QBE cuts UK gender pay gap again

QBE continued to reduce its gender pay gap in the UK in 2025, marking the fourth consecutive year of improvement across both its mean and median figures.

The insurer published its latest Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap report on 3 February 2026, which showed that both the mean and median gender pay gaps fell by 0.7 percentage points year-on-year.

QBE said its mean gender pay gap now stood at 19.7%, down from 24.7% in 2022, while its median gap reduced to 22.8% from 28.4% over the same period. 

The report highlighted that QBE’s focus on fair pay during recruitment and the continued development of women across the business contributed to the latest reduction.

Female representation increased across all seniority levels in 2025, with the insurer pointing to improving mid-career progression routes as a key driver.

Nikki Lees, people director at QBE European Operations, said: “We are once again seeing meaningful progress towards reducing our gender pay gaps. The continued downward trajectory of our mean and median gaps reflects the work we are doing to support fair pay and balanced representation at every stage of the employee lifecycle.

“We are pleased to see continued progress but recognise there is more work to be done.”

Ethnicity pay gap

Alongside gender pay data, QBE also reported on its ethnicity pay gap, which it has published since 2021. In 2025, the insurer’s median ethnicity pay gap narrowed by three percentage points year-on-year to -4.3%, moving closer to parity. However, its mean ethnicity pay gap widened by 1.4 percentage points to 5.9%.

QBE said this divergence was largely driven by increased representation from global ethnic majority colleagues in entry-level roles.

Lees added that building an inclusive culture remained a priority for the insurer, with a focus on ensuring colleagues felt they belonged and had opportunities to develop their careers.

As part of this, QBE outlined a range of inclusion and development initiatives introduced or expanded during 2025. These included inclusion workshops delivered to more than 500 UK people leaders, representing 71% of leadership, alongside improved access to mentoring, secondments and development resources through a new internal hub.

The insurer also continued targeted development programmes for women and global ethnic majority colleagues, expanded its schools partnership programme across London, Leeds and Chelmsford, and reported strong take-up of enhanced parental leave, with 96% of fathers accessing the benefit since its introduction in 2023.