Companies offer different work benefits depending on gender, new survey reveals

A new survey has revealed companies are tailoring their perks to employees based on their gender.

The survey, conducted by Behaviour & Attitudes’ online panel for Aviva, found that women are more likely to be offered flexitime than men, but men are more likely to be offered pension contributions and bonuses.

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The most sought-after and most widely offered perk was pension contributions — but 49% of male respondents were offered this benefit, compared to only 39% of women.

Flexible working hours and bonus schemes were also widely sought-after perks, with flexitime more prioritised by women, and men being more interested in bonus schemes.

What’s more, 35% of women were offered the option of flexible hours, compared to 27% of men, but men were almost 50% more likely to be offered membership of a bonus scheme.

Men were also more likely to avail of health insurance and income protection than their female counterparts.

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A quarter of all respondents said they were offered no benefits above their wages.

The survey also revealed discrepancies regarding an employee’s age and type of job. Desk workers, for example, are much more likely to be offered additional benefits than manual workers.

Young workers under the age of 35 are most interested in flexitime as a benefit, with 21% considering it the most desirable, compared to 17% of workers over 35 and 16% of those over 50.