Oxford City Council is set to begin monitoring the gap in pay between its LGBT+ staff and non-LGBT+ staff.

The council currently monitors and reports on its gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps, but does not report on its LGBT+ pay gap, an area that the council’s scrutiny committee deemed was missing from its equalities reporting.

The decision to monitor the gap in pay between LGBT+ and non-LGBT+ staff follows a recommendation made by Green Party councillor Chris Jarvis at a meeting of the council's scrutiny committee.

‘I’m very pleased to see the city council take this step. As a Council, we are rightly proud of our policies on equality, diversity and inclusion – policies like the pioneering proposals on trans inclusion agreed in November 2021 and the move towards providing free period products in council buildings and community centres,’ said Cllr Jarvis.

‘But in order to ensure the council practices what it preaches, we need to know whether LGBT+ staff are facing barriers in their workplace. That’s why it’s important that the Council has agreed to begin monitoring and reporting on its LGBT+ pay gap.’

A survey conducted in 2019 by YouGov in coordination with LinkedIn and LGBTQ organisation Black Pride found that the LGBT+ pay gap across the country could be as high as 16%.

Deputy leader of the Green Party Group on Oxford City Council Lucy Pegg said: ‘It is right that the council has been going beyond its legal obligations and reporting on its ethnicity and disability pay gaps. This latest decision is the next step in the right direction.

‘Oxford has one of the highest LGBT+ populations in the country. We’re proud to be part of an inclusive city. Now it’s time for the city council to make sure that inclusivity is reflected in its employment practices.’

According to the 2021 census, almost 7% of Oxford identifies with an LGB+ sexual orientation. The census also found that 1% of the population of Oxford has a gender identity that is different from that which they were assigned at birth.