I am passionate in my role as Director of People & ESG to create a vibrant workplace for all; from diversity and inclusivity, to flexible first working, from mental health & wellbeing to growth and development. Our people are the heart of our business and as Jake Yamashita, our chairperson explains, we want our people to experience fulfilment through work.
Keeping these goals in mind, the gender pay gap has been and will continue to be, a key area of focus for our global business, as well as for my People & ESG strategy for Ricoh UK. It is clear from the data we are reporting that the rate of change has been slow and there is still a long way for us to go to close the gap significantly.
The reporting is helping us to identify specifically where and how to do this, and the data reported should be viewed in the context of historical factors that directly impact the figures, such as our predominantly male field service engineer and sales teams. The technology industries have historically attracted largely male employees. To correct this, we are focusing on the ways in which we can attract women to these roles, for example through STEAM, our recruitment methods and access to training. We have made good progress over the last reporting period as we have hired 14 females into our sales and technical business areas.