Eir narrows gender pay gap by a third to 7% following targeted measures

The pay gap at communications company Eir narrowed in 2022, after a number of targeted measures were put in place to address it.

The group, which in 2021 published its first gender pay gap report in advance of the legal requirement to do so, said the mean gender pay gap stands at 7.18 per cent in favour of men, down from 11.2 per cent.

The mean gender pay gap compares the pay of all men and women, rather than just those working in similar jobs, with similar experience, skills and qualifications. This is the first year that organisations with more than 250 people are required to report data on the difference in the average hourly wage and bonuses of men and women across the workplace.

Eir’s median pay gap is 18.6 per cent. That figure refers to how much a female employee at the midpoint of all female hourly wages is paid compared to a male employee at the midpoint of all male hourly wages.

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The group said pay changes implemented in its customer operations division, where a large number of its female staff are employed, in July 2021 had a big impact on narrowing the pay gap.

The integration of the former Evros business, which Eir announced it would buy in January 2021 and rebranded as Eir Evo in November of that year, has also helped to boost female participation rates.

The majority of workers at Eir are still men, at 78 per cent versus 22 per cent in the main population.

The company had pledged to reduce the gender pay gap it had identified among staff in the 2021 report. Among the contributors to the original figure was a higher percentage of male employees holding specialised engineering roles with the company, jobs that have an average tenure of 30 years and tended to have a higher salary.

The group has since implemented new learning and development programmes, and introduced policies to make it more supportive of women, including paid time off for those undergoing fertility treatment or who have experienced pregnancy loss, and support for employees relating to menopause and domestic violence. Eir has also launched an apprentice programme to help build a more diverse pipeline of talent, with a greater emphasis on attracting more women into the roles.

The number of new female hires rose 6 per cent over the six years to 2022, to 36 per cent.

At management level, the senior team is 65 per cent men, 46 per cent women, while leadership is 65 per cent men, 35 per cent women. Eir said it was committed to bringing more women through to more senior levels at the company, implementing targeted development opportunities in areas of under-representation, and promoting within the company where possible.

“The tremendous success we have had in achieving a major reduction in our gender pay gap over such a short period proves the old adage true: what gets measured gets managed,” said Oliver Loomes, chief executive of Eir.

“Our success is driven by the performance of our people, and maintaining an inclusive and diverse workplace is therefore key to that success. We recognise that there is more to do and, as I start my second year as chief executive of Eir in 2023, I reaffirm my commitment to reducing this gap further in the coming years. Equal opportunity for women and other under-represented groups is a vital part of our growth as a business and a society, and I have seen first-hand the benefits that diversity of thought and experience has in ensuring richer and more informed decision-making.”