‘Great progress’ as women paid more than men on mean average at Cardiff council

Alex Seabrook, local democracy reporter

“Great progress” in closing the gender pay gap was welcomed as the mean average pay for women is now more than that for men at Cardiff council.

Female council staff are paid 50p more than male staff according to the mean hourly rate, the first time women have on average been paid more than men at the council.

But according to the median hourly rate, a different type of average, men are paid 90p more than women.

Reasons for the closing of the pay gap include fewer female staff in lower paid roles, more claiming allowances, and fewer using salary sacrifice schemes.

During a cabinet meeting on Thursday, March 10, council leader Huw Thomas said: “It’s extremely positive news, the progression on the gender pay gap. There’s still some work to do on the median. But it’s certainly another significant step in the right direction.

“Hopefully some of the measures that have been put in or strengthened over the last five years, around mentoring and the women’s network, can help women progress further into higher paying roles that will address that median gap as well. It’s really good to see.”

Close to parity

Male council staff are paid a mean hourly rate of £15.33, and female staff are paid £15.83. Using the median hourly rate, male staff are paid £14.11 and female staff £13.21.

The figures were revealed in the council’s annual pay policy report.

Mean averages are worked out by adding the hourly rate for every employee and dividing the total by the number of employees.

Median averages are calculated by lining up hourly rates of every employee from lowest to highest and picking the rate in the exact middle.

Councillor Chris Weaver, cabinet member for finance, said: “This year is the first year where the mean amount of pay men and women receive, women actually receive more than men.

“In terms of the median however, it still shows slightly higher median salaries for men than women within the council.

“What this suggests is that we’re very close to parity across the different grades between men and women, and for the first time we’ve seen the pay gap actually operate in a different way.”