Sex - Staff Monitoring Report 2023/24

Sex 2023/24

Proportion female and male in 2023/24

Pie chart showing the proportion of staff by sex. Details in the data table available after this graphic.
Proportion female and male (as at 31st July 2024)
Sex%
Female63.2%
Male36.8%

Female staff make up the majority of the workforce.

Scope: All Staff (please see inclusion/exclusion table) 

Snapshot date: 31st July 2024 (Academic Year 2023/24)

Proportion female and male over the last five years 

Line chart showing the proportion of female and male staff across five academic years. Details in the data table available after this graphic.
Proportion of the population by Sex
Year% Female% Male
2019/2061.3%38.7%
2020/2162.1%37.9%
2021/2262.7%37.3%
2022/2363.0%37.0%
2023/2463.2%36.8%

Snapshot date(s): 2019/20 to 2023/24 as at 31st July of each year.

Scope: All Staff – Academic Staff (Central, Regional, Research and ALs) and Professional and Support Staff – data does not include OU subsidiaries (OUSA, OUW, Mulberry Bear) or agency/temp workers.

Sex by Employee Group

Stacked bar chart comparing the sex composition of Academic Staff and Professional & Support Staff. Details in the data table available after this graphic.
Proportion female and male by employee group
Employee Group% Female% Male
Academic Staff59.6%40.4%
Professional & Support Staff67.9%32.1%

Both employee groups are predominantly female.

Snapshot date(s): 2023/24 (as at 31st July 2024)

Scope: All Staff – Academic Staff (Central, Regional, Research and ALs) and Professional and Support Staff – data does not include OU subsidiaries (OUSA, OUW, Mulberry Bear) or agency/temp workers.

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Sex by Employee Subgroup

Stacked bar chart showing the sex composition of six employee subgroups, split between Academic Staff and Professional & Support Staff. A dotted outline groups Associate Lecturers, Central Academic Staff, Regional Academic Staff and Research Staff together as Academic Staff, while Academic Related Staff and Support Staff are shown separately as Professional & Support Staff. Details in the data table available after this graphic.
Employee Subgroup by Sex
Employee Subgroup% Female% Male
Associate Lecturer59.1%40.9%
Central Academic Staff56.0%44.0%
Regional Academic Staff75.9%24.1%
Research Staff 55.1%44.9%
Academic Related Staff66.5%33.5%
Support Staff69.9%30.1%

Females are the majority in every employee subgroup.

Snapshot date(s): 2023/24 (as at 31st July 2024) 

Scope: All Staff – Academic Staff (Central, Regional, Research and ALs) and Professional and Support Staff – data does not include OU subsidiaries (OUSA, OUW, Mulberry Bear) or agency/temp workers

Female representation at senior level

Female representation at senior level continues to increase, now making up over half (53.6%) of the senior level population. When looking at the split between the grade groups that make up the senior level (Professors/PB and Senior Staff/SS), there are more staff in PB grades compared to SS grades; however, there is higher female representation in SS grades. Over half of the SS grade population are female (55.8%, 77 out of 138).

Bar chart showing female representation at senior level across five academic years, with a target marker of 45% shown alongside the most recent year. Details in the data table available after this graphic.
Female representation at senior level – 5 years
Year% Female
2019/2044.5%
2020/2146.2%
2021/2247.9%
2022/2349.4%
2023/2453.6%

Female representation at senior level increased steadily throughout the period and exceeded the target in the most recent year shown.

Bar chart comparing female representation across two senior grade groups. Details in the data table available after this graphic.
Female representation at senior level by grade group – 2023/24
Year% Female
PB1-PB351.6% (n=81)
SS0-SS555.8% (n=77)

Female representation is higher in the SS0-SS5 grade group than in the PB1-PB3 grade group.

Snapshot date(s): 2019/20 to 2023/24 as at 31st July of each year (above chart) | 2023/24 (as at 31st July 2024; below chart) 

Scope: Staff with ‘SS’ (Senior Staff) grades or ‘PB’ (Professor) grades

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