An Post has reported a close to zero gender pay gap for the second consecutive year, becoming the first major employer in Ireland to do so.
It now has a negative mean, or average, gender pay gap of 0.86 per cent, meaning women who work for An Post earn slightly more than male employees. This compares to a negative mean gap of 0.16 per cent in 2021.
An Post has also closed its median hourly gender pay gap from 3.75 per cent to 0.49 per cent. This means that a woman at the midpoint of all female hourly wages is paid 0.49 per cent less than a man at the midpoint of all male hourly wages.
The hourly pay calculation includes the impact of performance-related bonuses. Men employed by An Post continue to receive higher bonuses than women, with a mean and median performance-related bonus gender pay gap of 8.2 per cent and 10.9 per cent respectively last year. Both figures have narrowed since 2021.
An Post said the 2022 bonus gap was equivalent to an average annual difference of €350 and was the result of a higher percentage of men receiving a higher performance rating in certain areas of the organisation. In other areas, women have a higher average performance-related bonus in comparison to male colleagues, it added. Only a small portion of An Post employees receive performance-related bonuses.
It said its aim was to always keep its gender pay gap between -3 per cent and 3 per cent.
While this is the fourth report An Post has released on its gender pay gap, this is the first time that they have been obliged to by law. Minister for Equality Roderic O’Gorman brought the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 into operation in May this year, requiring organisations with more than 250 employees to report on how they pay men and women according to a range of specified metrics.
Employers were told to choose a “snapshot” date in June – in An Post’s case, June 3rd – and were then given six months to prepare their calculations before publishing a report on their own website. The regulations mean a spate of gender pay gaps will be revealed over the next month, the majority of them for the first time.
The Government is expected to establish a central website next year to which employers will be required to upload their 2023 reports.
An Post – which has more than 9,000 employees, the majority of them men – highlighted the 50:50 balance on its management board and an increase in female representation in its senior management group from 34 per cent to 41 per cent.
Just 13 per cent of postal sorting, collection and delivery operations staff are female, however, with the company indicating it will redesign its recruitment process to make it more diverse. This will include targeted advertising campaigns.
“Equality at all levels is a critical part of our business strategy and An Post is undergoing a major cultural transformation to build a workforce that reflects the communities we serve every day and one in which every colleague feels that they fully belong at An Post,” said chief executive David McRedmond.
“We know that we have a lot of work still to do in some areas and we have got to work harder to attract more women to work in postal sorting and delivery. While we don’t have a gender quota, we have introduced 50:50 gender balanced shortlisting for senior management jobs and removing any opportunity for unconscious bias so that the best person is always appointed to the role.”
Eleanor Nash, An Post’s chief people officer, said the organisation had been “actively listening” to its staff over the last three years to ensure all colleagues “feel that they belong”. An Post will continue to work to improve female representation and career development opportunities, as well as women’s health and wellbeing.
Hildegarde Naughton, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, welcomed the publication of An Post’s report.
“I commend the leadership the company has shown in eliminating the gender pay gap in its organisation. It is also recognised that An Post has put together an action plan to support the development of both women and men across their whole business,” Ms Naughton said.
