New Look Retailers has reported a 27.96% mean gender pay gap for 2023, up slightly from 25.7% in 2022.
Its median gender pay gap for 2023, meanwhile, was 5.2%, down from 8% in 2022.
Like many fashion retailers, the organisation has attributed its gender pay gap to the large proportion of women working in its stores. In some areas of the organisation, such as its stores and distribution centres, the retailer pays a flat hourly rate, which has resulted in no median gender pay gap among these sectors of its workforce.
Its mean gender bonus gap for bonus awards made between April 2022 and March 2023 was 13.8%, while its median gender bonus gap was -1.1%. Overall, 69.5% of male staff received a bonus, compared to 19.8% of female employees.
In its gender pay report, Helen Connolly, chief executive officer (CEO) at New Look Retailers, stated: “Here at New Look, we are united and guided by our purpose ‘To inspire that New Look feeling.’ Our belief in delivering ‘fashion with values’ isn’t just limited to our team and customers but reflected across our entire value chain and captured within one of our four values #weareone. Creating a truly inclusive and diverse culture continues to be a key priority for us.
“Our gender pay gap figures continue to be influenced by the high gender representation of females across the company, with females making up 86% of our total colleague population and 95% of our retail population.”
Since 2021, the retailer has been focused on the creation of its first equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) strategic roadmap, which is designed to place New Look as a destination employer for ED&I. In the past year, this has seen the introduction of a number of initiatives including: a review of its pay framework, a review of its family leave policies and a successful trial enabling employees to purchase additional holiday, which it now plans to extend further.