Average 21% gender pay gap across Irish banks is ‘worrying’, says union

The Financial Services Union (FSU) has called on the Republic’s banks to “engage constructively” with union representatives on gender pay disparity, as new figures show that women working in the industry are earning an average of about 21 per cent less an hour than men.

A raft of Irish companies have issued gender pay gap reports in recent weeks to meet an end-of-year deadline under new reporting requirements falling on Irish employers with more than 250 employees.

The average hourly pay differential currently amounts to 21.1 per cent across Bank of Ireland, AIB, Permanent TSB (PTSB) and Ulster Bank, according to FSU calculations. The gap at PTSB amounted to 17.5 per cent, rising to 18.4 per cent at AIB, 20.5 per cent at Bank of Ireland and 28 per cent at Ulster Bank, which is exiting the market.

“The numbers reported across all the retail banks are very worrying and deserving of urgent attention,” said John O’Connell, general secretary of the FSU.

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“The gender pay gap can best be resolved through a willingness of employers to engage with unions and agree action plans that puts this issue as a core objective of their business plan. This is not currently the position, and I would call on each bank to engage constructively with the FSU on agreeing their individual action plans that can be implemented across all areas of the bank.”

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This is a real opportunity for the retail banks to show the culture in the banking sector is changing and is becoming more inclusive and transparent.

The union published a report last year that called on banks to agree to annual targets to narrow gender pay gaps and audit pay increases and performance ratings each year for fairness and equality.

Mr O’Connell said that the publication of the data is an important start in understanding the issue. “It is now incumbent on all to act on the data and work together to resolve this key issue and thereby making the finance industry an attractive place to work for all,” he said.