Gender Pay Gap Report 2025 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science

This is the Department’s Gender Pay Gap report and is based on a ‘snapshot’ of employees within the Department on June 20th, 2025. This report will not contain figures or metrics for any aegis bodies, education and training boards or other agencies associated with the Department, who will publish their own report, where required.

The gender pay gap is the difference in the average hourly wage of men and women across a workforce, with the range of metrics being set out in the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021. Organisations with over 250 employees were asked to report on their Gender Pay Gap for the first time in 2022.

Gender pay gap reporting highlights the difference between male and female employee’s average annualised base pay. A Gender Pay Gap is not the same as unequal pay. Paying an individual less than a colleague for the same job (unequal pay), purely on account of their gender, is prohibited under equality legislation.

The gender pay analysis and profile is based on annualised base pay. It is important to note that all employees are aligned to pay grades which provide for equal pay for equal work irrespective of gender. The Departments pay structure is defined by the current Circular 19/2025, which is available on the gov.ie website