The Worst Gender Pay Gap Among Airlines is Ryanair

Ryanair reported that it has the widest gender pay gap in the airline industry—with a 67% pay gap between women and men in the UK.

According to the report, the Irish-based carrier pays its male employees more than three times as much as their female colleagues. Of Ryanair workforce, 405 of its 586 UK cabin crew are women, equivalent to 69% of all crew. When comparing the median hourly pay, male employees' wages are 71.8% higher than that of females. The report also shows that women make up more than two-thirds of the low-paid cabin crew.

The airline, along with other British-based employers with more than 250 people on staff, had to report its gender pay gap by April 4 to the UK's Government Equalities Office. Compared with other airlines that operate in the UK, Ryanair's mean pay gap exceeded both easyJet, which reported 51.7% gap and British Airways, which had a 35% gap.

According to Ryanair, because the majority of their UK pilots are male, on average, the hourly pay for male employees are higher than that of women.

“Like all airlines, our gender pay in the UK is materially affected by the relatively low numbers of female pilots in the aviation industry,” Ryanair said in a presentation of the data published on its website. “In recent years, the number of female pilots applying to Ryanair has increased, and we are committed to developing this welcome trend. It is a feature of the aviation industry that more males than females choose to enter the pilot profession.”

H/T: The Guardian