Stephens Bakery – Gender Pay Gap Report – 2025

Published in line with the UK Government’s gender pay gap reporting requirements, this report demonstrates our ongoing commitment to transparency.

Stephens Bakery is a fourth-generation, family-owned business, dedicated to promoting equality and fairness across all areas of our work.

This is our second Gender Pay Gap Report, based on data as at 05 April 2025. It highlights the differences in average earnings between male and female employees across our workforce:

The Mean Gender Pay Gap            14%

This is the difference between the average hourly earnings of male and female

 

Median Gender Pay Gap                14%

This is the difference between the middle hourly pay for male and for female

 

Mean Bonus Pay Gap                      46%

This is the difference in average bonus pay between males and females

 

Median Bonus Pay Gap                  43%

This is the difference between the middle bonus amount for males and for females

 

Bonus Pay Proportions                  10% of males receiving bonus

22% of females receiving bonus

This is the percentage of males and females who received a bonus during the reporting year

 

Pay Quartiles

This is the percentage of each gender in each pay quartile

Pay Quartiles	Upper	Upper Middle	Lower Middle	Lower	Total Employees
Male	66%	44%	27%	21%	39%
Female	34%	56%	73%	79%	61%
	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%

 

Observations

We are pleased to report that we are delivering on our commitment to reduce our gender pay gap:

Our mean gender pay gap for 2025 has reduced by 3% compared to our 2024 report

Our median gender pay gap for 2025 has reduced by 1% compared to our 2024 report

Last year 4% more men received a bonus than women, this year 12% more women received a bonus than men

While the mean and median bonus pay gaps have fallen, total bonus payments in 2025 were considerably lower than in 2024. In particular, fewer male employees received bonuses, which had a significant influence on the reported mean and median figures.

Workforce Composition: Women continue to make up the majority of our retail team, which naturally sits more in the lower and lower-middle pay quartiles because of the types of roles available in retail.

Part-Time and Young Worker Roles: Many retail positions are part-time or filled by employees under 18. This flexibility is important to our business, but it can affect how median and mean pay figures appear.

Night Shift Roles: In our Bakery team, where more men are employed, night shifts and premium rates for these roles contribute to higher pay levels.

Career Development: We continue to actively support career growth across the company, helping employees progress into higher-paid roles and ensuring opportunities are open to everyone, regardless of gender.

Our Commitment: The gender pay gap isn’t a measure of equal pay for equal work, but it helps us understand our workforce and where we can improve. We remain focused on fostering an inclusive environment where every employee can thrive, develop, and reach their full potential.

 

Declaration

We are committed to closing the gender pay gap and fostering the development and success of all our employees. I confirm that this report accurately reflects our workforce as at 5 April 2025.

 

 

 

Talia Baylis – Joint Managing Director

Stephens Bakery