete or just warm words.
The scorecard is also a quiet confidence tool. Walking into an interview already knowing how an employer treats women shifts the balance. You are not hoping the culture is decent, you are checking a claim against published evidence. That is the heart of fit-first hiring: matching you to places that genuinely value your potential, rather than asking you to gamble on a glossy careers page.
It pays to compare within a sector rather than across the whole economy. Pay gaps differ sharply by industry, so a score that looks middling against all employers may be excellent for its field, and the other way round. Reading two companies in the same sector side by side is usually far more revealing than ranking a bank against a retailer. Our sector scorecards do exactly this, so you can see how an employer stacks up against its real peers.
For employers: what a strong score signals
For the recruiters and employers who use RecruitHer, a strong scorecard is an asset, not a hurdle. Women increasingly research pay and culture before they apply, so a credible, data-backed score helps you reach candidates who might otherwise self-select out. It signals that your numbers can stand scrutiny.
It also gives you a clear improvement map. The same measures that score you show you where to act, whether that is progression into senior roles, fairer bonus distribution, or better support for returners. Employers serious about this often pair the data with inclusive recruitment practices that reduce bias at the point of hiring, so the pipeline that feeds the pay structure improves too.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out if a company is good for women to work for?
Start with its published gender pay gap data, which every UK employer with 250 or more staff must report. The RecruitHer company gender scorecard pulls that data together with the trend over time and a sector comparison, so you get a clearer read than the single headline percentage on a government page.
Where does the gender pay gap data come from?
From the official UK gender pay gap service at gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk, where employers are legally required to publish their figures each year under the Equality Act 2010 regulations. The scorecard uses this public, employer-reported data as its foundation.
Is a low gender pay gap the same as equal pay?
No. The gender pay gap measures the difference in average pay between all men and all women at an employer. Equal pay is the separate legal right to be paid the same as someone of another sex doing the same job. A company can report a wide gap while still paying fairly for identical roles, usually because more men hold senior posts.
How often is the scorecard updated?
The underlying figures update each year when employers file their mandatory reports, with public bodies reporting by 30 March and most other employers by 4 April. The scorecard reflects the latest published data and keeps the history so you can see the direction of travel.
See how employers score for women on RecruitHer’s company gender scorecard.
This is educational information, not legal advice. Gender pay gap reporting rules and an employer’s obligations can vary depending on size, sector and circumstances. For guidance on pay and your rights at work, contact ACAS (free and impartial) or check gov.uk.
Last reviewed: June 2026