Mediahuis Ireland says gender pay gap is 20pc, down on 2022 and ‘moving in right direction’

It means that for every €1 a man earns, a woman earns just over €0.80.

The figure, revealed in the company’s 2023 gender pay gap report, is down from 22.3pc last year.

“While we’re pleased to see our gap moving in the right direction, we don’t shy away from the fact that we still have a lot of work to do,” Mediahuis Ireland said.

In median terms – which measures the mid-point between the highest and lowest salaries for men and women – women were paid 23.8pc less than men, down from 24.4pc last year.

Irish Independent research puts the average pay gap at Ireland’s largest firms last year at 12.3pc.

The gender pay gap is not an indication of pay discrimination, or different pay for the same work, which is illegal.

It measures the average hourly salaries for men and women throughout the company, from entry level to board level.

Mediahuis Ireland, whose CEO is Peter Vandermeersch, is made up of 39pc women and 61pc men.

The large gender pay gap is due to the fact that while females outnumber males in lower-paid entry level, administration and support roles, the level of female representation substantially reduces throughout at upper and managerial levels, Mediahuis said.

There are also a higher distribution of males in the company’s commission-based sales roles, which adds to the large bonus pay gap of 36.7pc, up slightly on last year.

More than 80pc of males and females received a bonus this year.

The numbers are also impacted by colleagues on the Irish payroll but working predominantly in the Belgian parent group.

Following the publication of its first gender pay gap report last year, Mediahuis established an Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Committee. Since then, a new inclusive recruitment policy has seen 51pc of all promotions in 2023 go to female employees.

From January 2024, female representation on the Mediahuis executive leadership team is set to increase to 45pc.

Media companies have tended to fare worse than other sectors of the economy in the first round of gender pay gap reporting last year.

Virgin Media reported a gap of 21.6pc last year. The Irish Times reported a gap of 14.5pc last year, while RTÉ’s gap was 11.6pc.

Employers with over 250 staff are obliged to publish reports on their pay gaps throughout December.