FORCE STATEMENT IN FULL

“ON the snapshot date of (March 31, 2020) the median gender pay gap for Leicestershire Police was 31.6 per cent.

“The average (mean) hourly pay difference across the force was 15.2 per cent in favour of men.

“When we consider the median pay of officers as a group on their own, there is no percentage difference. For police staff the difference is 5.9 per cent in favour of men.

“This brings the gap to 31.6 per cent across all officers and staff.

Policing is unique in that there are two very different types of workers working within the same organisation.

“Police officers are servants of The Crown, operating within police regulations and a nationallyagreed pay structure. This is different to police staff roles, who are contracted employees.

“Police officers make up 54 per cent of the workforce, with a split of 69 per cent men and 31 per cent women. Through the current recruitment process, this figure is becoming more equal, with more and more women joining as officers. We recognise that women joining as constables – the lowest officer rank – may increase the gap for a short time.

“The percentage split of police staff is almost the reverse. Making up 46 per cent of the workforce, 37 per cent of civilian staff are men and 63 per cent are women.

“The Team Leicestershire Academy – the force’s in-house training department – is working on a Positive Action Leadership development programme to identify and nurture talent from underrepresented groups, including women from the police staff workforce.”