Regional publishers Newsquest, Archant and Midland News Association have revealed their gender pay gaps for 2017, with women earning higher bonus pay than men at each one.
Newsquest Media Group, the UK’s second largest regional publisher with more than 165 news brands and 40 magazines, has a mean gender pay gap of 12 per cent, favouring men.
It has a bonus pay gap at the company of 17 per cent favouring women, but more men (57 per cent) received a bonus in the year to April 2017 (the period sampled).
The amount of men and women throughout the company is fairly even, with the top quartile of earners made up of 53 per cent men, and the bottom quartile comprised of 55 per cent women.
A Newsquest spokesperson said: “We are an equal opportunities employer and we don’t discriminate on grounds of gender. Where there is a pay gap this does not mean unequal pay for equal work.”
At Newsquest’s Midlands South division there is a mean gender pay gap of 2 per cent. The Newsquest division in Scotland (Herald & Times) has an 18 per cent pay gap.
Archant had a mean gender pay gap favouring men at 11.1 per cent, but a bonus pay gap favouring women of 8.5 per cent.
Almost the same proportion of men and women received bonuses (70 per cent and 69 per cent).
The bottom quartile of earners is made up of 44.4 per cent men, rising to 54.8 per cent at the top end.
In its gender pay gap report, Archant said: “To encourage all levels of employees, both male and female, to develop their careers with Archant it is our policy to advertise vacancies internally, and going forwards we will do all we can to ensure we have gender balanced shortlists and provide the
best support to women who wish to progress to more senior roles.
“We will continue to promote our family friendly policy and embrace as wide a range of work place flexibility as is possible.”
It added that the number of women on its executive team had increased at the start of this year.
MNA has a mean gender pay gap of 10.2 per cent and a mean bonus pay gap favouring women of 33 per cent.
The publisher, which owns four daily titles including the Express & Star in Wolverhampton and Shropshire Star, plus nine weekly titles, awarded 51.7 per cent of male employees and 49.3 per cent of women bonus pay.
The MNA is made up of 59.8 per cent men in its top quarter of earners, falling to 47.5 per cent in its bottom quartile.
Newsquest reported a median gender pay gap of 7 per cent, Archant’s median pay gap was 6.4 per cent, and MNA had a median gender pay gap of 3.1 per cent.
Rival regional publisher Trinity Mirror has an overall mean gender pay gap of 18 per cent – 5.8 per cent at Local World, 17.8 per cent at Mirror Group Newspapers and 19.4 per cent at Media Scotland.
Companies with more than 250 employees have until 4 April to publish their gender pay gap data by law.
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