Turning pay gap reporting into future-thinking action

News
Published: 30 March 2026
Clare Fynney, Interim Chief People and Culture Officer, explores how we’ve broadened our pay gap reporting, embraced insight and have plans to drive actionable change.

Clare Fynney Interim Chief People and Culture Officer

Why transparency matters

At Macmillan, we want to create a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone feels supported, empowered to do their best work, and is paid fairly.

UK law requires companies and charities with 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap from the previous year. At Macmillan Cancer Support, we share this data not just because it’s required, but because we believe transparency matters. Being open helps us stay accountable and drive real change.

This year, as part of our commitment to transparency, we are also publishing our inclusive pay gap report. It covers pay gaps related to ethnicity, disability, and sexuality. While this isn’t required by law, we’re sharing it because fairness for everyone is important to us.

How we learn from the data

When we review pay gap data, we look at both the mean and median pay gaps. The mean is the average hourly pay for a group, while the median is the middle value when all salaries are listed from highest to lowest.

We compare the overall median and mean pay gaps to last year’s numbers. This helps us see if things are improving or not, and gives us important insights for each group we report on.

Both types of analysis matter. The mean pay gap can show changes in representation at different levels, while the median helps us spot any issues with pay progression.

We’re seeing positive change in some areas, but there’s room for improvement

We know we still have work to do on pay gaps, but our insights are helping us take steps that will lead to change in the coming years.

No matter the size of our pay gaps, we are committed to reducing them and won’t stop working toward that goal.

Our key headlines across each area are:

  • We still have a gender pay gap. It is similar to that of last year, and progress has been slower than we hoped.
  • Our ethnicity pay gap is moving in a positive direction toward greater equity.
  • Our median disability pay gap improved, which benefits most of our staff. However, the mean gap grew, showing we still face challenges with senior-level representation.
  • Our sexuality pay gap is still small.

Our pay gaps tend to be structural, rather than unequal pay for equal work

We don’t see big pay differences among colleagues in similar roles. Our data shows that senior-level representation and the types of roles people have make the biggest difference.

We see fewer women in some of our specialist roles, especially in our Technology and Finance & Operations directorates, where pay is highest. There are also fewer disabled people in senior roles, and some barriers to moving up in middle management.

Read the 2025 Gender Pay Gap report (PDF) Read the 2025 Inclusive Pay report (PDF)

We're building the foundations to ensure change is possible

With what we’ve learned, we can now take key actions to address challenges and close our pay gaps in all areas.

These actions cover many areas because we want to create change at every level. For example, we’re asking all directorates to set representation goals, looking for better ways for colleagues to progress, and offering more support to women and disabled people, especially in hiring and fair pay in Technology.

By building a diverse and inclusive culture at Macmillan, we can better represent the nearly 3.5 million people living with cancer in the UK. We know we need to work differently than before, and supporting our colleagues’ diversity will help us innovate and do even more for people with cancer.

Learning from the sector

Macmillan isn’t alone in wanting to close pay gaps. Our data is similar to what’s seen across the charity sector, but we want to do more and help drive change across the sector.

With these insights, Macmillan has a chance to lead by example and reduce pay gaps across the board.

I am hopeful that our pay gaps will reduce through positive action

 

Now is the time to focus on the work we’ve planned, which will help us move closer to pay equity for everyone at Macmillan.

Taking action won’t bring instant results, but we are committed and will invest time, resources, and energy to make progress.

I am confident that, in the coming years, the actions we’re taking now will help us make real progress toward closing pay gaps.

 

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