St Helens Council follows national trend in gender pay gap

In the attempt to bring the historical pay gap between men and women, employers with 250 or more workers now must publish figures on the Government's gender pay gap service.

This includes 307 councils across the country, with current data showing that the average local authority paid women 2.9% less than their male colleagues in the year to March 2023; a small improvement from 3% the year before.

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Council women paid less on average than men

Council members and stakeholders at the Glass Futures project in St Helens (Image: St Helens Council)

At St Helens Borough Council, the median hourly salary for women was 7.6% less than for men in the year to March 2023, a figure slightly higher than the national average.

This is also an increase in figures from the previous year, which shows that women's median hourly pay was 5.7% lower than men's. When comparing the mean (average) between men and women in the year to March 2023, women’s hourly pay is 7.1% lower than men’s.

However, in spite of these figures, women do take up high-profile positions of power in the council, including the Chief Executive, Executive Directors, and Directors.

The government's gender pay gap service also highlights how women take up more positions in the higher and average-paid jobs in the council, but they also take up the bulk of the lower-paid jobs (76%) too.

Having women in higher paying jobs evidences that the council is an inclusive workplace, councillors say, and demonstrates that there is no obstacle in reaching high-profile positions of power.

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Statement from St Helens Council

Councillors celebrating the twinning project with Stuttgart (Image: St Helens Council)

A St Helens Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are an inclusive council that offers support such as flexible and agile working opportunities for staff, including those employees that have other commitments. However, in lower paid roles we do have a significant number of female employees which can influence these figures.  

“On the other hand, 61.43 per cent of our current top five per cent of higher earners in high-profile positions at St Helens Borough Council are females, including the Chief Executive, Executive Directors and Directors, all of whom act as brilliant role models to their peers.” 

Data across the country

While the pay gap may be closing between men and women, the government's data shows that only 22% of council leaders are women and only 33% of women are chief executives across England and Wales.

A pay gap of more than 20% was also reported by 12 councils in 2021-22.

Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for women's rights, said: "While it's an important step, Gender Pay Gap Reporting isn't a solution on its own.

"As these figures show, there is a gulf between the best-performing and the worst-performing local authorities."

Ms Olchawski urged employers to publish plans on how to tackle their pay gaps, recommending that local authorities share knowledge with those that "need to up their game".