Telecommunications company Eir has said the gap between what it pays women compared to men has narrowed to 5.5 per cent this year, down from more than 7 per cent last year as it focuses on “targeted measures” to increase representation of women in senior roles.
In its third annual gender pay gap report, Eir said its leadership team is now 59 per cent men and 41 per cent women, an improvement on last year when 65 per cent were men and 35 per cent women.
Consequently, the group said its mean gender pay gap – a metric that compares the pay of all men and women, rather than just those working in similar jobs, with similar experience, skills and qualifications – stands at 5.5 per cent, 4 per cent lower than the national average. The gap has narrowed significantly from 2021 when, in advance of a legal requirement to do so, Eir reported a mean gender pay gap of 11.2 per cent.
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Meanwhile, Eir’s median gender pay gap – a comparison of how much a woman employee at the midpoint of all female hourly wages is paid compared to a male employee at the midpoint of all male hourly wages – stood at 19.3 per cent, up from 18.6 per cent in 2022.
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The telecoms group said women represent 22 per cent of its overall workforce. This is mainly due to “historical reasons”, it said, “with a high number of long serving male employees in our operational roles”.
Eir said it has focused on targeted measures to improve representation of women in its senior management and accelerating career progression across all levels of the business. “This includes robust training programmes and the integration of personalised development planning, reflecting eir’s dedication to creating a fair and supportive work environment,” it said.
Chief executive Oliver Loomes said: “The cornerstone of our improvement lies in the exceptional performance of our workforce, and the preservation of an inclusive and diverse workplace stands as a pivotal factor in achieving continued success. We recognise that there is more to do and, as I start my third year as Chief Executive of eir in 2024, I reaffirm my commitment to reducing this gap further in the coming years.”
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