Local government is a sector that has always prided itself on its equality policies – but sometimes the reality leaves a lot to be desired.
On the whole, women get a better deal on pay than their private sector counterparts.
More than a decade after most authorities introduced their single status deals to tackle pay inequality, the gender pay gap is 6.8%. It’s vastly improved on the 12% gap in the private sector – but it is still 6.8% too much.
The latest stats show just 33% of councillors are women – dropping to 17% when it comes to leaders – while just 36% of chief executives are women. Perhaps not so bad, until you consider the female dominated nature of the local government workforce.
