The latest round of mandatory gender pay reporting in the United Kingdom has revealed a sharp regression at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA). After reaching a record low median hourly pay gap of 6.3 percent last year, the firm saw that figure more than double to 14.5 percent in the most recent cycle. The data indicates that for every pound earned by a middle-ranking man at the studio, a middle-ranking woman earns just 86 pence.
This widening disparity stands in contrast to the trajectories of other major UK practices, such as Foster + Partners and Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, which both reported narrowing gaps this year. While ZHA’s median figure fluctuates, its mean hourly pay gap—the average across all employees—has remained essentially frozen at 22 percent for three years. The stagnation suggests a persistent structural imbalance: men continue to occupy the vast majority of the firm’s most senior, highest-compensated positions.
The firm also reported a significant bonus disparity, with women’s median bonuses trailing men’s by nearly 34 percent. In a statement, a spokesperson for ZHA defended the studio’s practices, asserting that "women and men in equivalent roles are paid equally" and that compensation is "wholly factored on merit," accounting for specific skill sets and experience. This defense highlights a recurring tension within elite design firms: the insistence on a meritocratic framework that nevertheless struggles to produce equitable outcomes at the top of the pyramid.
With reporting from Dezeen.
Source · Dezeen
