Hospitality industry shamed over gender pay gap
While the average man took home £18,497 annually, the average female salary was £15,665.
Data from 2013 indicates that the pay gap has remained at 18 per cent for the last two years. Though the average male salary fell -£378.96 in 2013-14, female pay proportionally fell by -£308.10.
Sharon Glancy, executive director at People 1st and founder of the organisation’s Women 1st initiative, told BigHospitality: “It’s disappointing to see that hospitality has been highlighted as one of the top 10 industries in terms of the gender pay gap.
“Having a good gender balance at senior levels makes commercial sense for businesses, but a lack of parity in pay will certainly make that harder to achieve. Women currently make up just six percent of hospitality board directors, despite the fact that almost 60 per cent of the industry’s workforce is female.
“The encouraging news is that there are hospitality companies that are actively working to address this gap – for example, Sodexo recently pledged to publish a breakdown of how it pays its employees and to rectify any inequalities between men and women.
“I would encourage other businesses to follow Sodexo’s example. Equal pay is not the only barrier preventing women from reaching senior roles, but it should be one of the more simple issues to address.”
Reed.co.uk named hospitality and catering as the seventh worst industry for pay disparity, while accountancy topped the list with a pay gap of 29 per cent.
BigHospitality previously reported on the imbalance between male and female chefs, finding that men dominate the hotel and restaurant sector while women are more likely to work in public or retail catering.
