Nottingham City Council has narrowed the gender pay gap so that on average there is now no difference between what middle-earning men and women working for the authority are paid. The council has brought in changes to its pay structure that have helped to bring about the improvements.

Across the whole council, women on average earn just under 97p for every pound earned by a male colleague – a mean average pay gap of 3.1%. This is an improvement on last year when the gap stood at 4.2%. Meanwhile for middle earners, men and women are now paid the same – closing a gap of 2.6% last year. The council has introduced terms and conditions and simplified its pay structure which enables employees to move to the top of their grade within two years of employment. The council operates a number of family friendly policies for staff, including childcare vouchers and flexible working arrange-ments, as well as carrying out training and development programmes around unconscious bias and recruitment procedures to ensure opportunities and processes are fair.

The latest report on the gender pay gap is a snapshot of pay from 31 March 2018, when the gender split at the council was 40% male and 60% female. The council is continuing to improve workforce planning to encourage increasing the numbers of women in senior roles, along with further development of existing coaching and mentoring schemes. The council’s Assistant Chief Executive, Candida Brudenell, said:

“We fully support gender pay reporting as it provides transparency on pay and encourages employers to act faster to close the gap. We already have polices in place which we’re pleased are helping to narrow the gap, and we will look at other ways to further close that gap. We need to ensure everyone who works for us has the same opportunities to progress in their career.

“Nottingham City Council is committed to the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment for our employees. Our workforce is the greatest asset we have for improving the lives of Nottingham people and it’s our aim to ensure that all employees have the skills, tools and confidence to do their jobs well.”