Asda lighting

Asda said it had put a raft of initiatives to work to reduce the gap over the longer term into action

Men are paid 6.5% more than women at Asda, though the pay gap is falling, according to the supermarket’s latest report.

Asda’s 2019 gender pay figures, published today in line with the requirement for large companies to report annually, found the median pay difference (the Office for National Statistics’ preferred measure) between all relevant men and women employed by Asda was 6.5%.

The report said the pay gap was a reduction of 1.1% compared with 2018 and 10.8% lower than the national average of 17.3% for full and part-time workers. Since 2017, the median pay gap at Asda has dropped by 2.4%.

The mean pay difference between all relevant men and women employed by Asda was 11.1%. This is a reduction of 1.3% compared with 2017, 5.1% lower than the national average of 16.2%.

The report states 36% of those occupying senior roles at Asda are women, whereas 74% of those in junior roles are women.

Asda said it had put a raft of initiatives to work to reduce the gap over the longer term into action. These included delivering unconscious bias awareness training for all of its managers, and introducing procedures to ensure balanced candidates and interview panels for all senior hirings.

It has set up a Gender Colleague Resource Group, with representatives from different parts of the business. It would support the development of new initiatives to increase gender diversity, Asda said.

“Our gender pay gap has improved again this year, and we continue to be significantly below the national average,” said Asda chief people officer Hayley Tatum.

“Nevertheless, we recognise that, like many businesses, we still have challenges when it comes to female representation in more senior roles – and that is something we’re committed to addressing. It will naturally take time to see the full effect of the work we are doing, but I’m pleased that we continue to head in the right direction.”