Boost for women workers at Cardiff Council in gender pay gap report

A new report into the pay policy of Cardiff Council shows the gender pay gap between men and women on its workforce continues to narrow.

Figures released in the authority’s latest Pay Policy, a wide-ranging report that outlines pay and remuneration for all its employees, shows that women have a higher average hourly rate than men, a trend that began last year.

The report, to be discussed by the Council’s Cabinet at its meeting on Thursday, March 23, states that in 2021 the average hourly rate paid to women was £15.83 (£15.33 for men). In 2022, the women’s rate went up to £16.22, compared to £15.37 for men.

But the median rate – the hourly rate paid to men and women in the middle of the council’s pay structure – has risen from £13.21 to £13.44 for women. For men it has fallen from £14.11 to £13.71.

Men and women employed in the same jobs are paid the same at Cardiff Council. In addition, the Council has an established job evaluation process which ensures that different jobs that are of equal value are also paid the same.

The change in the gender pay gap, says the report, is in part due to factors such as changes in the number of male and female employees, and a reduction in the number of women paying into salary sacrifice schemes (e.g. unpaid leave, cycle to work and childcare vouchers).

A supplement has also been paid to social worker staff, who are mainly women, to address a skill shortage in this area.

Across the board, the Council is also planning to give hundreds of workers on its lowest pay grade a boost to their salaries from April.

The report proposes to give all its Grade 1 employees an increase in line with the rise in the ‘Real Living Wage’. This coupled with a national pay agreement affecting all local authorities, would see workers currently paid £10.50 an hour moving up to £10.90 an hour.

The Council has long been a supporter of the ‘Real Living Wage’ and is committed to implementing it throughout the local public and private sectors. Its goal is to increase the number of accredited Living Wage employers in Cardiff to 300, from the current level of 197, by November 2025.