In focus: Gender pay gap shows inequality in optics

Optical retailers of scale were obliged to make public their gender pay gap figures following a government deadline last week.

More than 10,000 UK companies published their data, including a number of household optical names.

All organisations with more than 250 employees were required to submit the figures by April 4, following new regulations by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

As figures landed on a UK government portal last week, well-known companies including Millwall FC and Ryanair were among those with the highest median disparities.

Of the chains featuring in Optician’s annual Top Optical Chains list, Specsavers, Boots Opticians, Vision Express, Asda, Tesco, Optical Express and Scrivens had all posted figures comparing men’s and women’s average pay across the organisation. They were also required to report results on their company website.