Equality And Diversity Management In Ryanair: A Critical Evaluation

Findings and Analysis

According to Kumra and Manfredi (2012) human resources are amongst most crucial assets in organizations driving them towards success hence, making it imperative in managing them effectively for optimizing their productiveness.  The 21^st century human resource force across the globeis characterized by the trends revolving around increasing diversity in the workplace. The differences that might be existing between the companies’ workforces are relatively acknowledged by the effective management of workplace diversity to implement practices creating the environment of inclusion for employees. Universally changes in workforce’s demographic characteristics are enforced by the globalization of markets. Diverse workforces according to Ashikali and Groeneveld (2015), belong to unique cultures having different needs and desire of getting respect at work. For averting workplace tensions and conflicts, these needs should be comprehended by the management to maintain harmony for enhancing productivity. With globally managers focusing on workplace equality for discarding allusions and comments like “us” verses “them” has resulted into mandating diversity and equality policies across all organizations. The key aim of report is to comprehend equality and diversity management in HR and presenting an effective diversity management strategy for chosen organization Ryanair, which founded in 1984, is a low-cost airline having main operational base at Dublin and London Stansted airports, serving 37 countries and characterised for it rapid expansion.

According to Diaconu (2012), operating in airline industry, passenger transportation services is provided by Ryanair to numerous in Ireland and internationally besides catering other services like online car and hotel booking, travel insurance, and rail services for both corporate and travel  customers. With headquarter in Swords, Ireland; it is a subsidiary of Ryanair Holdings plc that functions on low fare strategy pioneering the model in Europe in early 1990s.By serving point to point short haul destinations over the years Ryanair has carved a name for itself as a scheduled low cost carrier airline, was ranked top by IATA as the leading airline in 2008 for carrying record breaking international passengers.

Establishing the brand as a leading passenger aircraft in Europe with continuous betterment and expanding its minimum-priced offerings is the objective of Ryanair. 

According to Kirton and Greene (2010), equality and diversity have no one universal definition. One can describe equality as to create a fairer workplace environment where everyone is given similar opportunities for fulfilling their potentials and participating, supported by legislation addressing unfair discrimination like Race Relations Act 1976, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Diversity on other hand, creates culture and practices recognizing, respecting and valuing differences for cultivating a productive working environment by generating a workforce that is given value, respect and fully utilizing their potentials for meeting the organisational goals. According to CIPD (2005),equality in the UK is to facilitate and provide each individual the right to be different without being discriminated, to be given value, choice and dignity with a right to own faith while diversity is more of nurturing a culture that values each person’s distinctiveness for benefiting community, person and enterprises.

Research into the organisation’s policies on Equality and Diversity

According to Lakshman, Dupouët and Bouzdine-Chameeva (2017), employees at Ryanair are widely contemplated as factor of production and expense of getting business done instead of resources that turn production factors into wealth. They are perceived as passive, provided and deployed as numbers and skills at the right price rather than sources of creative innovation, which researchers claim as a hard model of HRM. Moreover, the focus of the airlines employment-relations strategy is on reducing costs by minimizing wage, commanding and controlling employees and avoiding union. Employees have to pay for trainings and uniforms, which of late has increased complaints creating issues within the human resources at Ryanair besides high staff turnover. According to Madera, Dawson, Guchait and Amanda (2017), although employees are not encouraged to leave, neither effort is made for stopping them because of available of easy replacements. The reflect of its low cost fares business strategy is seen on its HRM strategies where performance dependent reward process that are related with on board sales and co-related commissions are implemented for controlling employee related costs. Flexible working hours are supported by the management for not risking the productivity – based incentive system. According to Gurkov, Morgunov and Saidov (2017),conferring to the corporate website of Ryanair, employees are given ample opportunities for achieving career development. For adjusting the HR activities and procedures to its minimal – cost tactics, the airline has overseen for creating the image of “stringiest” employer. Moreover, CEO’s Michael O’Leary decision of pay freeze for all staffs has made it distinctly possible to eliminate employment positions further adversely affected the employee relations. Despite of represented by unions, the employees are discouraged to utilize company’s website for anonymously writing their dissatisfaction from the HR practices.

According to Wadhwa, P and Guthrie (2018), Ryanair’s hostile HR practices implementation towards its workforce has resulted into an increased turnover rate particularly amongst junior pilots and cabin crews making it a key weakness. Although talents are attracted by high salaries, the condition of self-paid training and the pilots retraining for skills enhancement for flying new aircrafts, perceived as approach for their constructive dismissal with the phasing out of old aircrafts is another weakness. According to Kandola and Fullerton (1998), different employee behaviours are implied by different competitive strategies fitting best to the strategic HRM where HR activities and procedures customised to strategies like minimal cost leadership, low employee pay packets and short-term performance base incentive schemes unfavourably affect employee relationship and internal repute, which is a weakness. Further, the HR practices strength revolves around recruiting right candidates for meeting the organization goals and rewarding system to motivate employees. 

Strength and weaknesses of the HR practices

According to Sharma (2016), currently diversity is managed at Ryanair by deterring perception and promoting inclusions besides redesigning the working culture to create numerous posts for approaching diverse talents. Efforts for cultivating the post-bureaucratic organization is made based on communication, consensus, trust and admiration to give value to diverse employees and integrating to all aspects of work. According to CIPD (2018), the impact of Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 can be greatly seen across the airline, prohibiting unreasonable discrimination against employees on age factors besides working to protect staffs getting disabled at work by complying with Disability Rights Commission for supporting their disability strategy. Flexible working is also a significant part of Ryanair for increasing work-life balance in employees besides encouraging the female staffs in returning after maternity leave. However, according to Moore and Tailby (2015), lack of training and authority limits staff’s actions on certain scenarios like the recent racism incident in the Barcelona to London Stansted flight, causing damage to the airline. By programs like diversity and unconscious bias training staffs can be prepared for these divisive incidents, improving its culture when coming to equality, diversity and inclusion.

According to Standen (2018), universally the UK based airlines have reported that men employees earn more comparing to the women, with high-paid roles across all operators being dominated by the male employees. Being in the public eye gender pay gap issues, and how it is being addressed are key concerns of aviation industry with constant media attention damaging reputations. Aviation does not have the history of exclusively or predominantly male workforces, which indeed part of the problem. The presence of both genders can be typically seen in specific roles having separate pay levels. At EasyJet out of its 1493 pilots only 86 are females having a median pay disparity of 45.5% and a mean disparity of 51.7% while 90% of top high-paid positions are held by males and 70% lowest pay quartile are females, substantially affecting the gender gaps given that the salary of a pilot is five times more than a cabin crew members. Under UK’s Gender Pay Gap Regulations, according to Topham (2018), at a gender pay disparity of 72%, case of Ryanair is worst in the sector- with female staffs making only 3% of the top quarter of earners. Its median hourly pay for women is 71.8% lower compared to men whereas median bonus pay is lower by 3%, having a mean difference of 21%. From 554 UK-based pilots only eight are female and making up for over two-third of low-paid cabin staffs. No concrete programs are taken by Ryanair in recruiting more women into higher paid positions. According to easyJet plc (2018), its strategic objectives revolve around budgeted flying, quality, speedy customer services, dependability and flexibility enabling them in gaining competitive factor. Being an equal opportunities employer fair treatment is given to staffs and applicants heedless of their age, gender, sexuality, full or part-time status, disability and marital status. Believing in contribution in continuous success, diversity and inclusivity is valued by the carrier, which employs from 50 different nations it operates in besides working with Outstanding for promoting equality and inclusion at work. The airlines also is an endorser of “think, act, report” program advocating equal possibilities for women at work to cultivate opportunities for them across all management levels. EasyJet’s equality and diversity policies fits with its low cost objective by providing training to pilots in how to consume minimal fuel while flying the aircrafts exhibiting its flexibility in accommodating with the unforeseen economic and business environment changes to create competitive advantage. The policies have also fit in with the objectives of promoting diverse workforce and fair employees and applicants. Female staffs regardless of their service length or hours worked each week are entitled to 26 week period of maternity leave. 

Equality and diversity at Ryanair

Ryanair’s policy does not completely align with UK Government equality and diversity regulations like Equality Act 2010. Although both genders have presence in the airlines the gender gap is high with an average pay gap of 67% between men and women. According to Downes, von Trapp and Nicol (2017), all high-paid job are held by males, from its 554 UK pilots only 1.4% (eight) are females while in 586 UK cabin crew, 69% are females. In 12 non-executive directors only two are females. This is the picture despite its current Gender Pay report stresses Ryanair as an equal pay employer and emphasizes that its UK gender pay is affected by the lesser availability of female pilots. However, with increase in female pilots applying to Ryanair, it is committed to reduce the gender gap. In-line of its policy of 30% female membership in board appointments, the plans are to increase this number to four by 2018 end. 

According to Akron, Feinblit, Hareli and Tzafrir (2016), Ryanair’s equality and diversity strategy does not aligns much with its overall business strategy of attaining low-cost faresby getting integrated into the strategic planning revolving around recruitment, learning and development, employee engagement and retention.Its pay freeze practice, self-paid trainings, chargeable meals and uniforms, misaligned employee engagement, trainees chargedhefty fees to work with the airlinesetc. has earned it bad employer reputation.For gaining cost efficiencylow pay levels, particularly with female staffs negatively affects its equality and diversity strategy.  

As a Consultant to improve the current equality and diversity practices it is recommended that Ryanair’s CEO develops an HR Diversity management framework, alternative model to traditional Equal Employment Opportunity policies and practices for providing a legally tenable position against discrimination charges. According to Spencer (2006), this model will emphasize on the positive aspects of differences among employees besides valuing and harnessing the differences like such as individual characteristics, backgrounds, orientations and religious beliefs, for fully utilizing the talents to meet organizational goals for enhancing the competitive advantage.Focus should also be on cultivating a culture that not only supports diversity but takes concrete measure in promoting equality at work, leading the example from senior management by appointing senior diversity champions for involving into activities like network groups, gay pride and diversity awards besides committing to providing equal opportunities, fair and equal treatment to all applicants during the recruitment process. Additionally, gender distribution should be monitored and complied with local legislation to promote gender equality between men and women and reducing the pay gap.

Conclusion  

From the above study it can be concluded that the terms equality and diversity are widely used for defining and championing the values of human rights within a society, including the workplaces. By giving equal opportunities to every individual for attaining their potentials sans the involvement of any kind of discrimination and biasness, the relevance of these terms and legislations enforcing their acceptation stand in place for advocating and promoting the true sense of equality and opportunity for all. It has evident from analysing the case of Ryanair whose equality and diversity policies fail to comply with the government regulations and the hostile HR practices have negatively tarnished its reputation as an employer. Hence, the airline is in urgent need of a good diversity programme with similar benefiting impacts on both employees and the organization.  

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