A new report from Asda claims the supermarket is closing the gender pay gap for its employees.
Asda’s report, published under the terms of the compulsory government gender pay website, shows the median hourly pay difference between all male and female colleagues at the company was 4%, compared to 5% in 2023.
There was no difference in the hourly-paid rate of retail store colleagues, who it said make up 92% of Asda’s total workforce.
However, the mean hourly pay difference between all male and female colleagues was 7%, an increase from 6% in 2023.
Women currently make up 37% of Asda’s senior leadership team.
Asda said it was continuing to provide opportunities for women to progress into more senior roles and that since launching in 2022, over 800 colleagues had completed Asda’s Intentional Allyship programme, which it said had been designed to support women and colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Asda also continues to provide more routes into retail for women through its early careers and apprenticeship programmes. In 2024, over 50% of apprentices completed their programmes and 47% of Asda’s early career hires were women. This included Asda’s graduate retail store manager programme, helping the retailer to build a strong and diverse pipeline of future leaders across its business.
“We’re committed to fostering an inclusive culture where every colleague can thrive and reach their full potential,” said Asda chief people & corporate affairs officer Hayley Tatum.
“While we’re making progress in reducing the pay gap, we know more work is needed, particularly when it comes to helping female colleagues move into more senior roles. One of the ways we’re doing this is by offering a range of development opportunities that are equipping women from diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skills and confidence to progress in their careers at Asda.”
The report comes after union bosses claimed a “historic breakthrough” earlier this month when an employment tribunal ruled tens of thousands of female Asda employees fighting equal pay cases, estimated to be worth £1.2bn, could go to the final stage of the landmark case.
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