QBE has reduced its gender pay gap for the fourth consecutive year, with both median and mean gaps decreasing by 0.7 percentage points compared with 2024, according to the insurer’s 2025 Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap report.
The company’s mean gender pay gap in the UK now stands at 19.7%, falling below 20% for the first time. Since 2022, QBE has reduced its mean gap by five percentage points from 24.7%, while the median gender pay gap has decreased by 5.6 percentage points to 22.8% from 28.4% over the same period.
The figures compare favourably with the wider UK insurance industry, which continues to report higher gaps on average. Recent sector data shows a mean gender pay gap of around 24.6% and a median gap of 22.1%, reflecting persistent structural imbalances across many large insurers. Among mainstream UK composite and commercial insurers, mean gender pay gaps typically remain in the low- to mid-20% range, particularly where senior underwriting, technical and leadership roles are still male-dominated.
Against that backdrop, QBE’s progress places it among the better-performing insurers in the UK market, particularly given its commercial and specialty focus. The insurer’s fourth consecutive year of improvement also contrasts with peers where progress has slowed or fluctuated year on year, underscoring the impact of sustained intervention rather than one-off adjustments.
Female representation increased across all seniority levels, with QBE pointing to improved mid-career progression as a key driver of the narrowing gap. The insurer attributed the improvement to fair pay commitments during recruitment, alongside continued investment in development and progression pathways for women across the business.
“We are once again seeing meaningful progress towards reducing our gender pay gaps,” said Nikki Lees, people director for QBE’s European operations. “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 life cycle.”
The ethnicity pay gap showed mixed movement in the latest report. QBE’s median ethnicity pay gap narrowed by 3 percentage points to minus 4.3%, moving closer to parity. However, the mean ethnicity pay gap widened by 1.4 percentage points to 5.9%, which the company said reflected increased representation in entry-level roles as it broadened recruitment across diverse talent pools.
QBE has reported on its ethnicity pay gap since 2021.
During 2025, the insurer implemented a range of inclusion initiatives, including inclusion workshops for more than 500 UK people leaders, representing 71% of its UK leadership population. It also launched a new internal hub to improve access to mentoring, secondments and development opportunities.
The company partnered with the ISC Group to deliver tailored development and coaching programmes for women at multiple career stages, alongside ongoing career coaching for colleagues from Global Ethnic Majority backgrounds.
QBE also expanded its Schools Partnership Programme to London, Leeds and Chelmsford, while enhanced parental leave provision continued to gain traction. Since its introduction in 2023, 157 employees have accessed the benefit, with take-up among fathers reaching 96%.
“We’re pleased to see continued progress but recognise there is more work to be done,” Lees said.
