Target Group has closed its mean gender pay gap by 4.8 percentage points to 22.5%, considerably below the finance and insurance average of 33.4%.

Meanwhile, its median gender pay gap has fallen by 5.5 percentage points to 15.1%, again significantly below the sector average of 35.7%.

In addition, the internal data shows that there is just a 0.3 percentage point difference between males and females receiving a bonus.

Target has put in place a number of programmes to help close the gap further, reviewed its maternity pay and family friendly policies, and towards the end of last year signed up to HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter.

By 2022, the company expects senior management to be made up equally of men and women.

The business plans to grow its ‘Women in Target’ network to support and inspire the next generation of female leaders, as well as extending its diversity and inclusion training for the entire management team by the end of 2019.

Ian Larkin, CEO at Target Group, said: “The whole organisation has worked incredibly hard to make Target a diverse and inclusive place to work, and I am really pleased to see some real progress being made on this front. As a business, and as an industry, we still have a long way to go before we achieve gender equality, but with the initiatives we have in place we should continue to see this work come to fruition.”

Rhiannon Williams, HR director at Target Group, added: “We are still on the journey to gender equality, but we are making great strides to get there. Our action plan demonstrates we are making a difference and are committed to reducing our gender pay gap year on year.”