The cereal manufacturer had a 5.4% pay gap in mean pay in 2016/17, lower than the UK company average of 18.1%, it said. The report showed that Weetabix had closed its pay gap by 3.7% in the past year.
Stuart Branch, group human resources and IT director, said the business had worked over the past four years to ensure gender was not a factor in any staffing decisions, including its employees’ pay.
“Ensuring we encourage career progression for all colleagues in our business, regardless of gender, has been and remains at the heart of our leadership team’s agenda,” said Branch. “We’re really proud of the results, which show the gap has closed significantly, but we’re not stopping there.
‘The gap has closed significantly’
The average pay gap in the UK manufacturing industry was 29%, according to salary research organisation PayScale.
Branch added: “The manufacturing industry is traditionally a male dominated environment and while it’s great to see that relative to national and industry statistics, our gender pay gap is at the lower end, there’s still more we can do. Weetabix remains committed to closing the gap even further over the next few years.”
Weetabix is one of the first companies to publish its gender pay gap results. The company was not required to do so until April 5 next year, under the terms of new legislation.
Minister for women Anne Milton said: “It is fantastic to see employers like Weetabix taking this important step in tackling the gender pay gap.
‘Success is defined by work and talent’
“They are setting an excellent example for other employers as we build a stronger, fairer country where success is defined by work and talent, not gender or circumstance.”
While the gender pay gap was at a record low there was still more work to do, said Milton, who is conservative MP for Guildford.
She added: “Closing the gender pay gap isn’t just the right thing to do, it also makes good business sense, so that employers can take action to make sure every employee reaches their full potential.”
Meanwhile, in June, prejudice against women remained a common problem in the UK seafood sector, revealed a survey by industry body Seafish, as the organisation urged more women to join the sector.