JM publishes its first Gender Pay Gap Report

• The gender pay gap is very different to equal pay and is instead a way to measure our gender talent gap
• JM’s UK gender pay gap is 9.2%, reducing to 4.7% if allowance is made for employees voluntarily giving up salary to participate in our benefit plans
• JM’s gap compares well to the UK average of 18.8%, as well as against other FTSE 100 companies that have published so far where the average is 21.3%
• JM is committed to eliminating its gender pay gap – actions are already underway, but there is more to do.

 

Today JM publishes its first gender pay gap report, which shows that across all our employees in the UK our median gender pay gap is 9.2%. This reduces to 4.7% if pay before any salary sacrifice deductions for voluntary benefits is considered. Our figures compare favourably to the average median pay gap for all UK companies, published by the Office for National Statistics, of 18.8%.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average hourly pay rate of all men and all women in an organisation. This is very different to equal pay, which is about paying men and women the same pay for equivalent work. JM is committed to being a meritocracy where men and women with the same performance and experience doing equivalent work are paid equally, and our pay policies and practices are designed to enable this to happen.

 

Good progress in recent years

Over the past few years, the number of women employed by JM in the UK has increased to 25% and the proportion of women in senior roles at JM has also increased. JM is now ranked 22nd in the Hampton-Alexander FTSE 100 ranking for Women on Boards with 33% of our board being women. In addition, 33% of our Group Management Committee, 40% of our senior management group and 28% of our other management roles are occupied by women.

 

Why we have a gap

While female representation throughout JM is improving, we still have a gender pay gap that is principally caused by:

• A lower number of women in our science, technology and engineering roles. With women representing only 24% of UK graduates studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects, this is a challenge many companies like JM are facing.
• A large number of our manufacturing roles are held by men, which is consistent with the demographics in the wider economy. These roles involve shift patterns requiring employees to work less sociable hours and attract additional shift allowances, and women are less likely than men to work these shift patterns.

 

How we are closing the gap

We recognise that it will take us some time to tackle the root causes of our gender imbalance and for JM to achieve equal participation of women and men in all areas of work and at all levels and in all locations. However, we are already focusing on a number of key areas including:

• A range of programmes to raise awareness in the areas of diversity, inclusion and unconscious bias.
• Boosting our investment in apprentice and graduate outreach with a particular focus on STEM roles and encouraging more women into these roles.
• Developing greater flexible working practices and having policies to help balance the demands of parenting between both parents.

Find out more about our gender pay gap, the drivers for it, and some of the key areas JM is focusing on to eliminate our gap by reading our full gender pay gap report.

It may be some time before we see a meaningful change, but JM is fully committed to bringing about this change and building an inclusive and diverse working environment where everyone lives our values and feels a part of JM.