The gender pay gap between men and women at some of North Wales biggest companies has been revealed.
Across the UK this week, companies with more than 250 employees were told to publish the average difference between how much a male earned compared to a female.
Thirty six companies across the region have returned results with massive differences between how much the sexes took home depending on which firm they worked for.
Bangor based construction firm Watkin Jones reported the highest difference with a man earning 42.3% more than a woman, according to the median average.
Watkin Jones chief executive Mark Watkin Jones said historically there had been a gender difference in construction meaning more men were attracted to it, but he added the property management side of the business Fresh Property Group showed a negligible difference.
Mr Jones said they were committed to tackling the gap and added: “The senior management team is now 25% female.
“We believe that attracting more women in to the full range of roles across the whole of the business will have benefits for both the business and our staff, and have committed to a range of actions to enable us to encourage, retain and develop women within the business.”
Some of the other companies with sizeable differences included Boots Hearingcare in Llandudno where men’s wages were 39% more; in Callitech Ltd at Moneypenny in Wrexham, it was 38.3% and Moneysupermarket in Ewloe, Flintshire, the gap was 24.6%.
There were firms that had no difference at all between male and female earnings including Kronospan chipboard factory in Chirk; Gap Personnel Holdings, in Wrexham; Llanrwst based Zip World adventure company and Twenty Four Seven Recruitment on the Wrexham Industrial Estate.
However there were some companies where women on average earned more than men including Huws Gray Limited in Llangefni at 4%, Als Life Sciences, Deeside at 2% and Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd at nearly 1%.
The gender pay gap is calculated as the difference between the average salaries of men and women. In Wales the average is 15%.
It is not the same as equal pay, where firms are required to pay people doing the same job the same salary regardless of gender.
The median average is calculated by arranging each number in order by size; the number in the middle is the median.
The figures also showed North Wales Police (NWP) had a gender pay gap of 17%, which the force’s chiefs have pledged to tackle.
NWP director of finance Tracey Martin said: “We have a number of initiatives in place to improve it, particularly through the recruitment of a new Positive Action Officer to encourage more female officers to join our organisation and to develop and progress thereafter.
“It is our belief that this activity will reduce the gender pay gap within North Wales Police for the future.”
