An Post close the gender pay gap
anpost.com
An Post close the gender pay gap
by Shamim de Brún
An Post has become the first major company in the State to report a zero gender pay gap. The organisation eliminated the difference between male and female average hourly rates of pay in 2 years.
It now has a negative average gender pay gap of 0.16 %. Effectively a 0% gap.
The pay gap is the difference in the average hourly wage of men and women in the workforce. It is based on the pay of every employee working for An Post from July 1st, 2020, to June 30th, 2021.
Chief executive David McRedmond credited trade unions for their role in achieving pay parity. He described them as “a positive force in ensuring men and women are paid equally”. That they “supported our drive to have more women in senior management”.
Achieving this was easier for An Post than other state bodies because a survey found the pay gap to be 3.4% in 2019. The gender pay gap in the HSE was about 20% in 2016. More recent statistics were unavailable.
The average gender pay gap in Ireland in 2017 was 14.4%. It is likely that this has widened since 2020 as women disproportionately lost their jobs during the pandemic.
Earlier this year the Dáil passed the Gender Pay Gap Information Act. Legislation that requires all organisations with 250+ staff to publish the pay and bonuses of staff every year. Minister for Equality Roderic O’Gorman said, “women have taken the lead in demanding equality. But the onus cannot just be on individual women to force these changes”.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar congratulated An Post and urged others to follow its example.
“The gender pay gap in society is unjustified and unfair, and needs to be closed in every workplace,” Mr Varadkar said.
Also on District: Respecting women is convenient until you have to confront your own actions
