
Dudley councillors welcomed news the authority is closing the gap between pay for men and women.
A report, which took a snapshot of wage levels at the council on March 31 2024, revealed the difference between average pay for male and female council staff is 4.6 percent.
The figure is a reduction from 7.9 percent for the previous year and is less than the national gender pay gap for all workers which, according to the Office for National Statistics, was at 13.1 percent in April 2024.
Cllr Steve Clark, Conservative cabinet member for finance, told a meeting of the council’s cabinet: “The success that we have had in Dudley, if you compare that with national rates, we are ahead of the curve.
“The decrease can be attributed to a decrease in headcount from 5,062 to 4,803 with the biggest change being in female part-time staff, which has seen a reduction of 221 employees since last year.
“Any change in the composition of the workforce can impact the gender pay gap.”
Cllr Shaukat Ali, the Labour opposition group’s spokesperson for finance, said: “It is good to see the pay gap has decreased, that is a positive step forward.
“The issue still remains, there is still a gender pay gap which means women are earning less than their counterparts and it reflects the challenges women face in the workforce.”
A report, for a cabinet meeting on January 30, also revealed the average hourly rate for male council workers in Dudley was £17.53 while women were paid on average £16.72.
The gap is bigger on the median measure, where the highest and lowest wages have less effect and the midpoint of the highest and lowest paid is considered.
The median gender pay gap at Dudley Council was 10.3 percent, which was an improvement for the previous survey when the same statistic was 12.8 percent.
Dudley employs significantly more women than men, the report shows 64 percent of council workers were female.
The report said: “The lower paid roles within the council such as cleaner, catering assistant, administration are predominantly female with, for example, a significantly higher number of female catering assistants compared to male.
“The majority of these roles are also part-time with female employees making up 80.22 percent of part time workers.
“As a result, the gender pay gap within Dudley is, in part, due to the high concentration of female employees in part-time and lower paid job roles when compared to the average hourly rate of all employees across the council.”
During the cabinet debate, Cllr Parmjit Sahota raised concerns about how many women were in roles higher up the pay scales however Cllr Clark pointed out the authority’s top job of chief executive was currently occupied by a woman.
Cllr Clark said: “Generally positions fill themselves with the best people.”
The council’s pay policy statement for the coming financial year shows the salary for the chief executive will be £195,792 while the lowest pay grade in the council will be £23,656.
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