Boots has published data on its gender pay gap, indicating the pay gap benefits women in the first three quartiles of colleagues' pay. However, the difference favours men overall, but is closer to equality than the national median of 18.4%.
The company has a 78% female workforce. However, in the first three pay quartiles the workforce is 82% female, while women account for 68% of the highest paid quartile.
The data indicates that:
overall, the median gender pay gap is 5%;
within the first three quartiles, the gender pay gap is around 1% in favour of females.
Boots said that the main reason for a gender pay gap in the highest paid quartile "is due to variations in market rates for different job functions which have a different gender mix (for example, there's a 78% female workforce in HR, compared to 28% in higher paid IT roles) and a higher male representation in more senior roles."
Elizabeth Fagan, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Boots UK & ROI, commented: "We welcome the introduction of gender pay gap reporting as it's an opportunity to identify the root causes of any gaps that exist within our business.
"As the Managing Director of Boots, it's a guiding principle of my leadership that we all champion equality of opportunity and create an environment where all of our colleagues can thrive and achieve their career aspirations."
Boots announcement
Boots Management Services Ltd. 'Gender Pay Gap Report as at April 2017'