Building equity into benefits: practical ways to support your workforce

By addressing gender disparities, supporting cultural and religious diversity, and creating an inclusive benefits environment, organisations can ensure that all employees receive the support they need to thrive.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are crucial pillars for any organisation striving to create a balanced, supportive and successful workplace.

Benefits packages must reflect these values to ensure equitable support for employees from various genders, cultures, religions, and other diverse backgrounds.

Here are some practical ways to help you achieve this for your business:

Understanding the gender pensions gap

The gender gap in private pensions currently stands at 35%, indicating a significant disparity between males' and females’ pension wealth.

There is roughly a 16% gap from day one of a woman’s career, according to research from Legal & General.

This gap comes from various factors, including existing gender pay gaps (currently standing at 7%), career breaks for family care, part-time work, divorce and general lower financial confidence among women.

Another factor to consider is the longevity of both males and females.

The average life expectancy of women is known to be higher than that of men, so women’s savings will need to last longer.

Tailoring benefits to address gender disparities

There’s no quick fix to significantly reduce this gap, because of systemic problems.

Even when/if inequalities in pay are ironed out, it will take time before the gap is closed.

However, organisations can implement measures to help bridge the gap:

Use engagement campaigns targeting different cohorts of employees with gender-specific messages at critical ages.
Consider including gender-specific communication strategies in policies already in place for significant life events such as promotions, changes in work hours, parental leave, and divorce.
Set up women-only focus groups to get insights and drive actions.
Encourage women-only pension conversations/forums during events like Pensions Awareness Week (11–15 September 2025) and International Women’s Day (8th March).

Supporting cultural and religious diversity

Whilst the gender pensions gap is increasingly discussed, we must also focus on ensuring that diversity and inclusion extend to employees from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds.

Research suggests that the ethnicity pensions gap stands currently at around 24%.

The main causes of this gap lie in labour market factors and pension policy.

To address this gap, organisations should consider:

Make available flexible work arrangements that allow time for religious observances and cultural practices
Ensure health plans cover traditional medicine and culturally specific treatments
Provide financial support for cultural and religious events and celebrations
Review the suitability of investment options in the pension arrangement to ensure there are culturally diverse funds available for employees
Setting up cultural and religious network groups to raise awareness of the importance of pensions

Creating an inclusive benefits environment

An inclusive environment ensures that all employees feel valued and supported.

More generally, organisations should consider the following to increase engagement across the workforce as a whole and to provide an inclusive benefits package:

Conduct regular surveys to understand the diverse needs of the workforce
Establish focus groups to gather insights and drive action plans
Set up suitable network groups in the workplace, supported by HR
Provide clear and accessible information about benefits packages
Provide employees access to financial well-being support
Work with the pension provider to offer tools to employees, looking at what their pension pot currently stands at and the impact of changing pension contributions
Encourage employees to review their pension arrangements and plans on an annual basis (perhaps around salary reviews or receiving bonuses, etc)

Equitable benefits packages are essential in creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. By addressing gender disparities, supporting cultural and religious diversity, and creating an inclusive benefits environment, organisations can ensure that all employees receive the support they need to thrive.