The Bank of England has reported a small decline in its gender pay gap for 2019, allowing it to claim progress on its diversity initiatives following criticism from politicians.

As of March 30, women were paid 20.2% less than men at the central bank, the lowest since it started reporting in 2017, said chief operating officer Joanna Place in a speech in London on May 15. This is a decline of just over one percentage point in the past year.