Diageo narrows gender pay gap in Great Britain

Johnnie Walker maker Diageo narrowed the gender pay gap in its combined Great Britain and Scottish business this year, but is seeking to reduce a widening gap north of the border with the launch of new Stem scholarships for women.

Diageo is increasing its support for women in Stem careers with the launch of a two scholarship programmes

Published this week, Diageo’s Gender Pay Gap report shows an improvement in the median gender pay gap across both its Great Britain and Scottish businesses. The difference now sits at +5.4% in favour of men, down from +8.6% in 2017.

The median pay gap of Diageo Great Britain alone, discounting Scotland, was -12.6% in favour of women, which “reflects the good progress made to date on developing, promoting and recruiting female talent into more senior roles”.

However, the median pay gap in Diageo Scotland, a separate business with a focus on manufacturing, increased from +16.7% in 2017 to +18% this year.

The group said the greater gap was the result of “a reduction in the number of woman opting for shift allowances for unsociable hours and the continuation of a long-term trend of manufacturing roles being filled by men”.

Diageo Scotland recruited more women into entry-level roles in 2018, while 50% of all promotions went to women, 60% of graduates hired were women, and more female science undergraduates were placed in Menstrie, Diageo’s innovation lab.

The group is hoping to further support women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) careers with the launch of two scholarships in partnership with Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

Over the next three years, the scholarships will provide two women studying a BSc in Brewing and Distilling and an MEng in Mechanical Engineering with paid internships, mentoring from senior women in Diageo’s manufacturing business and funding for the duration of their degrees.

“We aim to be the best employer for women in the UK and are actively working to ensure we have a strong pipeline of female talent, across the broad variety of roles in our business,” said Mairéad Nayager, chief human resources officer at Diageo.

“While there is more work to do, we are proud that our work on inclusion and diversity is making Diageo a stronger company and I am pleased with the progress we have made this year towards closing the gender pay gap across our combined businesses in Great Britain and Scotland.”

Overall, women make up 40% of Diageo’s global executive committee, currently hold 34% of leadership roles, and sit in three out of eight board positions. The firm is seeking to “restore gender parity in due course”.

In February this year, Diageo joined the Free the Bid campaign, which aims to promote equal opportunities for women working in advertising.