Data: The 15 most improved retailers for gender pay equality 2022

Retail businesses submitted their pay data to the Government Equalities Office in April, highlighting the difference between the average earnings of men and women across their workforce.

Since 2017, all businesses with 250 or more employees must comply with gender pay gap reporting.

Gender pay equality reporting looks at discrepancies across an entire business but does not examine salary differences between men and women in like-for-like job roles.

The data for the two reporting years are impacted by the exclusion of employees on furlough, particularly in store-based retail businesses, as it is taken on a snapshot date – April 5 – which was before retail reopened in 2021. These are therefore not like-for-like comparisons with previous years but can be compared in their own right.

Some retailers flagged that a greater proportion of female workers were placed on furlough, which begs further questions on gender discrepancies in business.

Using the median salary for each retailer, Retail Week has pulled together a ranking of those that have made a difference in their business over the past year, implementing changes to close the gap and work toward a more equal future.

The top 15 retailers

Topping the list this year was children and babywear brand JoJo Maman Bébé. 

The retailer, which has just been acquired by Next and a host of investment groups, has ranked highly since 2018/19 when its gender pay gap was 0.5.

JoJo Maman Bébé’s gender pay gap now falls in favour of its female employees, despite the exit of its female founder Laura Tenison following the acquisition by Next.

Other high-ranking retailers include Oliver Bonas, Fortnum & Mason, Timpson and Boohoo.

Boohoo has more than doubled its workforce over the past year as it acquired brands including Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton out of administration. Exactly half (50%) of Boohoo’s senior leadership team is female, while the retailer has also hired its first female non-executive director.

These stats stand in contrast to its subsidiary PrettyLittleThing, which ranks 95th with a gender pay gap of 33.3 in 2021/22.

Boohoo also ranks far higher than competitor Asos, at 100th with a gap of 44.8.

Timpson has long been associated with equal opportunities – the retailer famously offers employment to ex-offenders – but also has a challenge to attract female employees into a male-dominated industry. The shoe repair specialists have worked on offering flexible employment options to encourage women into leadership roles.

While Oliver Bonas has ranked highly for the past few years, founder Oliver Tress has previously highlighted that its gender pay gap (or lack thereof) is largely due to the gender bias in its teams.

Tress said in the retailer’s gender pay report this month: “We are confident that we are an equal pay employer, and whilst the gender pay gap reporting aims to address pay inequalities between males and females, we continue to recognise that gender is more than just male or female, and are focused on creating equity and transparency.”

With a focus on intersectionality, the retailer is working with disability charity Purple and BYP (Black Young Professionals) Network to ensure diversity in its teams and an understanding of creating a frictionless customer journey for all. Intersectionality is something that has also been flagged by Lush.

The health and beauty retailer acknowledges in its reporting that: “Lush is made up of a vibrant and diverse group of people who don’t always fit neatly into conventional pigeon holes” – namely binary gender labels.

Lush has also introduced pay circles, parental pay packages, and established trans community and menopausal community networks. The health and beauty specialist is one of the top-ranking retailers also featuring in the most improved list.

The most improved retailers

The most improved list includes some big jumpers such as Moss Bros, Primark, Carpetright and Currys.

A Primark spokeswoman said: “At Primark, we want everyone to be fairly rewarded for the work they do and removing the gender pay gap is an important part of that. As shown in our 2021 results, we’re pleased that we continue to make good progress on this, but equally know there’s plenty more to do. We’ll continue to work to build a Primark where all colleagues can be the best they can be.”

Currys has also worked to improve its gender pay gap. The retailer said in its report that while it pays a base salary that is the same for all genders, it has more male employees in management positions. On the other hand, more female employees received bonuses, and Currys has expanded partnerships with Everywoman and Business in the Community.

“Inclusion and diversity matters deeply to me”

Alex Baldock, Currys

Inclusion and diversity have formed a key part of Currys’ strategy under its united business, introducing regular colleague surveys to understand how to make everyone more comfortable at work. 

Currys boss Alex Baldock said: “Inclusion and diversity matters deeply to me. It’s obviously the right thing to do as a member of our society, but it’s also the right thing to do as a business. After all, our vision is to help ‘everyone’ enjoy amazing technology. And to achieve that, we’ve got to be for ‘everyone’ ourselves, and make sure our colleagues reflect our customers and communities.”

Like Timpson, Wickes has had to attract female employees in a male-dominated industry.

Since its demerger with Travis Perkins in 2021, the building supplies retailer has almost halved its gender pay gap, following the pattern of Travis Perkins previously.

While commentators acknowledge that the gender pay gap is not the perfect measure, it’s clear that many retailers have been making a concerted effort to improve their scores.

Typically male-dominated retailers such as Timpson, Wickes and Carpetright have made big improvements, while fashion retailers Primark, Lululemon and URBN – that typically have a greater female population on the shop floor – have also closed the gap further.

Comparisons post-pandemic next year, however, will prove the most significant measures of whether the gender pay gap has truly been tackled.