Book publisher Hachette UK has reduced its mean gender pay gap by 28% since 2018 and its mean ethnicity pay gap by 20% since 2019.
The business reported its gender pay gap data in line with the government’s gender pay gap regulations.
The UK organisation’s mean hourly gender pay gap narrowed from 21.9% in 2020 to 21.5% last year, while its median hourly gender pay gap increased by half a percentage point to 18%. Within the Hachette group as a whole, the mean hourly gender pay gap fell to 13% from 14%, with the median down to 6% from 7% the previous year.
The group’s mean bonus gap over the reporting period, is 66% for 2021 for the whole group compared to 54% in 2020, with a median bonus gap of 0.5% compared to 8% the year before. Within Hachette UK, the mean bonus gap widened to 72% from 61%, however, its median bonus gap fell from 21% to 18%.
The business did not publish an ethnicity pay gap report in 2021 due to a national lockdown, so its most recent report includes two years of data.
Since 2019, Hachette UK has seen a 20% reduction in its mean ethnicity pay gap, while the whole group’s mean ethnicity pay gap fell by 17%. The median ethnicity pay gap also reduced by 17% for Hachette UK, with the median ethnicity pay gap for the whole group falling by 33%.
In 2019, Hachette UK pledged a black, Asian and minority ethnic representation target of 15% of the total group workforce within five years. In addition, in 2018, it set a goal that the then population of 66% female employees would be reflected in the top pay quartile in order to increase representation.
Kim Kidd, diversity and inclusion manager at Hachette UK, said: “It’s encouraging to see that representation is improving and both our ethnicity and gender pay gaps are moving in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go before we are fully representative of the consumers we hope to serve.
“We hope that being open and transparent about our journey with our colleagues and the industry will lead to more collaboration, quicker action and, ultimately, progress for everyone.”