RTÉ Announces Gender Pay Gap of 13.03%

RTÉ admits "there is more to do to create greater gender representation across roles" within the national broadcaster as it published gender pay details earlier today. 

RTÉ published details on Monday relating to gender pay in the organisation as part of new reporting requirements included in the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021. 

RTÉ chose 30th June 2022 as the “snapshot date” which aligns with RTÉ's headcount reporting and payroll dates 

The gender pay gap measures the difference in the pay of all men in a company and all women. It highlights any differences in the distribution of men and women across the workforce. 

Equal pay is about ensuring that any differences in pay between men and women in the same job are not due to gender. In RTÉ, employees are placed on a salary scale or salary band applicable to their role, and these are the same for male and female workers. 

This report outlines gender pay gap results for RTÉ.

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) calculated the Gender Pay Gap statistics for RTÉ for 2022.

In summary, RTÉ says the data shows that its mean and median Gender Pay Gaps demonstrate that there is more to do to create greater gender representation across roles traditionally associated with males and /or females (with males more likely to work additional hours through paid overtime and premium pay) and to ensure equal gender representation at senior levels within the organisation.

A pay gap amongst part-time staff in favour of women shows that flexible working policies in RTÉ are supporting women to combine flexible working with careers across all levels.

Overall, RTÉ has a mean gender pay gap of 11.55%; This is reduced to 10% when roles with overtime are excluded.  
RTÉ has a median gender pay gap of 13.03%; This is reduced to 6.79% when roles with overtime are excluded.  
A Median Gender Pay Gap of 17% in favour of women exists among part-time staff, (known as a “negative pay gap”). This shows that flexible working sees strong take-up from women in RTÉ, the broadcaster says, and is possible for all levels of seniority 

There is no equal pay gap in RTÉ. So, gender has no impact on pay where women and men are employed in the same roles, RTE said in a statement. 

RTÉ Director General, Dee Forbes said: "As we continue to strive to be a more diverse workforce, RTÉ welcomes the opportunity provided through the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 to publish this comprehensive data relating to the gender pay gap in RTÉ. Gender balance within RTÉ’s overall workforce, across roles and output, continues to be a high priority for the organisation and RTÉ is committed to being a fair, flexible and inclusive employer that truly reflects the diversity of Ireland today. 

"The work that has gone into this report has been challenging due to the complexity of our organisational structure, which currently has over 160 different grades. We are working with Willis Towers Watson (WTW) on a full evaluation of the role and grading structure in RTÉ, the outputs of which will help inform decisions going forward as we develop a job and career framework that will create clarity and transparency on how our employees can develop their career journey in RTÉ". 

A clear distinction emerges between roles that are eligible for paid overtime and roles that are not., according to RTÉ. The median Gender Pay Gap for those working in roles not eligible for paid overtime is 6.79%, while it is 13.67% among employees in roles that are eligible for paid overtime. 

Roles with eligibility for paid overtime have an even gender split across the organisation and are spread across all four pay quartiles. The data indicates a ratio in favour of men working overtime hours in this group. Overtime hours and the associated premium payments contribute to a gap in earnings between men and women in RTÉ. 

RTÉ says it is committed to seeking out ways to improve gender representation in jobs where this may occur. Further analysis of the hourly pay for all employees shows that the median Gender Pay Gap varies by business area. The higher median figure in Operations is due to the number of men employed in higher paid roles in this part of the organisation and the amount of overtime worked by men, often in evenings or weekends. 

Two thirds of roles across RTÉ are not eligible to receive overtime payments. In this group of employees, the gender pay gap is 6.79%.

In 2017, those earning a full-time equivalent of €90,000 or over were split 68% to 32% in favour of men. This is now split 60% to 40% in favour of men following efforts to recruit and promote more women into senior roles. The median Gender Pay Gap within management grades across the organisation is 7.1%. This is a figure that we aim to continuously reduce as more women take management/senior roles. 

Among part-time workers in RTÉ (62% female and 38% male), women are earning more than men.  

In conclusion, Dee Forbes said: "Clearly, there is more to do to create greater gender representation across roles traditionally associated with males and females and to ensure equal gender representation at senior levels within the organisation.  RTÉ's aim is to lower the gender pay gap we currently have, and we will work to address the challenges in rapidly changing our workforce to better reflect gender across all career paths.

"And while it is practical for RTÉ to adopt a multi-year approach to addressing the gender pay gap, the actions which we have outlined in this report highlight the extent to which RTÉ is committed to addressing the issues and delivering change," Ms Forbes said.