Unilever have published their gender pay results for the seventh year, in line with the government’s Gender Pay regulations introduced in April 2017.
As required by government regulation for gender pay reporting, more detailed figures from our two main employing entities in the UK have been published. These are Unilever UK Limited, representing our UK specific operations, including factories, and Unilever UK Central Resources Limited, representing our global functions based in the UK and primarily reflecting our central office and research labs.
We’ve also chosen to share overall ‘Unilever in the UK’ data looking at the combination of these reporting entities and our integrated companies in the UK, as this provides a more transparent and representative picture of our UK business and employment landscape.
You can find our full data and an update on our gender strategy, and the actions and policies driving this, in our latest report. Please click here to view:
Unilever is committed to building a workplace where everyone – regardless of their background – feels able to bring their authentic professional self to work. To this end we strive to create a company that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve and provides a supportive and empowering working environment. In the last year we have continued to make progress towards this goal, and we are excited by the opportunities this progress is presenting to our business. We have reduced the gender pay gap in some important areas and we continue to work towards gender pay equality across all areas and levels of our business. This progress has been delivered as we pioneer new flexible ways of working, providing opportunities for our employees to progress and flourish in their careers. Through doing this we will ensure that women at Unilever have the opportunity to thrive and progress at every stage of their careers.
Richard Sharp, Head of Unilever UK and Head of HR for Unilever UK & Ireland
Our 2023 Gender Pay report shows that Unilever continues to build a workplace that is inclusive and accessible, enabling the women who work here to excel and grow in their careers. We have sought to redress the gender balance in areas where men have traditionally held more roles than women, such as within Research and Development (R&D). Today 52% of people in our global R&D teams are women and 55% are in managerial roles. Elsewhere, we offer enhanced support for women and parents, providing access to fertility treatment, pregnancy loss support and menopause support. In 2024 we plan to build on this progress, increasing the proportion of women in senior roles across our business and support all of our employees to reach their full potential.
Katherine Simpson Executive sponsor of our Unilever UK & Ireland Gender Network and Commercial and Strategy Director, Unilever UK
We know that harmful social norms and stereotypes can contribute to persistent gender pay gaps. Challenging and changing those norms is a vital part of our plans for the future, which includes gender as a critical component in our goals on culture and leadership. However, we recognise that there is still more to do, particularly at senior management level where women are still under-represented.
Through our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion strategy, of which gender is one element, we’re removing barriers and bias and working to achieve equity in our policies and practices, our employee experience and culture and in our approach to retention, development and promotion. We’re establishing leadership accountability to drive change, supporting employees to excel in their roles and aiming to achieve a workforce that is fundamentally representative of the communities we operate in.
Under UK government regulation introduced in April 2017, companies with over 250 employees are required to make and publish six calculations, including gender pay gap as a mean and median, the mean and median bonus gap, and the proportion of males and females divided into four groups from lowest to highest pay.
Businesses are obliged to report this data separately for each legal entity that has at least 250 employees. In addition to publishing overall data for our UK business, Unilever has therefore also published separate data for its two major UK employing entities – Unilever UK Ltd and Unilever UK Central Resources Ltd.