Maiora is also the first company, both in the formal food retail sector and in Southern Italy, to have obtained the prestigious certification from the Equal Salary Foundation.
The Equal Salary Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in 2010 with the mission of developing a scientific method and an objective tool for measuring salary equality across different businesses. Its scrutiny, recognised by the European Commission, aims to break down ambiguity and is still a tangible obstacle in the professional sphere.
The certification process was developed in cooperation with the University of Geneva that is specialised in labour market questions.
It involved three phases of detailed analyses, studies and assessment by the Foundation in partnership with a leading auditing and professional services firm:
– Phase one involves a quantitative investigation, with an examination and comparison of wages for the same tasks and levels of employment.
– Phase two generates an analytical assessment of internal management systems, in the areas of human resources, training, communication and management.
– Phase three involves examinations of a qualitative nature, through focus groups with randomly chosen employees.
The Equal Salary certification represents a further step in a Responsible Retail journey Maiora successfully embarked upon several years ago. The SPAR retailer is preparing to publish its 4th Sustainability Report. This publication testifies to its continuous and progressive commitment towards its team of more than 2,400, almost 50% of whom are women, and also towards the environment, through a focus on sustainability and the circular economy.
Through the Equal Salary certification, Maiora has achieved point 5 of the UN 2030 agenda, which consists of ‘Achieving gender equality and self-determination for all women and girls’, and point 8.5, which provides for ‘Ensuring full and productive employment and decent work for women and men, including young people and persons with disabilities, and fair remuneration for work of fair value by 2030’.
“The Equal Salary certification is an ambitious recognition that crowns a journey started many years ago, based on our values and aimed at considerably improving corporate welfare. We share with the public the outcomes of our sustainable policies and CSR actions we take. Being the first company in the Italian large-scale retail sector, and in southern Italy, to achieve a gender equality certification, we hope it will encourage other fellow entrepreneurs so that we can increasingly bridge this gap”, said Pippo Cannillo, President and CEO of Maiora.
Source: DESPAR Italia
Read more news about SPAR in Italy
SPAR Italy, known locally as DESPAR Italia, was first granted the SPAR Brand’s licence in 1959. The first store opened in 1960, making SPAR the first partnership of retailers and wholesalers to operate in the country. In addition, SPAR Italy licenses regional partners, all of whom work together to grow the brand across the country.
The DESPAR consortium operates stores under three formats: DESPAR neighbourhood supermarkets, EUROSPAR Supermarkets, and INTERSPAR Hypermarkets. Many of the larger format stores are company-owned, reflecting the scale of investment required. The independently owned neighbourhood supermarkets are a vital part of the organisation’s strategy to bring a high-quality, tailored grocery offering to communities.
