Gender pay reports boosting inclusivity, new study finds

The introduction of gender pay gap reporting for large companies has had a largely positive impact on the workplaces affected by the new rules, research has found.

The study, which was carried out by international HR and learning professional body CIPD Ireland in conjunction with Industrial Relations News, found 41 per cent of respondents reported a more inclusive culture since their organisation came under the gender pay gap reporting regulations.

Some 28 per cent said there had been changes in leader and manager behaviour, while 36 per cent said job descriptions and recruitment practices had changed as a result of the reporting requirements.

More than a quarter said the way learning and development happens at their organisation had also changed, and 21 per cent believed reporting has led to changes in reward and recognition practices at their organisation.

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Director of CIPD Ireland Mary Connaughton described the figures as encouraging.

“We had expected the immediate impact of our gender pay gap legislation to be seen in job descriptions and recruitment practices but it’s really interesting to see it having a wider impact around issues of inclusivity and leader behaviours in Irish organisations,” she said. “We understand that the need to sign off a legal report and action plan highlighting the gender pay gap at senior and board levels in organisations, and in particular board visibility is driving a more inclusive culture. Given more and more organisations will be taken into the reporting net in the coming years, it will be interesting to see if these trends continue when smaller organisations begin reporting.”

Just under a quarter of respondents said the reporting rules had not brought about any progress or change.

Employers with more than 250 staff were required to publish a gender pay gap report in December 2022; the regulations will also apply to workplaces with 150 or more employees from December 2024.

“It will be interesting to see how and why the reporting has varying impacts on different workplaces, and the extent to which these changes actually lead to a reduction in the gender pay gap in future years, at both company and national level,” Ms Connaughton said.