First among equals: PossAbilities has a zero gender pay gap
For the first time, UK based firms with over 250 employees had to publish their gender pay-gap statistics by midnight on 4th April 2018.
Heywood based social enterprise, PossAbilities has emerged as one of the few companies in the UK with a zero pay-gap across its 550 employees.
Human Resources Manager, Carolyn Tipper said “We are immensely proud that we are doing the right thing by both men and women at PossAbilities. Our mean gender pay-gap was less than 1%, with our median being exactly zero. Given that 78% of companies pay women less than men, and typically 18% less, we feel that we are ahead of the curve and we intend to stay there”.
PossAbilities is also unusual in that 75% of its most senior posts are filled by women, and the proportions between men and women at different grades remain fairly constant and reflect the 75/25 split between female and male workers.
Chief Executive, Rachel Law said “We didn’t set out to do this, it’s just what happens when you adopt a policy of fairness and create a true meritocracy. Given that the BBC pay men 9.3% more than women and Virgin Money some 37% more, we have established a very firm foundation and are ranked one of the most equal places to work in the UK”.
PossAbilities provides support for vulnerable adults with learning disabilities, dementia and young people leaving care across the North West. Rachel added “We think that we are a great place to work. We now know that we are a fair place to work as well. We are always looking for good people to work with us and it’s great to have another reason to say ‘come and join us’”.
