Many of Ireland’s top agricultural companies, industry bodies and state agencies announced substantial gender pay gaps in favour of men in 2022.
Every employer with 250 employees or more is legally obliged to publish their gender pay-gap results yearly, with many agricultural bodies publishing theirs last month.
The gender pay gap is the difference between the average hourly pay of males and females across all levels of an organisation, regardless of the nature of the work itself.
Tirlán (formerly Glanbia) reported a mean gender pay gap of 18.5pc and a median gender pay gap of 15.7pc and said it is committed to addressing it.
“We are committed to attracting more women into our organisation. We have had some initial success but understand that we have more to do. There is still a significantly higher representation of men than women at all levels within Tirlán, including management and senior executive levels,” it said.
Dairygold reported a mean gender pay gap of 12.3pc in 2022 and a median gap of 13.2pc. It said the dairy and agribusiness industry is “traditionally male-dominated” and the information in its report gives it the opportunity to work towards addressing gender diversity in the business.
Lakeland Dairies reported a mean gender pay gap of 14.2pc and a median gender pay gap of 9.1pc last year, and said gender imbalance is most apparent in its processing sites.
Kerry Group had a gender pay gap of 6.4pc in 2022, with a median gap of 5.2pc. It has set a goal of achieving equal gender representation in senior management roles by 2030.
Aurivo’s report showed that it has a mean gender pay gap of 0.2pc in favour of males and a median gender pay gap of -11pc in favour of females.
“The data points to the fact that Aurivo does not have a pay gap. While this is a positive position, our overall female representation in the workforce is low and this is something we will look to address as an organisation in the coming years,” it said.
Meat processing giant ABP had a gender pay gap of 18.4pc and a median of 8.3pc. It launched the ABP She programme in September 2022 with the aim of supporting and identifying female talent within the business.
Meanwhile, Dawn Meats reported a pay gap of 10pc and a median gender pay gap of 4pc. “The key factor behind our gender pay gap is the balance of men and women across job levels; in particular in highly skilled and senior roles,” it said.
Irish Country Meats (ICM) reported a mean gender pay gap of 15.1pc and a median gender pay gap of 7.0pc last year, but said “females play an integral role in the operational and strategic performance of ICM, with females accounting for 40pc of ICM senior management”.
The Department of Agriculture’s mean gender pay gap now stands at 9.5pc, while it’s median gap is 12.7. “This reflects the fact that a higher proportion of the staff at more senior levels of the Department are men,” it said. It recorded a mean gender pay gap of 20.5pc in 2013.
