Camden Council has reported its 2022 gender pensions gap for the first time, revealing that on average for every £1 paid into a male employee’s pensions, female staff receive 75p.
The report, which covered council staff and those employed in local authority schools enrolled in the local government pension scheme, said the gap was likely caused by historical gender inequalities and an increase in the number of women aged 30 years-plus who work part-time.
The council’s 2022 mean gender pay gap was 1.2%, and its median was 2.5%, both in favour of women, compared with 0.9% and 1.5% in 2021. Its mean part-time gender pay gap for last year was 5.2% and its median was 9.3%, both also in favour of women.
Conversely, its 2022 gender performance-related pay gaps were found to be in favour of men, with a mean gap of 7.4% and a median of 13.8%. A total of 39.6% of men and 39.2% of women received a performance-related payment last year.
The council’s 2022 ethnicity pay gap was 13.3% and its median was 11.9%, compared with 13% and 10.9% the prior year, respectively, in favour of white employees. Its mean performance-related pay gap was 26.7% and its median was 27.5%, with 45.1% of white and 39.6% of black, Asian and other minority employees receiving a payment.
Camden Council’s 2022 mean disability pay gap was 2%, down from 3.5% in 2021, and its median was 1.3%, down from 2%. Both were in favour of non-disabled staff. Its mean performance-related pay gap was 3.5%, down from 12.5%, and its median was 2.7%, down from 30%, with 43.5% of non-disabled and 49.4% of disabled staff receiving a payment.
Jo Brown, director of people and inclusion at Camden Council, said: “We believe that by shining a light on any disparity in pay and pensions you can acknowledge the issues that exist and begin to talk about how to fix them. We know that there is still much more that we need to do as an organisation, our key priorities are to keep increasing representation across the council, close any remaining pay gaps, and ensure that work towards equality continues to support our staff beyond retirement.”