According to statistics that for the first time shows the challenges people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face when entering Big 4 firms, more than four in five PwC UK workers come from a higher socioeconomic background. This suggests that there is a pay gap within the big 4.
According to parental occupation data, the Big 4 firm reported in 2021 that 14% of its employees come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and are paid less than their peers, with a pay disparity of 12.1% on average.
The information was provided in the group’s annual report, which stated that the distributable profit per partner increased by more than a quarter to £868,000 and that revenue increased by 2% to £4.4 billion in the year ending June 30.
PwC Chairman, Kevin Ellis, received £4.4 million in remuneration in 2021, up from £3.4 million the year before, for a pay ratio of 82:1 with the median PwC employee, suggesting there is a large big 4 pay gap.
Competitor KPMG announced last year that it will establish a goal for the proportion of workers from working-class origins in its workforce. By 2030, it intends 29% of its partners and directors to come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, up from 23% of partners and 20% of directors currently.
According to PwC, a plan has also been developed to increase social mobility among its employees through employee recruiting, development, and advancement.
The median gender wage difference with partners was 10%, which is lower than the 11.6% from the previous year. Women made up 41% of internal partner admissions this year, according to PwC, although they still made up less than 25% of the firm’s partners.
With partners included, the ethnic wage gap is now closed, being at -0.3%. This was 3.5% the previous year, suggesting the Big 4 pay gap is narrowing from an ethnicity perspective.
