Survey reveals gender divide over employee benefits
A new study has found women get less in pension benefits and bonuses at work than men.
The research by Behaviour and Attitudes for Aviva shows 49% of male employees receive a pension contribution but that drops to just 39% for women.
28% of men get access to the work bonus scheme compared to 20% of women.
The survey shows that more women are given the chance to work flexible hours.
Meanwhile, a fifth of millennials surveyed say flexible working hours would be their first choice employment perk.
Commenting on the findings, Karen Gallagher of Aviva said: “The findings support the widely held contention that women have fewer financial provisions than men – particularly when it comes to pensions.
There’s also a very real and obvious gender divide when it comes to employee benefits – with men appearing to seek and receive more financial extras than women. The only area it seems in which women get more in terms of benefits is around flexible working hours.
What’s also apparent is that workers are, to a large extent, unaware that they themselves are responsible for the financial implications of work interruption due to illness - just 15% of employers pay health insurance contributions and only 4% pay Income Protection premiums.
"This is concerning because less than half the workforce have private health insurance and far fewer have Income Protection – which leads us to believe that there is a high level of financial exposure when it comes to illness in Irish households," she said.
The survey of 393 employed adults was carried out via Behaviour and Attitudes' online panel Acumen. A quota was set on gender, age and region to ensure the results correctly reflect the national position, as per CSO stats on employment.
