Tobacco at Forefront of Closing Gender Pay Gap

Tobacco and alcohol companies are at the forefront of closing the gender pay gap, reports MSN, citing a study of major U.K. companies.

While typically shunned by ethical investors, these so-called sin companies are contributing more to gender equity than some of their less controversial counterparts.

BAT, for example, is going beyond the call of duty on gender pay, according to the research. Other top performers in this field include Guinness owner Diageo, Reckitt and Unilever.

Across the board, the gender pay gap remains stuck at 9.4 percent in favor of men—the same as five years ago when firms first had to publish figures.

All sectors continue to pay men more than women, but some are worse than others, with banking and finance, construction and education among the biggest offenders.

U.K. firms, charities and public sector departments that have 250 staff or more must publish their gender pay gap on a government website.