An analysis of up to 500 firms based in Ireland that published gender pay gap reports in December has found a mean gap of 12.6%. The analysis carried out by PwC Ireland discovered that the widest pay gaps are in the finance, banking, insurance, legal and construction sectors. The lowest gaps were recorded in retail, health and charity organisations.
“Although the exact reason for a gender pay gap varies by company and sector, a key factor appears to be the relatively high number of males in more senior (and so, more highly paid) roles,” said Doone O’Doherty, Partner, PwC Ireland People & Organisation. “Looking at disclosures on pay quartiles, three-quarters of companies appear to show a higher relative proportion of men in the ‘highest paid’ quartile.” “The more males a company has in these top quartiles relative to the number of females, the higher that company’s pay gap is likely to be.”
