Rutland County Council pays women more than men on average according to gender pay gap report

The female workforce at Rutland County Council are on average better paid than their male counterparts an annual pay report has shown.

The gender pay gap report, which all employers with more than 250 staff are required to compile, has shown the average pay of female workers at the authority is 25p more than their male counterparts.

The authority is run by chief executive Mark Edwards, but his senior team, including the chief finance officer and senior legal officer are women.

The report says: “The gender pay gap is defined as ‘the difference between the pay of men and women.’ There are two measures – median hourly pay and mean (average) hourly pay. Each is represented as a percentage of the difference with men’s pay. Therefore, where men are paid more than women, the pay gap will be ‘positive’. Negative pay gaps are represented as minus percentages.”

The pay gap for 2024 was -1.75 compared to 1.8 in 2023. In 2021 it was 5.7 meaning men were on average better paid than women at the authority.

The average hourly wage for female staff at Rutland County Council was £16.36 in 2024, up from £15.26 the year before. In comparison men earned £14.99 per hour on average in 2023, compared to £15.98 last year.

Just under 75 per cent of the workforce is female. However in 2023 just 45 per cent of new starters were female.

The report, which will be discussed by the authority’s employment and appeals committee next week (March 4), says: “Our recruitment process is built on appointment on merit and quality with no gender bias. Our recruitment policy and pay policies provide a robust framework structure to ensure consistent, equal and fair practices to avoid discrimination on gender grounds."

In terms of a gender pay gap the authority is one of three in the East Midlands where women are on average paid more than men - the other two are Leicester City Council and Derby City Council.