Rockstar North has the worst gender pay gap in the UK games industry

The Scotland based studio behind Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt series, Rockstar North, has recently released a report, revealing how bad the gender pay gap is within the company.

The UK government has forced any employer with over 250 employees to reveal the various pay levels between males and females. Any business which does not comply faces substantial fines. In total, 69% of all UK game firms with over 250 staff have a gender pay gap larger than the national average, with women earning 33.7% less than men. This equates to for every £1 a male earns, a female in the same position only earns 66 pence.

The publicly available government database containing this information revealed that Rockstar North Limited had a gender pay gap of 64%, meaning women earn only 36 pence for every £1 a male employee earns. This makes it the worst company in the UK games industry when it comes to gender pay gaps.

In a statement released to GamesIndustry, Studio Director Andrew Semple stated:

“Rockstar North is fully committed to maintaining an equal opportunity work environment, where diversity is extremely highly valued and men and women are equally paid for equal work. Like much of the interactive entertainment industry, there is a gender disparity in our workforce, particularly at senior levels where our team has been with us for many years.

We are proactively working to decrease this disparity and we look forward to seeing a representation of our female colleagues continue to grow in all roles and at all levels as we actively recruit, train and encourage women to pursue career opportunities at Rockstar North and within our industry.”

As like most companies, Rockstar North pays employees based on their seniority and experience. The gender gap in pay can also be attributed to the fact that the games industry has traditionally consisted mostly of men, who therefore have higher seniority and greater experience when compared to newcomers to the industry – regardless of gender.

It should be noted that Microsoft, GAME, Electronic Arts, Bandai, Sony, and Namco have the smallest pay gaps within the industry.