For every euro that a man earns, a woman earns 0.88 euros – we know that from the gender pay gap reports

Paying different rates for the same job is illegal and this data does not show wage discrimination.

But it shows that for every dollar a man earns, a woman earns $0.88.

The data – which only covers the largest companies with 250 or more employees – shows that the pay gap is slightly higher than Ireland’s 2019 result (11.3%) but below the EU average of 13% in 2020.

It’s not just bad news for women. Some companies are clearly bucking the broader trend.

Women received more than men at a number of companies, including retailer Lifestyle Sports, FIFA creator EA Games, fruit grower Keelings’ logistics arm, SuperValu owner Musgrave and Bus Éireann. All had double-digit gaps in favor of women.

The widest gap in favor of women was 21.5% in the civil service, where 64% of employees were women.

There was no gap – or almost no gap – in several county councils, beverage maker Heineken, Irish tech unicorn Stripe, computer giant Microsoft, retailers H&M and Avoca Handweavers, and An Post.

Retailers, healthcare and charities were most likely to have a larger proportion of women in higher-paying positions.

But there is no industry where women were paid more than men in 2022.

Unsurprisingly, the gaps were widest in traditionally male-dominated sectors such as construction, law and finance, which are among the highest-paid areas of the economy.

Some of the biggest names in Irish business, including blue chip companies that have diversity and inclusion policies in place, have some of the widest pay gaps.

These include the administrative arm of building materials giant CRH; aircraft rental company AerCap; law firms McCann Fitzgerald, Arthur Cox and Mason, Hayes & Curran (when equity partners were included in the data); real estate company Savills; and Davy Stockbroker.

The construction sector took the top spot, with men paying an average of 23.2 percent more than women and 40.1 percent more in bonuses.

Construction companies were also among the least likely to have women in high-paying positions, with some transportation and manufacturing companies showing a similar trend.

In the white-collar world, finance, insurance and real estate companies had a 23.1 percent gap in favor of men, with men’s bonuses 40.1 percent higher.

“Of course there are sectors where we already see that there are fewer women when we take part in the third level. There are problems there that repeat themselves and get worse in companies,” said Orla O’Connor, director of the National Women’s Council.

Administrative, support and other services ranging from consulting firms and facilities management firms to hairdressers showed a 20.7 percent pay gap and a 26.6 percent bonus gap, both in favor of men.

Men received 17.2 percent more in transport and storage companies. The sector includes airlines Ryanair and Aer Lingus, lessor AerCap, logistics company DHL and Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Bonus payments were 22.2 percent higher for men in this sector.

There was a 14.1 per cent pay gap in favor of men in information and communications companies, which include Ireland’s technology and media sector.

Media companies had a 15 percent gap in favor of men, with this newspaper’s publisher, Mediahuis, reporting the largest gap at 22 percent.

Professional, scientific and technical jobs, including the legal and pharmaceutical sectors, had a 13.1 percent gender pay gap in favor of men.

Health and education institutions also reported double-digit wage differentials — even larger than manufacturing.

A gender pay gap measures the average pay for men and women across the organization, from the highest to the lowest paid workers, and calculates the difference between the two. Individuals who do not identify as female or male are not included in the calculations.

The data can show where women are over- or under-represented at certain salary levels or in certain industries.

At the end of last year, companies with more than 250 employees were required to publish the data for the first time.

But the Equal Opportunities Office, which is responsible for the law, has not yet set up a central register to monitor compliance.

According to estimates by the Central Statistical Office, around 660 companies meet the threshold. Not all have published their reports.

Based on the published data, clear comparisons can be made between employers and sectors.

“It uncovers things that women would have told us, but in a factual way,” Ms O’Connor said. “It’s a societal problem. But things like promotion, bonuses, partners – these are decisions that are made within companies and they shouldn’t make the broader societal issues an excuse.”

The gender pay gap was lowest in the arts and entertainment sector (2.2 percent) – although there were very few companies in the sample – the charity sector (3.8 percent) and the public sector (3.9 percent).

Corporate bonus consultant Oliver Coakley, who conducted his own research, found that the pay gap in private companies (in favor of men) was almost three times that in the public sector.

Companies will have to submit their 2023 reports in December based on data from this June, while smaller companies will have to report from next year, meaning it will be possible to track progress going forward.

But after five years in the UK, the gap has not narrowed significantly.