Role of Equality and Diversity Practices in Minimizing Gender Pay Gap

This research project aims to identify the role of equality and diversity practices in minimizing the gender pay gap at ASDA. It includes a literature review on the concept of gender pay, ways to implement equality and diversity practices, and the relationship between managing equality & diversity and reduction in gender pay issues. The research methodology involves quantitative research and data analysis using MS Excel. The findings will provide insights for ASDA to adopt effective equality and diversity practices.

Research Project
(Role of equality and diversity practices toward minimising the
gender pay gap issues)
1

Executive Summary
Main purpose of doing this research project is to identify the role of equality and diversity
practices toward minimising the gender pay gap issues at workplace of ASDA. In order to attain
this purpose, different activities were completed by researcher. Literature review was done by
using number of secondary sources such as articles, books, journals etc. These sources were
helped researcher in collecting of secondary data easily. Research methodology is another
activity that was done by using quantitative research, deductive approach, positivism philosophy,
questionnaire etc. All these are useful methods because these supported researcher in collecting
of primary information from the respondents. Data analysis has been completed by using MS-
Excel for preparing graphs. Conclusion and recommendations is important part because it helped
researcher in making of entire information about the project in briefly. Reflection and alternative
research methodology mainly focused on an individual experience and selection of alternative
methodology for future work.
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Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
Overview of Research..................................................................................................................4
Background of Research..............................................................................................................4
Rationale of Research..................................................................................................................4
Research Aim...............................................................................................................................5
Sub-questions of research............................................................................................................5
Literature review..............................................................................................................................6
What is the concept of gender pay within an organisation?........................................................6
How can ASDA implement equality and diversity practices within the organisation?..............6
What is the nexus between managing equality & diversity and reduction in gender pay issues
in ASDA?.....................................................................................................................................7
Research methodology.....................................................................................................................9
Data analysis/ findings and interpretations....................................................................................15
Research Outcomes........................................................................................................................26
Covered In PPT..........................................................................................................................26
Reflection & recommendation for alternative research methodology-..........................................26
Conclusion and Recommendation.................................................................................................27
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................28
Appendix........................................................................................................................................30
Research Proposal Form............................................................................................................30
Research Ethics approval form..................................................................................................35
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INTRODUCTION
Overview of Research
For every company it is essential to conduct equality and diversity practices so that they
can conduct their work in effective manner at the workplace as well as it will also leads to
accomplishment of allotted work properly. Equality and diversity practices are considered as set
of activities which are conducted by a company so that each and every employee feel important
as well as equal at their workplace (Al-Shaer and Harakeh, 2020). This will also help
management in minimising situation which lead to conflict in a company as well as it also help
in developing and maintaining positive working employees because every employee will get
equal opportunities. Implementation of equality and diversity practices also help in avoiding
situation of discrimination on any basis such as age, gender, colour, position, culture, believe and
many more factors as well as it will also minimise gender pay gap at workplace.
Background of Research
The aim of conducting this research is to understand role of equality and diversity
practices for minimising gender gap issues at the ASDA. It is a British supermarket retail
company which is founded by Peter and Fred Asquith and Sir Noel Stockdale in year 1949. Its
head office is located at the Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. Respective retail
company is nested its business operations and functions in approx 631 locations (Portney, 2020).
By conducting this research project manager able to determine effectiveness as well as role of
equality and diversity practices which help them in minimising gender pay gap at the respective
retail store. Through which ASDA management able to develop as well as maintain effective and
positive working environment which also help in motivating and encouraging employees.
Rationale of Research
The respective research is determining effectiveness and role of equality and diversity
practices in order to minimise issues related to gender pay gap. It is one of the main as well as
common issues in every company which impact on employee productivity as well as
performance. In addition to this by conducting respective research project manager able to advice
ASDA how they can adopt equality and diversity practices so that they can minimise issues
related to gender pay gap (Turesky and Warner, 2020). This is so because through it able to
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conduct their business operations and functions in effective manner as well as it also increase
employees motivation level which leads to quality performance.
Research Aim
“To ascertain the role of equality and diversity practices toward minimising the gender
pay gap issues” - A study on ASDA.
Research objectives
 To develop understanding regarding the concept of gender pay gap within an
organisation.
 To determine several ways that can be used by ASDA for incorporating equality and
diversity practices at workplace.
 To ascertain the relation between managing equality & diversity and reduction in gender
pay gap issues within ASDA
Research question
 What are the roles of equality and diversity practices toward minimising the gender pay
gap issues in the workplace of ASDA?
Sub-questions of research
 What is the concept of gender pay within an organisation?
 How can ASDA implement equality and diversity practices within the organisation?
 What is the nexus between managing equality & diversity and reduction in gender pay
issues in ASDA?
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Literature review
Literature review is an important part of study because it helps researcher in
identification of research gap in previous investigation. In this study, research gap is the impact
of equality and diversity practices in reduction of gender pay gap issue. It is main gap because in
previous study there is information about the effectiveness of equality and diversity practices but
there is lack of data about its impact in reducing the gender pay gap problem in the workplace. In
order to overcome this gap, research questions will be used (Kennedy and et.al., 2017). For this
literature review support researcher by providing secondary information through books, journals
etc. for research questions. These research questions will be explained as below:
What is the concept of gender pay within an organisation?
According to the Fortin, Bell and Böhm, (2017), gender pay gaps introduces top the
differences in pay for groups of female and male employees, usually based on the mean or
median pay that male and female receive. The causes of gender pay gaps within an organisation
are more complex. Pay gaps can create accidentally, come out slowly, and build up over time.
These plan aim to support analyse pay and employment information in sufficient detail to obtain
an improved understanding of the main reasons for any type of pay differences between male
and female workers in an organisation. There are different factors that contribute gender pay
gaps in the organisation. these are male employee progressing more quickly than female, more
male in higher-paid occupations and more female in lower-paid occupations, male employee (on
average) receiving advanced discretionary pay, starting pay or performance ratings etc.
Therefore gender pay gap is a broad concept that has negative impact over business performance
and growth of company.
How can ASDA implement equality and diversity practices within the organisation?
According to the Monoghan (2020), there are different ways by which ASDA can easily
implement equality and diversity practices in the workplace. Some effective ways has been
described as below:
Be inclusive: It is an effective and essential way of implementing equality and diversity at
workplace. For this ASDA must communication information about the business to their diverse
workforce equally. As it help them in reduction of high employee turnover and accomplishment
of long term goals and objectives easily.
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Development of equality policies at workplace: This is another essential way by which
ASDA can easily implement diversity and equality at workplace. For this, equality act 2010 is
best option for ASDA to develop and protect their employees in any kind of discrimination. This
result in retention of employees at workplace for longer time period (Grimson and Grimson,
2019).
What is the nexus between managing equality & diversity and reduction in gender pay issues in
ASDA?
According to the Petty (2016), management of equality and diversity at workplace is
essential for ASDA because with the help of this they can easily eliminate the issue of gender
pay gap. For this company will require providing equality and diversity training to their all
employees. This will help ASDA in attracting and retention of highly-skilled employees,
developing more positive working relationship, greater productivity within team, increased
performance etc. All these are main benefits that will be essential for company in reduction of
gender pay gap in the workplace. Along with this, with the help of Equality act 2010 company
can easily reduce gender pay gap issues. This act has different characteristics such as race,
gender, age, disability etc. All these are considering as a type of dissemination. Therefore,
equality and diversity is more effective at workplace in reduction and elimination of gender pay
gap problem in the workplace of company.
Accordion to the Scott (2019), The gender pay hole reporting guidelines require
organizations with around 250 or more personnel to put up the difference among the mean and
median hourly charges of pay for male and girl complete-time employees, the difference among
males and females’ mean bonus pay and median bonus pay, the proportions of male and lady
employees who were offered bonus pay, and the proportions of male and female full-time
personnel in the decrease, lower middle, upper middle and upper quartile pay bands. Asda’s
median gender pay hole for fixed hourly pay is around 7.6 percent for 2018; this displays at
around 1.3 percent discount from the around 8.9 percent median gender pay gap it mentioned for
2017. Its mean gender pay hole for bonuses paid for the duration of the reporting period is
around 44.5 percent an eight percent development to last yr’s parent of around 52.5 percent the
median gender pay hole for bonus bills is thirteen. Around 7 percent as compared to around 21.5
percent in year 2017. Over the contemporary reporting duration, around 91.2 percent of lady
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personnel and 88.7 percent of male employees obtained bonus bills. In 2017, 88.3 percent of
women obtained an advantage, in comparison to 85.3 percent of men.
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Research methodology
Research methodology is a process that has been followed within an investigation for
collecting and analysing of information or data from different methods and techniques. This part
of the research project is important because without this, investigator cannot gather reliable
information. This section has different number of methods and techniques that will be useful for
researcher to use and collect data about the gender pay gap (Chambers and et. al , 2017). Some
essential methods and approaches will be described as below:
Research Philosophy: It is a useful part of research methodology because it helps in
collection and analisation of any type of information. For doing current study on gender pay gap,
positivism philosophy will be applied because it assists in collecting as well as analysing of
quantitative data without consuming additional time. Interpretivisim philosophy is not followed
for performing current investigation because it takes maximum time period and need data in
form of qualitative (Butkus and et. al., 2018).
Research approaches: This is essential part of the study that has two types of approaches
which named is inductive and deductive. Both are essential approaches but within a study
deductive approach is more appropriate because it facilitates researcher in finding, analysis,
presenting and interpreting of quantitative information about the effectiveness of equality and
diversity practices in reduction of gender pay gap. Inductive approach not suitable within current
project because it is based on qualitative gathered information (Ozturk and Tatli, 2016).
Evaluation of qualitative and quantitative method: Qualitative and quantitative are two
form of research that has their own importance in collecting and analysing of information.
Qualitative study requires data in form of theoretical, whereas quantitative researcher requires
numerical information. Within a research project, quantitative study has been used effectively
because it support by providing numerical data in lesser time period. There are some methods of
qualitative and quantitative research such as interview, questionnaire, observation, focus group
etc. All these are effective but for gathering data regarding the gender pay gap, questionnaire has
been prepared. This method will support researcher by giving quantitative information (Kang
and Kaplan, 2019).
Primary and secondary sources of data collection: Primary and secondary are two sources
of data collection that has been used within a study. In case of primary source, questionnaire will
be applied as it facilitate in gathering of quantitative and valid data. Along with this, secondary is
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another source of data collection that has been done by using different number of sources such as
books, articles, magazines, publication research etc. All these are valuable sources that have been
used for literature review in collecting secondary and detailed information regarding the impact
of diversity and equality practices in reducing of gender pay gap issue at workplace. Therefore,
both types of data collection sources are used for collecting primary and secondary information
about the current study (Ali and Konrad, 2017).
Sampling methods: Sampling is the process or technique of selecting respondents from
entire population. There are two methods of selecting respondents which named are probability
and non-probability. These are considering effective methods of selecting sample size but within
an investigation probability sampling method has been applied. This method support researcher
to select large number of sample size on random basis and without taking extra time. Non-
probability is not appropriate within a study because it requires additional time as well as not
support researcher in selection of larger number of sample (Harris and Estevez, 2017).
Data analysis: In order to analysing quantitative data, MS excel has been used by researcher
for making graph of each question. Main reason behind using this technique as it will help
researcher to present data effectively and attractively that resulted in completion of full study
successfully.
Access and cost: In order to primary and secondary research, there is requirement of
appropriate amount of capital for using different sources such as books, communication
challengers. Around £200 cost will be required by researcher for completing this study
successfully. Along with this, access is another part and for this research, researcher has access
to gather information from the respondents.
Time horizon: This is a useful and valuable part of research methodology that has two
approaches of time horizon which are cross-sectional and longitudinal. These are main
approaches but within a study, cross-sectional approach is more suitable because it is based on
real situation and also need minimum time in completion of entire project effectively. In this
approach, researcher will be used Gantt chart which is an effective instrument of time
management. In this chart different activities are displayed against time period. Main purpose of
using Gantt chart within a study is it support researcher to find-out time period of each activities
apart from their starting and ending data. Gantt chart of current investigation will be described as
below:
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Research Techniques: There are various techniques that will be used for collecting of
information. These techniques are questionnaire, interview, modelling, observation, focus group
and so on. These are important but for collecting data about the benefits of equality and diversity
practices in elimination of gender pay gap problem, questionnaire is used. This technique helps
researcher in collection of primary and quantitative information within minimum time period
(Healy and Ahamed 2019). There are some questions according to the research aim and
objectives which will be shown under questionnaire. These are:
Questionnaire
Q1) Do you have knowledge about equality and diversity practices in context of an organisation?
a) Yes
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b) No
Q2) According to you, gender pay gap is main issue at workplace of ASDA?
a) Yes
b) No
Q3) What are the impact of gender pay gap at workplace of ASDA?
a) Decrease in satisfaction
b) Higher employee turnover
c) Reduced productivity
Q4) According to you, what are the ways that may be require by ASDA for incorporating
diversity and equality practices in the workplace?
a) Development of diversity friendly policy
b) Development of equality policy at workplace
c) Offer diversity and inclusion training
d) Provide equal opportunities to male and female workers
Q5) What the ways used for promoting gender equality in the working place of ASDA?
a) Considering leadership roles for women and male
b) Developing an open mind environment
c) Equal pay
Q6) According to you, what are the benefits of equality and diversity in the workplace of
ASDA?
a) Improved performance
b) Higher employee retention
c) Improved Brand image
Q7) What are the code of practice, regulatory requirement and legislation may be use by ASDA
for managing pay gap issue at workplace?
a) Development of equality act 2010
b) Fulfilment of organisational standards
c) Adherence of industry regulations
Q8) What are the relationship between management of equality & diversity and reduction in
gender pay gap issue within ASDA?
a) Positive
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b) Negative
c) Neutral
Q9) As per your opinion, what ways need to be follow by ASDA for overcoming issue of gender
pay gap in the workplace?
a) Transparency in salary
b) Promote female entrepreneurship
c) Eliminate negations
Q10) Provide any suggestions to ASDA in eliminating of the issue of gender pay gap by using
equality and diversity practices.
Research Ethics: Ethics within an investigation plays an important role in protecting
confidentiality of data. There are some principles that must be use by researcher for completing
research in ethical ways. These principles are reducing the risk of harm, obtaining informed,
consent, providing the right to withdraw, protecting confidentiality and anonymity etc. These are
major principles that must be following by investigator for doing current investigation.
Research reliability and validity: This is essential part of research methodology because
it facilitate in testing and gathering of information. For this part of study, questionnaire has been
used for testing the validity and reliability of research questions.
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Data analysis/ findings and interpretations
This is an essential part of the report because it facilitate in analysing of information
effectively. Data analysis refers to the process or method of analysing information or data about
the study. There are two kind of research approach that will be used for analysing quantitative
and qualitative information. These approaches are inductive and deductive, within a current
study, deductive approach is more appropriate because it is beneficial in analysing, finding and
interpreting of quantitative data about the gender pay gap (Kossek, Su and Wu, 2017). Inductive
approach not beneficial for this studies because it requires qualitative gathered data and also
consume maximum time period. Along with this, content analysis will be followed for analysing
data in form of quantitative. It is an analytical technique that will be essential in analysis of
quantitative information of gender pay gap in limited time duration. There are few steps that will
be used for analysis such quantitative information. These steps are development of frequency
table, making of graphs and interpretation of data. These steps will be explained as below in
detailed manner:
Frequency Table
Q1) Do you have knowledge about equality and diversity practices in context of an
organisation?
Frequency
a) Yes 40
b) No 10
Q2) According to you, gender pay gap is main issue at workplace of ASDA? Frequency
a) Yes 30
b) No 20
Q3) What are the impact of gender pay gap at workplace of ASDA? Frequency
a) Decrease in satisfaction 16
b) Higher employee turnover 14
c) Reduced productivity 20
Q4) According to you, what are the ways that may be require by ASDA for
incorporating diversity and equality practices in the workplace?
Frequency
a) Development of diversity friendly policy 12
b) Development of equality policy at workplace 14
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c) Offer diversity and inclusion training 13
d) Provide equal opportunities to male and female workers 11
Q5) What the ways used for promoting gender equality in the working place of
ASDA?
Frequency
a) Considering leadership roles for women and male 20
b) Developing an open mind environment 14
c) Equal pay 16
Q6) According to you, what are the benefits of equality and diversity in the
workplace of ASDA?
Frequency
a) Improved performance 16
b) Higher employee retention 15
c) Improved Brand image 19
Q7) What are the code of practice, regulatory requirement and legislation may be
use by ASDA for managing pay gap issue at workplace?
Frequency
a) Development of equality act 2010 22
b) Fulfilment of organisational standards 12
c) Adherence of industry regulations 16
Q8) What are the relationship between management of equality & diversity and
reduction in gender pay gap issue within ASDA?
Frequency
a) Positive 40
b) Negative 4
c) Neutral 6
Q9) As per your opinion, what ways need to be follow by ASDA for overcoming
issue of gender pay gap in the workplace?
Frequency
a) Transparency in salary 16
b) Promote female entrepreneurship 20
c) Eliminate negations 14
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Presentation and interpretation of quantitative data
Theme 1: knowledge about equality and diversity practices followed by ASDA
Q1) Do you have knowledge about equality and diversity practices in context of an
organisation?
Frequency
a) Yes 40
b) No 10
Interpretation: 40 out of 50 employees of ASDA have knowledge about the equality and
diversity practices. They said as these are effective practices in improving business growth and
success. Remaining 10 employees not have any kind of knowledge about the same concept.
Theme 2: Gender pay gap is main issue at workplace of ASDA
Q2) According to you, gender pay gap is main issue at workplace of ASDA? Frequency
a) Yes 30
b) No 20
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c
Interpretation: 30 out of 50 respondents have idea as gender pay gap is main issue faced
by ASDA. Remaining 20 employees not have any kind of idea or knowledge regarding the
gender pay gap issue at workplace.
This information is related with the secondary information that are collected by
researcher from different sources i.e. books, articles etc. for literature review. Authors have idea
as gender wage gap is the standard difference between the salary or wages for men and women
employees who are working (Gupta and et. al., 2019).
Theme 3: Impact of gender pay gap at workplace of ASDA
Q3) What are the impact of gender pay gap at workplace of ASDA? Frequency
a) Decrease in satisfaction 16
b) Higher employee turnover 14
c) Reduced productivity 20
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Interpretation: Gender pay gap is a main issue that have negative effect over business
performance and success of ASDA. 16 out of 50 respondents said as it decrease satisfaction level
among employees that resulted in poor work quality. 14 respondents have idea as it increase
employee turnover rate that outputted in decreased sales. Remaining 20 participants have view as
gender pay gap reduced productivity level that resulted in lack of business performance.
Theme 4: Ways that may be require by ASDA for incorporating diversity and equality
practices in the workplace
Q4) According to you, what are the ways that may be require by ASDA for
incorporating diversity and equality practices in the workplace?
Frequency
a) Development of diversity friendly policy 12
b) Development of equality policy at workplace 14
c) Offer diversity and inclusion training 13
d) Provide equal opportunities to male and female workers 11
19

Interpretation: There are certain ways that must be use by ASDA for incorporating
equality and diversity practices at workplace. 12 respondents said as development of diversity
friendly policy is effective way because it increased innovation and creativity at workplace. 14
participants have view as development of equality policy at workplace is effective ways. 13
respondents have opinion as offering of diversity and inclusion training is more effective.
Remaining 11 respondents have idea as providing of equal opportunity to male and female is
best ways for incorporating and promoting equality and diversity in the working place.
This data is related with the secondary data collected for literature review. Some authors
have opinion as development of equality policies and training is most effective and essential
ways for ASDA to use and incorporate equality and diversity practices at workplace.
Theme 5: Ways used for promoting gender equality
Q5) What the ways used for promoting gender equality in the working place of
ASDA?
Frequency
a) Considering leadership roles for women and male 20
b) Developing an open mind environment 14
c) Equal pay 16
20

Interpretation: There are several ways that will be used for promoting gender equality in
the workplace of ASDA. 20 respondents had knowledge as considering of leadership role for
male and female workers are effective way because it will help in eliminating of gender related
issue. 14 participants have knowledge as development of open-mined environment is best
because it increase confidence level among employees that outputted in better growth of
company. Remaining 16 participants have view as equal pay is best for promoting gender
equality in the company.
Theme 6: Benefits of equality and diversity in the workplace of ASDA
Q6) According to you, what are the benefits of equality and diversity in the
workplace of ASDA?
Frequency
a) Improved performance 16
b) Higher employee retention 15
c) Improved Brand image 19
21

Interpretation: Equality and diversity at workplace has positive role. 16 respondents have
idea as improved business as well as employee’s performance by reducing turnover of workers.
15 respondents have opinion as it will support an organisation to retain employees by providing
equal opportunities and pay. Remaining 19 respondents have idea as improved brand image of
ASDA is another advantage of equality and diversity practices.
Theme 7: Importance of code of practice, regulatory requirement and legislation
Q7) What are the code of practice, regulatory requirement and legislation may be
use by ASDA for managing gender pay gap issue at workplace?
Frequency
a) Development of equality act 2010 22
b) Fulfilment of organisational standards 12
c) Adherence of industry regulations 16
22

Interpretation: In order to mage gender pay gap issue at workplace, there is requirement
for ASDA to use code of ethics, legislation and regulatory requirement. For these 22 out of 50
respondents have knowledge as development of equality act 2010 is important for an
organisation because with the use of this, they can easily protect their employees from any type
of discrimination such as race, gender, age etc. 12 respondents have onion as fulfilment of
organisational standards is effective code of practice that support an organisation in development
of equality and diversity as well as eliminating of gender pay gap. 16 respondents have opinion
as adherence of industry regulations is regulatory requirement that must be follow by ASDA
which resulted in better growth and success at marketplace.
Theme 8: Relationship between management of equality & diversity and reduction in gender
pay gap issue
Q8) What are the relationship between management of equality & diversity and
reduction in gender pay gap issue within ASDA?
Frequency
a) Positive 40
b) Negative 4
c) Neutral 6
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Interpretation: From the above graph, it has been shown relationship between the
management of diversity and equality practices and reduction of gender pay gap. 40 employees
said as it has positive relationship because with the help of this company can provide equal
opportunities to the employees that results in decreased gender pay gap. 4 employees have
opinion as it has negative impact because there is more conflict among employees. Remaining 6
respondents are neutral.
This information is also related with the secondary data that was collected by investigator
for literature review. Some authors have opinion as equality and diversity at workplace has
different benefits in which reduction of gender pay gap is main advantage (Ali and Konrad,
2017).
Theme 9: Ways for overcoming issue of gender pay gap in the workplace
Q9) As per your opinion, what ways need to be follow by ASDA for overcoming
issue of gender pay gap in the workplace?
Frequency
a) Transparency in salary 16
b) Promote female entrepreneurship 20
c) Eliminate negations 14
24

Interpretation: There are number of ways by which ASDA can easily overcome issue of
gender pay gap in the workplace. 16 respondents have knowledge as transparency is key to
reducing the gender pay gap. 20 have knowledge as promotion of women entrepreneurship is
main aspect and remaining 14 respondents have view as eliminate negotiations is effective.
Therefore all these are essential ways in reducing the gender pay gap in the workplace of ASDA.
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Research Outcomes
Covered In PPT
Reflection & recommendation for alternative research methodology-
Firstly, I feel very much grateful that I gain the opportunity for conducting the
respective research project in effective manner on the subject matter of “To ascertain the role
of equality and diversity practices toward minimising the gender pay gap issues”. With the
help of respective research project I can be able to amend my level of understanding as it
helps me in taking crucial kind of decisions. It improve my communication and leadership
that is very much potential for an individual to remain competitive in the marketplace.
Respective skills and capabilities directly contribute in Effective Corporation of works and
activities in near future. On other hand there are some areas where I defeated as it is my
weakness that hinders self interest in gaining desirable goals and objectives. While conducting
research firstly i am not fully confident and feel hesitate to commence research project in
potential manner. In that regards I encounter many kinds of problems such as building of team
and allocation of resources in proper manner that hinders in gaining desirable outcomes.
During conducting the research project I learned a lot of aspects that proved potential in
dealing with the changes that occurs in the business environment to deal in effective manner.
In corporate world communication plays very much important role to share the knowledge
and information to the others in order to achieve the desirable goals and objectives. To gain
objectives in perfect manner the team work in different manner by adopting flexible working
practices that directly contributes in gaining the potential outcomes promptly. In that regards
it has been evaluated that self evaluation plays very much important role in accessing own
strength and weakness to build strategies in positive manner.
For an organization as well as individual it is very much important to always find out
opportunities and scope to improve the outcomes in potential manner. It is recommended that
in today’s fierce competitive world it is very important for organization to imply the equality
and diversity within the organization as it improve the productivity and level of motivation of
employees. Due to gender pay gap employees not able to give one of their best efforts that
directly affect their level of performance in adverse manner. it is recommended that before
implying any strategy and practice need to conduct proper research and development as it
26

proved beneficial in collecting potential knowledge and information for taking corrective
decisions. It is recommended that researcher need to select one of best tools and techniques
that helps to collect validate kind of results in order to remain competitive in the marketplace.
Further it has been recommended that communication that helps to share the knowledge in
between the people should be structured and formulated to deliver the optimum in outcomes.
Before selecting the tool for collecting knowledge it is recommended that researcher needed
to evaluate the other options that suitable for collecting information.
By doing this research I learned about the impact of gender pay gap and role of
equality and diversity in overcoming this gap. I also increased my research skills that will
support me in my future if I get another change for doing this study. If I obtain another change
I used interview method as a type of alternative research methodology because it will help me
in gathering of quantitative information easily.
Conclusion and Recommendation
From the above mentioned data analysis and findings it has been concluded importance
of diversity and equality practices in reduction of the issue of gender pay gap in the workplace.
for this, most of the participants have idea about the equality and diversity and its role in
eliminating of gender pay gap at workplace. It is a main issue in the workplace that have
negative impact in different ways such as reduced productivity, decreased satisfaction among
employees and increased turnover rate of employees. In order to overcome these issues,
company used different ways which are promoting female entrepreneurship, transparency in
salary and eliminating negation. This ways supported company by reducing gender pay gap in
the workplace. Along with this, company has also promoted quality and diversity practice at
workplace that also has positive impact in reduction of gender pay gap. These ways are equal
pay, development of an open-mined working environment and consideration of leadership role
for both male and female employees. Therefore equality and diversity has positive relationship in
reducing the gender pay gap.
There is a recommendation for ASDA to provide equal pay and implement of equality act
2010 at workplace. Both are effective ways for them to reduce issue of gender pay gap and help
them in retention of top talent at workplace.
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IDEOLOGIES IN PERPETUATING WORKPLACE INEQUALITY. Journal of
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case of the British financial services sector. British Journal of Industrial
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myths and solutions. The Lancet. 393(10171). pp.579-586.
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increases economic prosperity for all: Insights from Australia. Economic Analysis and
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Appendix
Research Proposal Form
Student Name: ______________________ Student ID:
____________
Centre Name: _____________________
Tutor: ________________ Date:
___________________
Unit: ____________________
Proposed Title: Ascertainment of the role of equality and diversity practices toward
minimising the gender pay gap issues
Section One: Title, objective, responsibilities
Title or working title of the research project (in the form of a
question, objective or hypothesis)
The current research undertakes an examination on the aim which is “ To ascertain the role of
equality and diversity practices toward minimising the gender pay gap issues” - A case study on
ASDA.
Research objectives (e.g what is the question you want to answer?
What do you want to learn how to do? What do you want to find
out?):
Research objectives
 To develop understanding regarding the concept of gender pay gap within an
organisation.
 To determine several ways that can be used by ASDA for incorporating equality and
diversity practices at workplace.
 To ascertain the relation between managing equality & diversity and reduction in gender
pay gap issues within ASDA
Research questions
 What is the concept of gender pay within an organisation?
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 How can ASDA implement equality and diversity practices within the organisation?
 What is the nexus between managing equality & diversity and reduction in gender pay
issues in ASDA?
Section Two: Reasons for choosing this research project
Reasons for choosing the project (e.g links to other subjects you are
studying, personal interest, future plans, knowledge/skills you want
to improve, why the topic is important):
The reasons for opting this topic in this research have been presented underneath:
Equality and diversity are two main elements which drive satisfaction and motivation level of
employees. The main aim of this research is to determine the importance of these two factors in
regulating gender pay of the staff. With the research, the management of ASDA can become
eligible for creating favourable environment within the organisation. The researcher has selected
this topic for ascertaining the role of equality and diversity practices in order to mitigate issues of
gender pay so that positive environment at workplace can be created.
Section Three: Literature sources searched
Use of key literature sources to support your research question,
objective or hypothesis:
Concept of gender pay
Gender pay gap refers to the difference in salary or wages paid to male and females who
are working in the same organisation. According to the data provided by Office for National
Statistics, 2019, it has been observed that gender pay gap among all employees declined from
17.8% to 17.3% in the year 2019 (Office for National Statistics). It is a major issue which should
be resolved with as it can affect the business adversely. In the male dominance world, men are
always paid more than women as they are considered less capable when it comes to corporate
jobs. Gender pay gap can be on the basis of current occupation, education, job experience and
many more. It is not legal and there are laws enacted for protecting individuals against such
discrimination. In addition to this, entities have their policies for curbing the issue of gender pay
gap which leads to lower output and other problems in welfare of employees.
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Ways that can be used by ASDA for incorporating equality and diversity practices at workplace
In the words of Nikolas Kirby, the concept of equality refers to same worth or equal
authority to individuals in a particular area. It is about the implementation of practices which
emphasize on the state of being equal. There are various attributes given in law on the basis of
which inequality can be seen. On the other hand, diversity is involving people from different
backgrounds. There are people belonging to various cultures who are appointed in the
organisation for the growth of entity (Palacios, 2016). Diversity can depend upon beliefs,
nationality, values, and many more. Its scope is wider then the term equality. It also provides an
opportunity to the organisations to hire candidates from a wider talent pool which comprise of
diversified applicants. There are different ways through which practices related to equality and
diversity can be incorporated such as training, formulating relevant policies, abiding by the
applicable laws, creation of inclusive, motivating them to have equal opportunities within the
organisation. Furthermore, employees should be encouraged to develop their potential by
enhancing the existing level of knowledge.
Ascertain the relation between managing equality & diversity and reduction in gender pay gap
issues within ASDA
Equality and diversity are vital for the success of a business as it helps in motivating
employees to work with increased efforts and meet the targets without any delay. There should
be a balance between the two elements in order to reduce gender pay gap. It has been observed
that maintaining fairness and equality in entity can bring higher satisfaction to employees. This
helps them giving their best efforts towards organisational goals (McElhaney and Smith, 2017.).
In this way, the workforce can be paid on the basis of their skills and capabilities and not on the
gender. Furthermore, diversity is crucial in raising hopes among the employees to showcase their
potential by exploring professional opportunities. This is related to gender pay gap as males and
females are not given equal chances in a corporate world. In addition to this, there can be number
of strategies and policies designed by the management in order to reduce the issues of gender
pay. This can take into consideration the factors of fairness and just in the workplace.
Section Four: Activities and timescales
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Activities to be carried out during the research
project (e.g research, development and analysis
of ideas, writing, data collection, numerical
analysis, tutor meetings, production of final
outcome, evaluation, writing the report):
Introduction
Developing aims & objectives
Literature review
Research methodology
Collecting data
Analysing the data
Conclusion & recommendations
Final report
How long this will take:
8 weeks
1 week
1 week
1 week
1 week
1 week
2 weeks
Milestone one: literature review
Target date (set by tutor): ________________
Milestone two: Data collection
Target date (set by tutor): ____________________
Gantt Chart
Gantt chart refers to the representation of research activities in a graphical form which the
researcher is going to undertake. There are horizontal as well as vertical line depending on the
requirement, which helps in creating better understanding of activities from the beginning till the
completion of the project. It helps in tracking the actions taken throughout the research. Gantt
chart for the current research is provided below:
33

Section Five: Research approach and methodologies
What type of research approach and methodologies are you likely to
use and why? What your areas of research will cover:
This research is going to be carried with the use of primary as well as secondary form for the
extraction of data from different sources. In addition to this, a questionnaire is going to be used
for obtaining data which is a primary source. However, the secondary sources such as books,
articles, journals and many more are going to be included in this research for acquiring relevant
information. All the information gathered from this will be further analysed by making use of
qualitative form of research method in order to obtain research outcome based on human
perception. Total 40 respondents will be selected as the sample size making use of random
sampling method.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Palacios, J.M., 2016. Equality and diversity in democracy: how can we democratize
inclusively?. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.
McElhaney, K. and Smith, G., 2017. Eliminating the Pay Gap: An Exploration of Gender
Equality, Equal Pay, and A Company that Is Leading the Way.
Online
Statistics data for Gender Pay gap. 2020. [Online]. Available through
:<https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandwork
inghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2019>.
Comments and agreement from tutor
Comments (optional):
I confirm that the project is not work which has been or will be
submitted for another qualification and is appropriate.
Agreed: ________________ (name)_______________ Date ______________
34

Comments and agreement form project proposal checker( IV
sampling)
Comments (Optional):
I confirm that the project is appropriate.
Agreed /Disagree: (Name of the IV)
Date
Research Ethics approval form
All students conducting research activity that involves human participants
or the use of data collected form human participants are required to gain
ethical approval before commencing their research. Please answer all
relevant questions and note that your form may be returned if incomplete.
For further support and guidance please see your respective Unit Tutor:
Before completing this form, we advise that you discuss your proposed
research fully with your unit tutor. Please complete this form in good time
before your research project is due to commence.
Section 1: Basic details:
Project title:
“To ascertain the role of equality and diversity practices toward minimising the gender pay
gap issues.” - A case study on ASDA
Student name:
35

Student ID number:
Programme:11
College Name
Intended research start date:
Intended research end date:
Section 2 Project summary
Please select all research methods that you plan to use as a part of your
project:
 Interviews
 Questionnaires ✓
 Observations
 Use of personal records ✓
 Data Analysis ✓
 Action Research ✓
 Focus Groups
 Others (Please specify) :
Section 3: Participants
Please answer the following questions, giving full details where
necessary.
Will your research involve human participants?
Who are the participants? Tick all that apply:
Ages 12-16: Young people aged: 17-18 Adults ✓
36

How will participants be recruited (identified an approached)?
Participant will be recruited with quick interview
Describe the processes you will use to inform participants about what
you are doing:
Emails, mobile phone etc., will be used to inform participant
about research.
How will you obtain consent from participants? Will this be written? How
will it be made clear to participants that they may withdraw consent to
participate at any time?
Consent of participants will be obtained in written format. It will be
cleared to them with face to face communication.
Studies involving questionnaires: will participants be given the option of
omitting questions that do not wish to answer?
Yes ✓ No
If no please explain why below and ensure that you cover any ethical
issues arising from this
Studies involving observation: Confirm whether participants will be
asked for their informed consent to be observed.
Yes ✓ No
Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation (i.e give
37

them a brief explanation of the study)?
Yes ✓ No
Will participants be given information about the findings of your study?
(This could be a brief summary of your findings in general)
Yes ✓ No
Section 4: Data Storage and Security
Confirm that all personal data will be stored and processed in
compliance with the Data Protection Act (1998)
Yes ✓ No
Who will have access to the data and personal information?
Researcher will have access to data
During the research:
Where will the data be stored?
Computer and cloud
Will mobile devices such as USB storage and laptops be used
Yes No ✓
If Yes, please provide further details:
After the research:
38

Where will the data be stored?
Computer and cloud
How long will the data and records be kept for and in what format?
For 2 years
Will data be kept for use by other researchers? Yes ✓ No
Section 5 : Ethical Issues
Are there any particular features of your proposed work, which may
raise ethical concerns? If so, please outline how you will deal with these:
It is important that you demonstrate your awareness of potential risks
that may arise because of your research. Please consider/address all
issues that may apply. Ethical concerns may include, but are not limited
to the following :
 Informed consent.
 Potentially vulnerable participants.
 Sensitive topics
 Risk to participants and /or researchers
 Confidentiality/anonymity
 Disclosures/ limits to confidentiality
 Data storage and security, both during and after the research
(including transfer, sharing, encryption, protection).
 Reporting
 Dissemination and use of your findings.
Section 6: Declaration
I have read, understood and will abide by the institution’s
Research and Ethics Policy: Yes No
I have discussed the ethical issues relating to my research with
39

my Unit Tutor:
Yes No
I confirm that to the best of my knowledge:
The above information is correct, and this is a full description of
the ethical issues that may arise in the course of my research
Name:
Date:28/05/2019
Please submit your completed form to your supervisor and also
attach to the Research Proposal when submitting to Turnitin.
40