In April 2018, a major step was taken to tackle the gender pay gap. Companies in the UK which hired over 250 employees, were required to provide statistics to show how prevalent their gender pay gap was. It was revealed that eight out of ten companies paid men more than they paid women.
While this certainly shows how prevalent the pay gap issue is, it also highlights some companies are getting it right. So, which UK companies don’t have a gender pay gap and how do they do it?
Which companies don’t have a gender pay gap?
There were a few companies which showed little to no gender pay gap in their statistics. Some companies even showed to pay women more than the men, such as Unilever UK. Women working at the company were shown to earn 9% more than men, with 50.7% of management positions in the company occupied by women.
The British Museum came near the top of the list too, showing men and women employees were paid exactly the same. It was one of the few companies which did show to pay its workers equally regardless of gender.
More women needed in senior roles
So, what are these companies doing differently to the ones which do have a large gender pay gap? Well, largely it comes down to having more women in senior roles. For a lot of businesses, most senior positions are taken up by men. This is what contributes towards the gender pay gap.
It isn’t necessarily about women being paid less than men for the same job role. Instead, it’s more that men are paid more within an organisation because they are in a more senior management position. So, more women need to start applying for managerial roles in order to bridge the gap.
Gender balanced interview panels
Another way companies are avoiding the gender pay gap, is by ensuring interview panels are gender balanced. This means, ensuring both men and women have a say in who gets the job. Similarly, gender balanced candidates are being chosen for interviews, rather than focusing on one particular gender.
There are ways companies can bridge the gender pay gap and the above are just some of them. The good news is, more is being done now to reduce the gap and ensure women are given the same opportunities as men to progress within the workplace.
