Measuring the Gender Pay Gap

In line with government regulations, all businesses with 250 or more employees are required to publish their gender pay gaps. This is our fifth report, which outlines our gender pay gap figures, what these mean and proactive steps being taken to close the gap.

In this report we discuss the following statistics:

• Mean gender pay gap
• Median gender pay gap
• Mean bonus pay gap
• Median bonus pay gap
• Proportion of our employees receiving a bonus
• Proportion of our employees in each quartile of our pay structure

The terms ‘gender pay gap’ and ‘equal pay’ are different. Gender pay gap is the difference in women’s average hourly pay to that of men, when looking at rates of pay across the whole business. Whereas equal pay refers to men and women receiving the same pay for doing the same work or for work of equal value.

The method of calculating the gender pay gap is set out in legislation.

This report contains data for the entity of CEMEX UK Operations Limited across our different businesses including Cement, Aggregates, Readymix, Urbanisation Solutions and support functions.

The snapshot date for the data is 5th April 2021.

Our workforce in 2021 continued to be predominately male, with 85% men and 15% women.

During 2020 we saw our headcount reduce by approximately 30% due to a business sale and other site closures. However, we are pleased to report that this change has not distorted our reportable figures, with the male/female % split of this reduction being reflective of our overall representation in the business.

Since the last reporting period, we have grown our female representation by approximately 3% and our female representation in each of the four pay quartiles has also increased. This is a positive development and is testament to our people and the continued focus we have on recruitment, succession planning and development programmes supporting female progression across the organisation.

Our median pay gap continues to favour women at -2.1%, in comparison with -1.4% the previous year and the median bonus gap remains relatively stable for the fifth year of reporting.

The mean pay gap has seen a slight increase of 2% to 5.3% and our mean bonus gap has grown by 7.2% to 20.1% from the figures reported in 2020. The increase in mean pay gap can be attributed to ongoing recruitment activity where, at the snapshot date, we had not replaced female leavers within the upper and upper middle quartiles. The increase in mean bonus gap is due to eligibility criteria for senior roles and also the higher % of our female work force in part-time roles in comparison to men. This continues to influence our results, as the reporting formula requires us to include actual bonuses paid, with pro-rated bonuses reflecting actual hours worked.

The proportion of men and women who were paid a bonus was similar with 96.2% of men and 94.2% of women receiving a bonus. All employees are invited to participate in a Company bonus scheme and only those employees who missed the qualifying period of service for the year relating to this report or who did not meet the other conditions of the scheme, were not eligible for a payment.

Our Actions

Whilst our female representation has improved slightly, we recognise the need for continuing focus on this area and remain committed to attracting and retaining women within our business. CEMEX operates within diverse communities, both in the UK and globally, and it is important that our workforce reflects this diversity. We continue to nurture a culture in which employees are respected and encouraged regardless of gender, or any other characteristic.

Within the wider global organisation, we are proud to report that we made our first female appointment onto CEMEX’s Executive Committee in early 2021. This appointment is important for balance and providing wider perspective at board level. It is also a significant step forward for role modelling and encouraging female colleagues to aim high. Our efforts are ongoing in taking firm steps to build greater inclusion by ensuring women participate in our leadership development programmes, their progress is highlighted, and they enjoy equality of opportunity to assume increasingly higher levels of responsibility.

Recruitment: We continue to review our policies, practices, and training materials to ensure they align with our commitments to diversity and inclusion and equal employment opportunities, and to support managers with their responsibilities in these areas. We require there to be at least one woman in the final shortlist of candidates for top executive positions worldwide and, whilst recognising the challenges faced by the wider industry in attracting women to work in the sector, we also have a target of 50% female representation in entry-level positions across our business units. With this in mind, we are constantly looking to improve how we source and attract candidates to bring change at a faster pace, including focus on language and imagery in job adverts to ensure everyone can fully understand the opportunities available to them and are encouraged to apply.

Data Gathering and Monitoring: CEMEX is continuously working to produce data which can be used to improve its diversity and inclusion decision-making processes. For example, we monitor gender distribution, attrition, promotions, and new hires at the different levels across the organisation. Findings from global analysis conducted in 2021 using an in-house gender pay equity model indicate that in general, gender is not a significant variable between the salaries of our employees, which is consistent with analysis of UK employees’ pay for gender pay gap reporting purposes.

Global Women’s Network & Mentoring Programme: In 2020, we brought together around forty women in senior leadership positions at CEMEX, who represent strong visible role models for emerging talent within CEMEX and the wider industry. The network continues to provide a space for discussion, guidance, and exploration in fostering work-life integration, career planning and well-being. In 2021 the Global Women’s Network launched a mentoring programme, where high potential female employees can benefit from exposure opportunities and career guidance, as well as becoming part of an extended network of women across the organisation who can share experiences, learn from each other, and provide mutual support.

International Women’s Day: In March 2021 we recognised the achievements of women working in CEMEX with a series of webinars in which senior female leaders shared their inspirational leadership journeys with colleagues across the organisation. These were part of a continuing effort to promote the development and progression of women within CEMEX, as well as supporting ongoing leadership education in encouraging a shared commitment to greater gender-parity across the business. The events supported the UN Women’s theme for 2021 of “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world,” recognising the significant contribution of women during the pandemic, both inside and outside of the workplace.

We remain committed to improving our position. As with other organisations, the pandemic has continued to impact our activities, but we recognise that we have made progress and maintained our focus on taking action to improve female representation in our workforce and in other aspects of the business.

Declaration

I confirm the information and data reported is accurate as of the snapshot date 5 April 2021.

Stephanie Horn

UK HR Director