New figures reveal gender pay gap at councils in Suffolk
The gender pay gap is the widest at East Suffolk Council, while West Suffolk Council pays women more on average than men.
Councils across Suffolk have uncovered their gender pay gaps, and those with the highest and lowest can be revealed.
The gender pay gap is the widest at East Suffolk Council, while West Suffolk Council pays women more on average than men.
East Suffolk Council is also the only place where the average pay gap rose in 2021/22 since the year before – by 0.8 percent to a mean pay gap of 11.1 percent.
The median pay gap at East Suffolk Council fell by 1.6 percent, however – to 11.2 percent in 2021/22.
Whereas the mean is the average of the salaries, the median is the midpoint salary when all are listed from highest to lowest. This offsets irregularly high or low salaries, while the mean accounts for the fact that more men are in positions with exceptionally high pay.
An East Suffolk Council spokesperson said: “We are committed to providing equal opportunities to our female and male workforce.
“Our most recent gender pay gap report showed that our workforce comprises a higher proportion of female employees and that an increasing number occupy higher-paid roles.
“Due to the variety of job roles being filled at any one time, it is unlikely that any local authority will achieve precisely equal median hourly pay between female and male employees.
“However, we continue to regularly monitor gender pay gap data to identify pay differences and take targeted action where appropriate.
“The pay gap still compares favourably to the overall public sector – as published Office for National Statistics (ONS) – and we enjoy a strong reputation as a good employer.”
East Suffolk Council comprises of 46 percent men and 53 percent women.
Provisional data released by the ONS shows a mean public sector pay gap of 11.4 percent in 2022 and a median gap of 11.1 percent.
Some of the initiatives towards pay equality listed in East Suffolk Council’s report include: “flexible/agile working policies and practices which actively encourage women to work”, “enhanced occupational maternity pay” and “support for women returning to work – through shared parental leave, job-sharing, compressed hours, part-time, and term-time only opportunities”.
The mean gender pay gap in West Suffolk in 2021/22 was 0.72 percent lower than the previous year, at -2.56 percent. This means the average hourly rate of women was 2.56 percent higher than men.
The median gap was even more favourable to women, at -4.72 percent – a drop of 2.71 percent since 2020/21.
Ipswich came in as the second-best payer of women and closed its pay gap by the highest proportion last year. Its mean pay gap on 31 March 2022 was 1.2 percent – 1.8 percent lower than in 2021. Its median gap has been zero for the last two years.
Babergh and Mid Suffolk, which share a workforce, had the second-highest joint average pay gap in 2022 – at 10.6 percent. This was 0.15 percent lower than the previous year and was based on a snapshot of salaries on 31 March 2022.
The median pay gap for Babergh and Mid Suffolk was 11.2 percent last March, 1.6 percent lower than in 2021.
A Babergh and Mid Suffolk spokesperson said: “We remain committed to promoting fairness, honesty, integrity, and creating an environment where all employees can thrive and be themselves.
“We continue to focus on long term solution to carry on closing the gender pay gap and are dedicated to equality for all.”
Suffolk County Council’s mean pay gap was 10.3 percent on 31 March 2022, 0.5 percent lower than in 2021. Its median gap was higher in 2022 at 13.8 percent, one percent lower than in the previous year.
Employers with over 250 employees are required to report their gender pay gap information every year under the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.
The county council’s gender pay gap report will be considered at a full council meeting this Thursday.