Impact of Gender Inequality on Employee Performance: Next Plc Research

This research project investigates the impact of gender inequality on employee performance, using Next Plc as a case study. The project includes a literature review exploring the forms and effects of gender inequality, particularly in the workplace, as well as the rationale and objectives of the research. The research aims to examine the impact of gender inequality on employee performance, identify issues arising from it, and propose solutions. The methodology involves primary and secondary research, analyzing Next Plc's actions following a £30m lawsuit on gender inequality. The project also examines the merits and limitations of different research approaches, and communicates the research outcomes, reflecting on the effectiveness of the methods used and recommending actions for improvement and future research considerations. The project concludes with recommendations based on the research findings and includes a comprehensive list of references.

RESEARCH PROJECT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.......................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Research proposal that clearly defines a research question or hypothesis, supported by a literature
review......................................................................................................................................................3
P2 Research methods and conduct primary and secondary research........................................................7
M1Different research approaches and methodology, and make justifications for the choice of methods 9
TASK 2.......................................................................................................................................................9
P3 Primary and secondary research using appropriate methods for a business research project that
consider costs, access and ethical issues..................................................................................................9
P4 Analytical tools to analyse research findings and data......................................................................10
M2 Merits, limitations and pitfalls of approaches to data collection and analysis.................................20
TASK 3.....................................................................................................................................................20
P5 Communicate research outcomes in an appropriate manner for the intended audience....................20
M3 Coherently and logically communicate outcomes to the intended audience, demonstrating how
outcomes meet set research objectives...................................................................................................24
TASK 4.....................................................................................................................................................24
P6 Reflection on effectiveness of research methods applied for meeting objectives of the business
research project......................................................................................................................................24
P7 Alternative research methodologies and lessons learnt in view of the outcomes..............................24
M4 Critical reflection and insight that results in recommended actions for improvements and future
research considerations..........................................................................................................................25
CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................25
RECOMMENDATIONS...........................................................................................................................25
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................27

INTRODUCTION
Gender inequality is explained as phenomenon when a person is discriminated against or
receives the unequal treatment on the basis of gender. At workplace, this is common for many
women employees to encounter some form of the gender bias. This acknowledges that women
and men are not to be treated equally that impacts individual experiences. These kinds of
differences arise from distinctions in cultural norms and beliefs. NEXT plc is British clothing,
home products and footwear retailer. This was founded in year 1864 through Joseph Hepworth.
Gender inequality develops the negative impact on performance level of staff members as they
are not treating equally. the gender inequality developing self- reinforcing system that can e
perceptual discrimination by company and lead to discrimination in decision making, enactments
and HR policies (Batra and Reio Jr, 2016).
TASK 1
P1 Research proposal that clearly defines a research question or hypothesis, supported by a
literature review
Background of Research
Gender inequality takes the several form, most obvious being difference in earning
among men and women doing similar kind of the work. It does not impact only the performance
of a person but also impact overall economic organisational performance. In this, discriminating
on gender basis has reaching implications for female staff members and also male colleagues.
Discrimination against gender can take place in various dimensions including employment
discrimination, pay and salaries disparities, sexism / disparities in promotion or inequity in the
various products and facilities for different genders. Workers are the backbone of an organization
and carry out vital tasks for organization's sustainability and efficiency of employees impacted
by discrimination against gender (Berkers and Schaap, 2018).
Rationale of Research
The primary motive of conducting present research is to develop the understanding about
impact of gender inequality on employee’s performance. The gender inequality reduces the

morale of staff members and also reduces the overall organisational productivity. Researcher
conducts investigation in personal and professional context. The investigator's self-interest in
developing own abilities, including communication, analysis, technical capacity, analytical
expertise, skills in presentation, teamwork, conflict management expertise etc. is another
significant reason for carrying out this study. Development of these competencies will certainly
help researchers in near future to conduct effective investigation (Blau, 2016).
Aim:
To determine impact of gender inequality on employees performance. A study on Next
Plc.
Research Objectives
 To examine gender inequality at workplace.
 An exploratory research on Next Plc on changes it introduced after the £30m lawsuit on
gender inequality pay.
 To identify impact of gender inequality on employees performance in Next Plc.
 To identify issues arising from gender inequality and ways to overcome from them.
Research Questions
 What is gender inequality at workplace?
 An exploratory research on Next Plc on changes it introduced after the £30m lawsuit on
gender inequality pay?
 How gender inequality impact on employee’s performance in Next Plc.?
 What are the various issues faced through Next Plc. from gender inequality and ways to
overcome from them?
LITERATURE REVIEW
A review of literature is a study of academic sources, presenting an analysis of a specific
topic. Literature reviews are collection of most important publications on the subject, in order to

give an overview about the “To determine the impact of gender inequality on employees’
performance.” The aim of literature review is to review the literature on this topic so that the
investigator’s role in the current field of study to establish area. A review of literature offers a
reader a comprehensive view of previous discussions in own research paper before that.
Literature review shows the viewers in regards of the existing scholarship where reviewer enters
a specific academic conversation on subject (Coy, 2016).
Gender inequality at workplace
According to opinion of Cailin S. Stamarski and Leanne S. Son Hing (2015) Increasing
dimension of gender inequality can influence individual elements and create a structure that can
perpetuate structural inequality in all areas of the business. In the workplace, sexual harassment
is common for most people. In other words, an individual is discriminated against or treated
unfairly for his or her gender. The disparity between men and women decreases the degree of
confidence of women as to how people should handle them. An organization must provide fair
work opportunities and encourage women workers as close to men who are able to perform the
activities of the organization. The gender discrimination develops the negative impact on
organisational productivity as well as profitability. There is company treated female employees
less favourable as comparison to the male employees.
Our employees are integral to achieving our business objectives and we aim to attract,
retain and develop the best talent at every level throughout NEXT. This company is committed
to creating an environment where all individuals feel welcomed, respected and supported. It is
necessary for an organisation to treat all the staff members equally and also provide them
positive working environment so that they can able to work in an effective manner and also focus
on attaining the set objectives significantly.
An exploratory research on Next Plc on changes it introduced after the £30m lawsuit on gender
inequality pay
On the basis of Sarah Butler (2020), the female shop floor workers of the Next plc said
that they are paid less that the male warehouse staff. This company is facing the demand up to
£30m in the back pay from the thousand of the female shop floor workers in first main claim of
equal pay against fashion retailer. This kind of issue develops negative impact on the reputation

as well as productivity of Next Plc. In Next plc mostly female shop-floor staff, £7.50 an hour or
£2 an hour lower than male warehousing workers. The law firms reported that average earnings
loss for the employees in question was about £6,000 and anticipated between 3,000 and 5,000
staff to sign up for group loans, which could push it to £30 million. The firm's lawyers also said
the average income loss for those impacted was around £6,000 (Fitzsimmons and Callan, 2016).
The shop-floor roles aligned the position of warehouse with regard to their value for the
organization. The mental and physical activities are identical to those of warehouse workers and
must be equally paid.
After the £30m lawsuit on gender inequality pay, Next plc introduces some changes as it values
all its staff members regardless of gender, place and the role of the work at workplace. Next plc
claimed that it will pay fairly and legally to staff members as per their job roles and removing the
gender pay gap (Jozkowski and Wiersma‐Mosley, 2017). As this kind of changes develops the
positive impact on mindset of the staff members and motivate them so that they can sustain at
workplace for longer period of time. In future, this will help in enhancing the productivity as
well as development of the Next plc.
The gender pay gap report of Next Plc stated that it is providing the open as well as
transparent pay to all the staff members. The retail employees of Next plc have the access to
“online market” where they can be swap the contracted shifts if they are convenient. Many
promotions to managers are internal and Next plc is committed to investing in workers to
enhance the learning potential. This company have developed unique departmental training
programs to give employees with core skills to carry out their duties, providing appropriate,
better training.
Gender inequality impact on employee’s performance in Next Plc.
As per opinion of Sunhee Kim (2020) Employees are the backbone of company and they
mainly contributed towards attaining the specific aim and objectives within given time period.
Gender inequality on site is widely seen as having a detrimental impact on the quality of life and
concerted management efforts have been introduced to discourage such discrimination. It
develops the negative impact on performance level of the employees in Next Plc Company. In
regards to this, there is a need to company to find out the effective ways by which the gender

inequality issue at workplace can be reduced in an effective manner and this can help in develop
the positive working environments at workplace. Next plc is facing £30m equal pay claim from
the shop-floor staff. There is basically, female shop floor employees are paid less as comparison
to male warehouse staff. This company is facing demand for up £30m in order to pay back from
the thousands of female shop floor staff in main equal pay claim against fashion retailer. More
than 300 workers registered to participate in claim. According to them, they are paid £7.50 per
hour or average £2per hour which is less that male warehouse worker which they view as
performing work of the equal value (Fernandez-Mateo and Fernandez, 2016). After this, there
are some sorts of changes identified in Next plc. This company values all its staff members
regardless of gender, place of work and role within business. Next plc is confident that all its
staff members are to be paid legally, appropriately and fairly for job which they are performing.
This kind of change develops the positive impact on the productivity as well as growth of the
organization and company can able to sustain at workplace for long period of time.
Various issues faced through Next Plc. from gender inequality and ways to overcome from them
As per opinion of Julie Wilson (2019), Gender inequality arise the various issues at
workplace and develop the negative impact on employee’s performance as well as organisational
productivity. There are some issues faced by company from the gender inequality mention
below:
Unequal pay- It is a main issue that staff members face mainly women workers.
Company give the less pay to the female staff members which work equal to male but not pay to
them equally. This reduces the motivation level of employees and reduces organizational
productivity.
Women are less promoted- At workplace, there is less opportunities given to the female
staff about the promotion. This arise the chance of the gender discrimination and there is a need
to management to focus on it and remove the gender inequality from workplace by proving the
better opportunities of promotion to female staff. (Fincher, 2016)
There are some methods given below which helps in remove the gender inequality at
workplace:

Eliminate gender based roles- It is necessary for an organisation to eliminate the gender
basis role from workplace because it arise the differences among the male and female gender.
There is a need to company to give the equal opportunities to the females as male gender both.
This helps in reduces the difference among them.
Provide training- Training is helpful in enhancing the knowledge as well as skills of
employees. There is a need to company to provide the training to staff members as well as
supervisors so that they can remove the gender inequalities at workplace and give the equal job
responsibilities to female employees as well (Fitzsimmons and Callan, 2016).
P2 Research methods and conduct primary and secondary research
The research methodology is systematic approach to seeking a solution to problem in a
specific subject area. This research segment is associated to reveal the specific research steps
performed through an investigator to find solution to question of research. Not only the
researcher participate in practical applications such as measurement by various formulas, but
systematic application of various techniques from one inquiry to another a different one (Heise
and et. al., 2019). There has been research methodology conducted on impact of gender
inequality on employees’ performance at workplace. Research onion has been implemented in
conducting the research methodology. The different layers included in research methodology
mention below:
Research Approaches - The testing facts and this part of research methodology test
results of different correct designs. The approach to research is mainly to find out research type
and how it should be to conclude and be done. Inductive and deductive are the two different
research approaches.
Deductive research approaches has been considered because it permits an investigator to
draw the valid conclusion. Under this, the predefined theories which have to be proved positive
using various approaches (Ji and et. al., 2017).
Research Philosophies- Research Philosophy is a collection of principles and
assumptions that enable researchers to grow awareness on a specific topic. An existence of
different phenomenon which clears about the principle of research theory is real or is considered
valid. There are interpretivism and positivism philosophies.

There has been positivism philosophy used because the fact is stable and cannot be
modified contradicts it. This explores the highest degree of facts and fact through evaluating the
real hypothesis. The researchers' work is restricted to the collection and analysis of data
(Jozkowski and Wiersma‐Mosley, 2017).
Research Strategies- There are various techniques used to gather primary and secondary
information on subject. The strategies are interviews, experiments, literature review and
questionnaire. These are main techniques for collecting information about topic or research.
In the context of a study, a questionnaire will be carried out to collect primary data, while a
systematic analysis of literature as successful kind of research technique will be used for
collecting secondary data. Both strategies are useful and valuable because this helps gather valid
and details on the subject (Kleven, Landais and Søgaard, 2019).
Research Choice- Two main research choice by which researchers evaluates knowledge
collected together are qualitative and quantitative. The investigator uses these tools to determine
if the study is suitable.
The researcher uses quantitative methods to analyse the data with numeracy to perform present
research in a suitable manner. This approach is very useful in reliably obtaining results when
data and figures are included (Meier zu Selhausenm and Weisdorf, 2016).
Data collection- The collection of data is regarded as an efficient way of collecting
information from a variety of sources on the proposed subject. This knowledge gathered allows
researchers clearly to obtain reliable test results more quickly. The primary and secondary data
collection methods are two key ways by which the researcher collects maximum information in
the time span on the chosen subject. The key focus of the researcher’s approach is to obtain
requested information on the proposed subject with the direct contact with the respondents
(Nielsen, 2016).
In performing present investigation, both primary and secondary data collection methods
are used by the investigator. The major source of the primary method was Questionnaire, while
secondary sources were books, journals, on-line articles and other published data. All

information collected from such sources contributed to the researcher’s quick collection of
relevant information.
Sampling- Sampling could be seen as an efficient method for selecting samples from the
total sample population by the researcher. It is achieved efficiently using two major types of
methods, for example probability and non probability sampling. The investigator has used the
random sampling method as this is part of probabilistic methodology in this investigation, which
focused on the subject “To determine impact of gender inequality on employee’s performance. A
study on Next Plc.” There has been 40 respondents chosen (Pickbourn and Ndikumana, 2016).
Timescale- It is main part of research methodology which enables researchers in a given
timeframe to complete the entire project. The longitudinal method and the cross-sectional
method are two kinds of time horizons. These are primary strategies that effectively promote the
completion of the research study. A cross-sectional time approach has been applied to carry out
each work of the current investigation, which facilitates the completion of the full report in
limited time. In addition, Gantt chart was used to graphically display each study activity. Gantt
chart is a tool for managing the time on the basis of set activities (Sobering, 2016).

M1Different research approaches and methodology, and make justifications for the choice of
methods
The researcher has utilized the primary and secondary method of collecting information
to perform a research in correct way. Primary technique was used to collect pre-accurate and
reliable information from a respondent. The key reason for choosing secondary data is to obtain
maximum data within a limited time. The overall information collected was analysed later using
a deductive approach. This method has effectively helped to obtain objective research outcomes
within the time frame offered. On the basis of the study onion system, these methods were
chosen (Sorenson and Dahl, 2016).
TASK 2
P3 Primary and secondary research using appropriate methods for a business research project
that consider costs, access and ethical issues
Cost- This factor is most necessary while conducting an investigation. For conducting the
research activities, researcher needs to have the adequate amount of funds. It is a responsibility
of an investigator to arrange the funds effectively and carried out research activities significantly
and gets the positive outcomes (Umubyeyi and et. al., 2016).
Access- In order to collection of data and information relevant to specific subject area,
authentic access should be required. Researcher should have the permission from business
houses and the authority about collection of data.
Ethical issues- Ethics means morals, principles, norms, and values and so on. During
performing an investigation, a researcher must choose the following principles. Other than this,
researcher should be careful not to distract information from respondents. The details should be
kept secret by the respondents. In order to deal with the ethical issues, researcher should follow
all the ethical principles such as confidentiality, anonymity, authenticity, informed consent and
others (Winslow and Davis, 2016).
P4 Analytical tools to analyse research findings and data
The analysis of the data is considered the most important and is helpful to assess the
related results and outcomes of project. The measurements of information collected by

investigators in order to find the good and effective results play an effective role. Researchers
can accomplish these goals through use of different methods efficiently and adequately with the
aid of data analysis.
Content analytical tool has been used for analysis of data because it helps in doing the
proper analysis of the collected information. In this, themes developed, MS- Excel used for
develop graph and make interpretation of data.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Q1) Are you aware about the gender inequality at workplace?
a) Yes
b) No
Q2) Do you ever faced the gender inequality at workplace?
a) Yes
b) No
Q3) What is the impact of gender inequality on your performance level?
a) Not promote female employees
b) Arise conflict
c) Increase absenteeism
Q4) How does gender inequality affect workplace environment?
a) Discrimination in HR policies
b) Discrimination in decision making
c) Enactment
Q5) What are various causes of arising gender inequality in an organisation?
a) Male self-interest
b) Religion
c) Misogyny
Q6) Does gender inequality reduces your motivational level as well as performance at
workplace?
a) Yes
b) No
Q7) What are the issues faced by you from arisen the gender inequality in Next Plc?