I. What is the UK Gender Pay Gap Reporting? Due to our rapid growth, in 2021 we exceeded 250 employees in the UK and are therefore publishing our UK gender pay gap according to UK regulations. We note that the gender pay gap regulations differ from regulations related to equal pay for equal work of equal value in the same location. The UK gender pay gap regulations relate to the disclosure of the difference between average and median pay for men and average and median pay for women according to a prescribed methodology, which does not take account of employee role, level, location, experience or performance. The gaps are particularly impacted by highly paid individuals in the most senior roles given that senior roles attract the highest levels of pay. II. Why is it important? We are continuing our journey towards becoming a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive company and place to work. We have a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategy in place that was designed to provide clearer vision, greater structure and a roadmap of programmes, processes and policies that we need to evolve and develop to allow us to achieve our ambitions over the next three years and beyond. Our commitments include: • Gender balance: 50% women onboard/senior team by 2023 • Equitable pay, closing the gender gap by 2023 • Work towards 30% inclusion, in management, of under-represented groups – racial or ethnic, sexual diversity and gender identity (LGBTI), socio economically disadvantaged, physical or mental disability • Living wage (or above) for all by 2023 III. How is it calculated? Per the methodology set out by the regulations, this report meets the requirements, as much as data allows, of The Gender Pay Gap Information Regulations 2017 and accurately reflects gender pay gaps at Aesop by comparing the hourly pay and annual bonuses received by our UK-based female and male employees. For this report, we have used snapshot date of 5 April 2022 and have engaged Mercer, an independent management consulting firm, to analyse our data. The gender pay gap is calculated as the difference between average hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of men and women as a proportion of men's average hourly earnings (excluding overtime). It is a measure across all jobs at Aesop UK, not of the difference in pay between men and women for doing the same job.
IV. What are the definitions of the figures calculated? UK gender pay gap regulations require reporting on six key figures. Below you will find an explanation of the difference between equal pay and the gender pay gap as well as definitions of the key figures we are required to report on. Equal pay: Based on our values and in line with laws in the UK and around the world, we pay equal amounts to women and men who carry out the same jobs, similar work or work of equal value in the same location. The analysis is conducted by Mercer on an annual basis to ensure Aesop pay equitably, with any discrepancies rectified immediately. Gender pay gap: This means any difference in the average (mean) pay of all women and all men we employ in the UK, taking into account all roles, salary levels and bonuses. Mean gender pay gap: The mean (average) gender pay gap figure uses hourly pay of all full-pay employees to calculate the difference between the mean (average) hourly pay of men, and the mean (average) hourly pay of women. Median gender pay gap: The difference between the middle pay rate (taking into account total pay in April 2022) of all women and men we employ in the UK Mean gender bonus gap: The difference between the average bonuses we pay to women and men in the UK. We calculate this by dividing the total value of bonuses by the number of employees of each gender who receive bonuses. Median gender bonus gap: The difference between the middle bonus rate we pay to women and men in the UK. We calculate this by finding the middle of our bonus range and dividing it by the total number of employees of each gender who receive bonuses. Bonus gender proportions: The proportion of our female and male employees in the UK who receive bonuses. Pay Quartiles: The proportion of our female and male employees in the UK in our lower, lower middle, upper middle and upper pay bands. Each pay band represents a quarter of our overall pay scale.
V. What are the results for Aesop?
We observe that our median gender pay gap decreased from 6.0% (2021) to 3.4% (2022), whilst the mean gender pay gap increased from 29% (2021) to 33.2% (2022). This indicates that men, on average, earn more than females, however it is important that we look at the various factors driving this gap.
The mean measure is largely influenced by outliers at either end (low earners and high earners) of the data set. Overall, there were more females (67.5%) employed by Aesop UK than males (32.5%) on 5th April 2022. While looking at the representation of females vs males across the four quartiles of the pay bands, we observe that female employees make up consistently around two thirds of all employees in each quarter. In addition, the representation of female employees is comparably even greater in the lower two pay quartiles than male employees compared to, for example, the upper quartile. This means there are more female employees occupying roles that would typically command less pay and bonus in the market, for example positions across our Retail business which represent a large section of our UK employee base. However, we are committed to continuing to promote the development opportunities that a career in Retail presents for everyone, and in turn attract,retain and develop a diverse workforce across our Retail business and roles across the organisation.
When we compare the Aesop UK gender pay gap against the UK Retail Industry benchmark**, the median gender pay gap is higher than that of Aesop, reported at 6.9%.
When reviewing our gender bonus gap results, we firstly observe that fewer of our employees (males and females in equal proportion) received bonuses in 2021 compared to in 2022, although the proportion of all male and female employees who received a bonus in 2021 and 2022 is similar.
We are pleased to see both the mean and median gender bonus gap have decreased year on year, with mean gender bonus gap falling significantly from 70.2% (2021) to 4.6% (2022) and the median Gender Bonus Gap decreasing from 3.9% (2021) to 0.4% (2022). This is due to a number of factors, including there are more women overall receiving higher bonuses and there is a greater overall representation of female employees in senior roles, who are typically in receipt of the largest bonuses.
When comparing Aesop UK gender bonus gap to the UK Retail Industry benchmark**, the median gender bonus gap is higher than that of Aesop, reported at 21.9%.
The results highlight some encouraging progress achieved when it comes to gender pay at Aesop, as well as some areas of focus. Aligned to our ambitions to be Human Kind, we are committed to equitable pay for all at Aesop globally, and to close the gender pay gap by 2023.
A snapshot of the data:
Gender Pay Gap (GPG) • Mean: 33.2% • Median: 3.4%
Gender Bonus Gap (GBG) • Proportion of males receiving bonus: 63% • Proportion of females receiving bonus: 62% • Mean: 4.6% • Median: 0.4%
Quartiles • Lower quartile: 32.2% male / 67.8% female • Lower middle quartile: 31% male / 69% female • Upper middle quartile: 28.7% male / 71.3% female • Upper quartile: 37.9% male / 62.1% female
The information published is an accurate representation of Aesop’s Gender Pay Gap based on the data we had available at the time of reporting. Sarah Jackson General Manager Human Resources