Economy, Place, Access and Transport Scrutiny Committee

25^th February 2025

Report of the Director of City Development

The Gender Pay Gap in York

Summary

1. Economy, Place, Access and Transport Scrutiny have asked for a report on the Gender pay gap to inform a discussion at their February 2025 meeting.

2. This report summarises key data published on the gender pay gap in York for City of York Council, other large employers in the city, and through pay data for men and women through the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).

3. While there is a clear gender pay gap shown in York – the median earnings of women are £84.90 per week (or 12.5%) lower than the median earnings of men - City of York Council is shown to have a negative pay gap, with women’s average pay being more than that of men in the organisation. Across York’s larger employers, there are three other organisations with such a negative pay gap, and the list at Annex 3 demonstrates that many employers in the city have a long way to go if the overall pay gap is to be reduced.

Background

4. The Gender pay gap is clearly demonstrated in statistics, as the Annexes to this report demonstrate. The average man earns more than the average women in almost every part of society. While the reasons behind this pay gap is nuanced and complex, and includes unfair pay practices, the gendered nature of child and elder care in our society, cultural bias, and the uneven distribution of part-time employment in the York economy.

5. Our Economic Strategy 2022-2030 recognises: “….York has a very high economic activity rate, with 5,000 more households than might be expected relying on flexible work through part-time and self-employment, balancing earning with caring to add to household incomes. Two thirds of those in part-time roles in York are female. For this reason, we will focus on supporting the growth of well-paid part-time and flexible employment and supporting small and micro businesses. We will also place particular emphasis on supporting women to make best use of their skills and qualifications, whether that is in employment or through running their own businesses.”

6. This has informed delivery of the York UKSPF fund, which has enabled projects such as “Courageous Females” to support female entrepreneurs and seen more than 100 female-run businesses receive direct support from the Momentic “Start and Grow” initiative. We have also been able support the development of a strong network of York women in business.

7. In the short term, the impacts of such work are impossible to attribute to any particular funder or supporter, particularly when the headline indicators are simply the difference in average pay between the genders. The Gender pay gap will be closed employer by employer, and pay rise by pay rise, not in one fell swoop.

8. Broadening opportunity for women in the York economy, through actions such as supporting more flexible work arrangements and redesigning roles to fit the available talent, can only have a positive impact on the local economy. Around 40% of all female employment in York is for less than 30 hours per week, with that proportion increasing by age. Part time work is clustered in public administration, education, health and social care, together with retail and hospitality.

9. The recently published “[1]New Era for female entrepreneurship”, produced by Enterprise Works, the University of York, highlights a range of considerations that can be applied to both sole traders and employees of high growth sectors. In addition, the creation of flexible opportunities for women who are seeking work of less than 30 hours per week would help reduce the gap.

10. In terms of the simple facts of the Gender pay gap, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes its Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) each autumn, with data showing mean and median pay for residents in each local authority area, split by full time and part time work and by male and female workers. Subtracting average female pay from average male pay allows for the calculation of a city-wide gender pay gap.

11. Such data for York, using median full-time pay as the comparator, is published on the York Open Data platform and presented at Annex 1 of this report. The data shows a York gender pay gap of £84.90 in 2023. The average York male full time employee earned £676.50 per week in 2023 while his female equivalent earned £591.60. This is a pay gap of 12.5%.

12. The national gender pay gap on this measure was £97.80, and across Yorkshire and Humber, the same pay gap was £112.70.

13. Regulations introduced in 2017 require public, private and voluntary sector organisations, with 250 or more employees, to report annually on their gender pay gap using a specified 'snapshot date' relevant to their sector. There are 43 such organisations based in York who publish such data, including City of York Council (CYC). It should be noted that there are large employers with a York presence who are not shown in this data, which is reported at the postcode of a company’s head office. For example, Tesco Stores is not included.

14. CYC is one of only 4 employers registered in York and publishing a negative gender pay gap. The Council’s 2023 return is shown at Annex 2. This report demonstrates that across the organisation, both mean and median pay is slightly higher for women than for men.

15. Looking at all large employers registered in York, Annex 3 presents published gender pay gap reporting data for 2023. There a four employers with a negative pay gap. These are two of the Nestle group of companies, Britsafe (a contract cleaning and security firm operating across the UK), and City of York Council.

Consultation

16. This report is for information only, and no consultation has taken place.

Options

17. Not applicable.

Implications

18. Not applicable, this is an update report for discussion.

Recommendations

19. Members are asked to note the contents of this report.

Contact Details

Author:	Chief Officer Responsible for the report:
Simon Brereton Head of Economy	Garry Taylor Director of City Development
	Report Approved	Y	Date	17/2/2025


Wards Affected: List wards or tick box to indicate all					All	X

For further information please contact the author of the report

Background Papers:

York Economic Strategy 2022-32

Economic Strategy Technical Annex

Annexes

Annex 1: York resident gender pay gap data 2011 to present

Annex 2: CYC Gender pay gap report 2023

Annex 3: Gender pay gap for York companies 2023

Abbreviations

ASHE Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings

CYC City of York Council

ONS Office for National Statistics

25th February 2025