Originally published here.

Ryanair’s gender pay gap has widened despite a surge in applications by women for pilot jobs.

The airline’s latest report, submitted during the pandemic shows the gap in average hourly pay between men and women is 67.8pc.

This is its largest reported gap since companies operating in the UK were compelled to reveal the difference between the average wages of male employees compared with their female workers.

Similar legislation forcing employers to reveal their pay gaps is due to be rolled out in Ireland later this year.

Ryanair’s pay gap has jumped since its last report revealed a 62pc difference between men and women’s earnings in 2018. The firm’s pay gap, based on 2020 data, is slightly above its 2017 level of 67pc.

According to the report, it has seen some “encouraging trends” in recent years with more female pilot trainees and more male cabin crew applying for jobs in the UK.

It says from 2018 to 2020, its female pilot headcount increased by 87pc.

Widening pay gaps at some companies calls into question the value of mandatory reporting as Irish employers prepare to reveal the extent of their pay gaps.

But employment law solicitor Síobhra Rush, partner at Lewis Silkin, said the legislation is still valuable.

She said it promotes transparency and “requires employers to reflect on why they have a pay gap and diversity issues”.

Ryanair’s figures may have been distorted by the fact that many staff were furloughed during the pandemic, while less experienced female pilot recruits are likely to be on lower pay levels.

In the long run, it might be expected that hiring more women will help the gap go down while in the short term it makes it rise. In its report, the airline says it has a gender pay gap because most of its UK pilots are male. It says since 2018, the proportion of female pilots employed there has considerably increased and this distorts the average and median hourly pay gap.

The airline says it is important to note that females are paid identically to their male colleagues. It said in a statement that increases in female applications for cadet positions “have shown great promise”, with a 7.5pc rise in female applications in the last 12 months.

“Ryanair is an equal pay employer, and we are proud of the thousands of professional women and men alike who work hard to deliver our renowned service and Europe’s lowest fares to our two million weekly customers.”

It said over 90pc of its workforce is covered by collective agreements, which provide for the same pay for the same job regardless of gender.

“Due to the majority of our UK pilots being male, the average hourly pay rate for male employees is 67.83pc higher than that for female employees, despite being paid identically.”

It said the airline industry has traditionally experienced a lack of female pilots and male cabin crew applicants.

“Ryanair is committed to building on the number of female employees in management and leadership positions, and over the past 12 months, 60pc of promotions to middle and senior management roles have been female.”

It said 36pc of its group board are female, surpassing a previous 33pc target.

Last year, An Post announced it had eliminated its gender pay gap. It has begun reporting its gap ahead of the roll-out of the new legislation.

The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 was signed into law in July last year.

A Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth spokesperson said regulations to implement the legislation are currently being developed. She said it is anticipated these will be finalised and published early this year.

“It is further anticipated that reporting by organisations with over 250 employees will also commence in 2022,” she added.

The legislation requires the minister to make regulations requiring employers to publish the mean and median hourly wage gap. Employers must also provide data on bonus pay, pay gaps for part-time employees and staff on temporary contracts and portion of male and female employees in different pay bands.

The reporting requirement will initially apply to organisations with 250 or more employees but will gradually extend to organisations with 50 or more employees.

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