Companies
Centum now reports zero gender pay gap
Thursday September 14 2023
Centum Investment Group CEO James Mworia. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Centum Investment Company Plc has reported a zero pay gap between its male and female staff, joining the list of Nairobi Securities Ex-change-listed firms that have disclosed their gender wage gaps.
Equity Group and BAT Kenya have also disclosed their gender pay gap, which captures the difference in average earnings between women and men.
Read: Female staff at BAT Kenya paid more in most job groups
Centum, a holding company with investments in multiple sectors of the economy, is the first firm to declare in its latest annual report that its compensation policies treat men and women the same.
Other companies say they are working to seal their gender wage gaps –an issue that persists globally including in developed economies.
Equity Group, for instance, says its female employees on average earn 52 percent less than what their male counterparts get.
Female staff at BAT Kenya, meanwhile, take home more than their male counterparts in most job categories at the cigarette maker.
The workers beat males in four of eight job groups and tie in one job category while males have an edge on the remaining three groupings.
Companies listed on the NSE started reporting on their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, with the gender pay gap among the major issues.
The trend is driven by shareholders and financiers seeking to nudge firms to have a positive impact on society even as they seek to generate returns for their investors.
Read: Equity female staff paid 52pc below men in same positions
A 2019 report by diversity and inclusion data firm Equileap said, on average, women in Kenya earned 32 percent less than their male counterparts. This was less than the global average.
