City councils’ gender pay gaps as much as 5%

COUNCILS in central London have gender pay gaps ranging from 1% to 5% in their median hourly earnings between men and women.

The figures were revealed under new legislation which means organisations employing more than 250 people have to disclose the differences in pay.

They are represented as a median hourly rate, which takes all the wages from the highest to the lowest and looks at the hourly earnings of the worker in the middle.

For women employed by the City of London Corporation, their earnings were 99p for every £1 their male counterparts get, calculated at a difference of 1.4%.

Women make up 43% of the highest earners and 46% of those on the lowest wages.

The City of London Corporation said it was “fully committed to providing equal pay and opportunity to all our employees”.

It has introduced new policies including improved maternity pay and shared parental and adoption leave, while there is a “gender anonymised” recruitment process for senior positions.

A spokeswoman said: “Like all governing bodies, the City of London Corporation has a responsibility to create a fair and inclusive society.

“We must all work together to ensure this becomes the reality.”

At Hammersmith and Fulham Council, women’s earnings are 3.6% lower than their male counterparts, taking home 96p for every £1 men do.

Females make up just over half (51.1%) of the top earners and 59% of the lowest paid employees.

Kensington and Chelsea Council reported a 10.8% pay gap, with women earning 89p for every £1 men make.

They make up 49.2% of the highest earners and 67% of the lowest paid workers across the council.

The council admitted it had work to do in narrowing the gap.

A Kensington and Chelsea spokesman said: “We are below the national average in our sector, but we have more to do in this area and we accept that.”

Steps the authority has taken include promoting flexible, family friendly, equal opportunities and diversity policies for all employees.

It is reviewing its current pay, performance-related pay and grading to “ensure non gender bias”.

The council is planning a wholesale review of its recruitment to “focus on attitude and growing people into roles” rather than concentrating on qualifications and experience.

In Westminster, women’s median hourly rate is 5.4% lower than men.

It means they are earning 95p for every £1 made by their male counterparts.

Just over half (51%) of the highest earners are women, while 62% of the lowest paid at the council are female.

Westminster City Council chief executive Stuart Love said: “We have taken steps to better understand and address the root causes of this, including appointing a Gender Pay Champion, putting even more focus on developing our own talent and ensuring we continue to have a fair pay progression system.”

He said the council was “committed to addressing this imbalance and closing this gap”.