Entain has detailed progress on its diversity and inclusion policies, as the company continues to chip away at the gender pay gap within its own operations. 

Publishing its report into the Gender Pay Gap for 2021, the FTSE100 betting and gaming group explained that the median hourly pay gap between male and female employees stood at 5.3%, a reduction from 7.1%. 

On the other hand, less progress was made on the mean pay gap with regards to hourly wages, which rose slightly from 15% to 16.2%. 

According to the firm, this can be attributed to a common cross-industry trend which sees more men fill executive positions in companies – as CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen noted, 54% of its retail employees are female.

She explained: “At Entain our vision is to create a ‘best place to work’ where our colleagues feel valued, respected, and engaged, and to ensure that this is reflected in the way they are rewarded.

“We are pleased to report that our median hourly pay gap has reduced to 5.3% from 7.1% – substantially lower than the national average of 15.4%. This reflects the gender parity in our retail business where 54% of our colleagues are female.”

A breakdown of quartiles showed that female employees comprised 39.1% (40.9%) of the upper tier, although the number in the upper-mid section stood at 52.3% (51.6%).

The lower-mid quartile and lower quartile, in comparison, had majority female workforces, with women making up 55.4% and 57% of the total number of employees respectively – both having stood at 56.7% the year previously.

Additionally, 69% of male employees received a bonus overall, in comparison to 62.8% of female employees. Although both represented a significant increase on the 2020 figures of 40.9% and 40%, it is clear a gap still remains in this segment. 

Moving forward, Entain aims to make further studies on pay equality via its newly launched Entrain initiative, with which it intends to strengthen women and girls’ access to technology and encourage more to study and pursue careers in this sector. 

The group has also launched its ‘Women@Entain’ internal network for its female employees to share learning experiences, whilst also continuing to leverage employee feedback via its annual ‘people survey’ and conducting ‘listening groups’ with female employees.

Nygaard-Andersen concluded: “While we are encouraged by this, we take nothing for granted and have put in place programmes and policies such as EnTrain and Women@Entain which will help us continue on this journey.

“This approach to diversity, equity and inclusion is vital to our purpose of revolutionising betting and gaming interactive entertainment.”