An Post has reported a zero gender pay gap for the second year in a row.
Since 2019, the company has achieved a 50:50 gender balance on its management board. Furthermore, female representation in the senior management group has increased from 33% to 41%, up by 7% from 2021. However, gender representation among postal sorting, collection and delivery operations staff is 13% female compared with 87% male. As outlined in its Gender Pay Gap Report 2022, An Post has committed to replicating the success of gender representation on the front line of its business with a clear strategy to redesign the recruitment process for postal operative (sorting and delivery) staff. As part of this plan, the organization will actively recruit diverse talent with targeted advertising campaigns, revise its inclusion statement on job ads and train operational managers on inclusive recruitment.
An Post surveyed all female colleagues across the business who have been with the company for more than three years, to understand their feelings on whether the impacts of its intended cultural transformation were visible and tangible for women at all levels. Of those surveyed, 61% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that An Post has made solid progress in gender representation within the past three years. The responders reported seeing women progress through the organization, an increase in female representation, women being more visible, a culture of women supporting women, as well as women finding their voices and speaking up more.
At An Post, over 70 women engaged in development opportunities in 2022 through An Post’s further education, training and development program, the An Post Green Institute. Programs they completed included Aspire, a female talent acceleration program; Advance, a mentoring program; Elevate, a frontline manager program; and the Strategic Leadership Program. Overall, there has been a 36% increase in female applications for educational support in 2022 versus 2021, demonstrating the demand for these programs.
Eleanor Nash, chief people officer at An Post, said, “Our Aspire program has had a powerful multiplier effect across the business, as women share their stories of having increased confidence and taking on new opportunities. We are now seeing more and more colleagues contacting our learning and development team or having open conversations with their line managers about the development options available to them and how we can support their careers at An Post. A recent survey of Aspire participants found that 89% of participants were more confident in their roles and 19% have changed role; three in four participants are availing themselves of further development opportunities. Informed by our recent survey, we will be working to improve women’s health and well-being, our representation of women, creating more development opportunities and focusing on more respect for everyone in the workplace.”
David McRedmond, CEO of An Post, said, “I’m immensely proud of all the great work across the business to make sure that we are a more equal company but also a much better company. This is not just about gender pay, it is about equality and diversity, it is part of our program to provide decent work for all in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Equality at all levels is a critical part of our business strategy and An Post is undergoing a major cultural transformation to build a workforce that reflects the communities we serve every day and one in which every colleague feels that they fully belong at An Post. We know that we have a lot of work still to do in some areas and we have got to work harder to attract more women to work in postal sorting and delivery. While we don’t have a gender quota, we have introduced 50:50 gender-balanced shortlisting for senior management jobs and removed any opportunity for unconscious bias so that the best person is always appointed to the role.”