The 5th of April 2018 marks the end of the first year of disclosures under the new UK gender pay gap reporting requirements. Just over 10,000 companies employing more than 250 people in England, Scotland and Wales have disclosed their figures, although reportedly more than 500 are yet to publish and may face possible fines and reputational damage. Below is an analysis of the gender pay disclosures for companies in the hospitality, travel and leisure sector, including how the disclosures in this sector compare to the wider UK disclosures.
Both the pay and bonus gaps in hospitality, travel and leisure are, in general, lower than the average pay gap across all industries. That being said, there are differences across the three sectors with pay gaps generally higher in travel companies than many other UK companies and pay gaps generally lower in hospitality and leisure companies compared to other UK companies. The median mean pay gap for all UK companies is around 14% compared to around 8% in hospitality, travel and leisure (figure 1).
Figure 1: Pay gap analysis – This chart shows the median and quartile range of mean and median pay gaps in hospitality, travel and leisure compared to all UK companies.
Figure 2: Bonus gap analysis – This chart shows the median and quartile range of mean and median bonus gaps in hospitality, travel and leisure compared to all UK companies.
The median mean bonus gap for all UK companies is around 36% compared to around 30% in hospitality, travel and leisure (figure 2).
Whilst this appears better than average, there remains a significant gap in the number of women in senior roles. This can be due to a number of reasons, such as skills shortages at managerial levels and all-male or male-dominated boards. Additionally women are disproportionately represented in lower skills and lower paid areas of the industry, and underrepresented in technical areas. In addition, this is a sector that tends to have a high labour turnover and a prevalence of low pay, seasonal, and zero- hours contracts which can make working in the industry incompatible with caring responsibilities. These issues are recognised across the hospitality, travel and leisure sectors and are being sought to be addressed through sector initiatives such as the Hospitality, Travel and Leisure 2020 initiative. (figure 3)
Figure 3: Proportion of men – This chart shows how the mean pay gap links to the proportion of men in each hospitality, travel and leisure company.
Figure 4: Number of employees – This chart shows how mean pay gaps in hospitality, travel and leisure compare in different size organisations, based on the number of employees.
Pay and bonus gaps are also driven by the significant differences in pay and bonus opportunities between the most senior employees and the wider workforce. The proportion of men and size of company (in terms of number of employees) does not have a significant impact on the size of the gap (figure 4).
This chart shows how the mean pay gap links to the relative seniority of men implied by the quartile disclosures (quartile index).
Figure 5: Seniority of men
Hospitality analysis
The charts below show the median and quartile range of pay and bonus gaps for all UK companies compared to hospitality companies.
Figure 6: Pay Gap
Pay gaps are generally significantly lower in hospitality companies than other UK companies. The median mean pay gap for all UK companies is 14% compared to 7% for hospitality companies (figure 6).
Bonus pay gaps in hospitality companies are generally lower than other UK companies. The median mean bonus gap for all UK companies is 36% compared to 23% for hospitality companies (figure 7).
Whilst this is materially better than average, there remains a significant gap in the number of women in senior roles, which is important as pay and bonus gaps are also driven by the significant differences in pay and bonus opportunities between the most senior employees and the wider workforce.
Figure 7: Bonus Gap
Travel analysis
The charts below show the median and quartile range of pay and bonus gaps for all UK companies compared to travel companies.
Figure 8: Pay Gap
Pay gaps are generally higher in travel companies than many other UK companies. The median mean pay gap for all UK companies is 14% compared to 22% for travel companies (figure 8).
Bonus pay gaps in travel companies are broadly in line with other UK companies. The median mean bonus gap for all UK companies is 36% compared to 35% for travel companies (figure 9).
Work-life balance is a major challenge for those working in the travel sector. The operational nature of the sector itself, is cited as a barrier to women’s progression. Multi-site operations, travel, both nationally and internationally, and long working hours are common in the sector and can put pressure on those with caring responsibilities.
Additionally women tend to be disproportionately represented in lower skills and lower paid areas of the industry, and underrepresented in technical areas and sectors, such as aviation.
Figure 9: Bonus Gap
Leisure analysis
The charts below show the median and quartile range of pay and bonus gaps for all UK companies compared to leisure companies.
Figure 10: Pay Gap
Pay gaps are generally lower in leisure companies than many other UK companies. The median mean pay gap for all UK companies is 14% compared to 10% for leisure companies (figure 10).
Bonus pay gaps in leisure companies are generally higher than with other UK companies. The median mean bonus gap for all UK companies is 36% compared to 44% for leisure companies (figure 11).
Whilst these results appear better than average, there remains a significant gap in the number of women in senior roles. This can be due to a number of reasons, such as skills shortages at managerial levels and all-male or male-dominated boards. Additionally women are disproportionately represented in lower skills and lower paid areas of the industry, and underrepresented in technical areas and sectors.
It is also important to note that as with the hospitality sector, the leisure industry tends to have a high labour turnover and a prevalence of low pay, seasonal, and zero- hours contracts which coupled with travel, both nationally and internationally, and long working hours can make working in the industry incompatible with caring responsibilities of all kinds.
Pay and bonus gaps are also driven by the significant differences in pay and bonus opportunities between the most senior employees and the wider workforce.
Figure 11: Bonus Gap
Methodology
Comparator group based on companies with a sector code submitted to the government website relating to hospitality, travel and leisure. Some limited validation has been carried out to ensure that the group includes all major hospitality, travel and leisure organisations. This analysis excludes any company with a pay gap above 100%. Bonus gap analysis excludes companies with either no men or no women receiving a bonus, as a gap is not possible to calculate. The quartile index shows the relative distribution of men and women in the quartile ranges. A positive value indicates that there is a higher proportion of men in the upper and upper middle quartiles compared to the overall workforce.
Related content
Contact us
Partner, Hospitality, travel and leisure, Strategy&, PwC United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)7764 235446
Follow us
