UK COMPANIES reporting their gender pay gap data on deadline day are in a race to the bottom, with some of the biggest differentials in pay being made public at the eleventh hour.

‘Top three’ Japanese shipping line NYK Group (Europe) Ltd and the world's largest cruise operator Carnival Plc both reported median pay gaps near the top of the transportation and storage sectors, with women earning 60.5 pence for every pound their male colleagues make at NYK and 61.6 pence at Carnival Plc.

V.Ships UK Ltd reported the largest median gender pay gap, with women earning 51.6 pence for every pound a male colleague earns. 

UK companies with more than 250 employees are required to report their gender pay gap by the end of Wednesday. With less than 12 hours to go, more than 9,000 had submitted their calculations.

Of those that have already published data, 78% pay men more than women, 13% pay women more and 8% said they had no gender pay gap, based on the median measure.

NYK Group, whose senior staff are predominantly male, making up 88.4% of top earners, did not provide supporting documents to explain its data on the government portal, a legal requirement.

NYK Group corporate director human resources Graham Wood, who is responsible for filing the employer’s report, was not immediately available for comment.  

While the percentages of men and women at NYK Group paid a bonus were almost identical, women received only 51.3 pence for every pound in bonus pay men made.   

Carnival Plc employs more females in each pay quartile other than the very top pay quartile, which is 70% male.

However, it pays men more in every quartile other than the lowest quartile.

Some 50% of men and women get a bonus at Carnival, but women take home a mere 28.4 pence for every pound in bonus pay that men take home.

In a company statement on its website, Carnival said: “We believe such diversity must be led from the top and four of the group’s 10 brands are now led by women. However, we recognise that this is only a beginning and we aspire to deepening this commitment to fostering a diverse workplace.”

Carnival UK President Josh Weinstein said in the supporting document that “clearly we have quite a long way to go to get to where we want to be”.

Some 374 companies in the UK transportation and storage sectors had reported their gender pay gap data by midday on Wednesday, 47 of which had direct links to maritime transportation.  

British Prime Minister Theresa May said publication of gender pay gap data will make for “uncomfortable reading”.

“When I became prime minister, I committed myself to tackling the burning injustices which mar our society. One such is the gender pay gap,” Mrs May wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. “Equality for women is a right, and our whole society is the poorer as long as it remains unrealised.

“There is also a clear economic imperative. It is estimated that if women and men enjoyed parity in their hours, pay and seniority at work, then we could see up to £150bn [$210.4bn] added to our GDP.”

Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general at the Confederation of British Industry, said gender pay gap reporting was an opportunity for businesses to drive change in their workplaces.

“It’s important that the gender pay gap is not confused with unequal pay, which is already illegal,” she said. “Firms have had plenty of warning and have no excuse for failing to submit their gender pay gap data accurately and on time. But businesses can’t close the gap by themselves. Many of the causes of the gender pay gap lie outside the workplace, and will require a partnership between companies and government if we are to deliver long-term, lasting change.”