Last Friday, Asda has published its gender pay figures for 2022 which show a year-on-year reduction in both its mean and median pay gaps.
In a report submitted to the Government’s Gender Pay website, Asda confirmed that the median pay difference between all male and female colleagues is 4.7 percent (2021: 6.1%)
It was also shown that the mean pay difference between all male and female colleagues is 7.6 percent (2021: 8%)
Also, the report confirmed a 0 percent median pay gap for hourly paid retail store colleagues who make up 84 percent of Asda’s total workforce.
Asda’s gender pay figures remain significantly lower than the UK average of 14.9 percent (median) and 14.6 percent (mean) as measured by the Office for National Statistics.
The supermarket said an increase in the number of female colleagues in senior leadership roles in its retail and logistics businesses helped to reduce the gender pay gap last year.
Asda’s Chief People and Corporate Affairs Officer, Hayley Tatum, said:
“We are pleased that our gender pay gap has reduced year on year as we welcomed more female colleagues into senior leadership roles across our business.
“However, we know that more work is needed to close the gap further and we’re committed to giving female colleagues the support they need to progress their careers and move into more senior roles with Asda.”
What have they done to achieve this?
As part of a number of initiatives to reduce the pay gap, Asda ran a bespoke six-month development programme last year to help increase female representation in senior levels throughout the business.
Almost 300 colleagues participated in the programme and a similar one is planned for this year focussing on skills development and career advancement.
Asda also continues to invest to develop leaders of the future. Last year, 96 female colleagues completed the supermarket’s apprenticeship programme and gained experience of working in a number of different roles before deciding which area to specialise in. One hundred female colleagues will join this year’s programme.
The supermarket will also continue collaborating with its external memberships, such as LEAD, to help it drive greater gender-balanced leadership across the business.
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
