The Employment and Staffing Committee met to discuss the Gender Pay Gap Report 2025 and the Workforce Equalities Monitoring Report. The committee approved the Workforce Equalities Monitoring Report and noted the information contained within the Gender Pay Gap Report 2025.

Gender Pay Gap Report 2025

The committee noted the information contained within the Gender Pay Gap Report 2025, which is an annual report that employers with 250 or more employees must publish under the Equality Act 2010. The report compares the average pay for men and women, regardless of their job roles, and is distinct from equal pay, which addresses pay differences for men and women in the same or similar jobs.

The report showed that the council's mean gender pay gap had reduced since 2024 to 11.6%, which is below the UK median of 13.1%, and the median ethnicity pay gap is 0%. The report noted that the gender pay gap has been reducing since 2018/19, where it was reported as being over 20%.

The report included the following information:

• The mean gender pay gap, which is the difference between the mean hourly rate of pay of male full-pay employees and that of female full-pay employees.
• The median gender pay gap, which is the difference between the median hourly rate of pay of male full-pay employees and that of female full-pay employees.
• The proportions of male and female employees in the lower, lower middle, upper middle and upper quartile pay bands.

The report also noted that Wokingham Borough Council does not operate any performance related pay or bonus schemes and therefore does not have a bonus gender pay gap.

The report stated that the council is working to close the gaps by:

• Expanding equality monitoring processes to capture data on career progression and inclusion.
• Developing leadership programmes accessible to all aspiring managers.
• Implementing recruitment bias training for recruiting managers.
• Promoting roles that support part-time working for both females and males.
• Collaborating with the ethnically diverse staff network to design a programme of support for ethnic minorities.
• Continuing to grow staff networks, including a Carer's network, Menopause Network and Women's Network.
• Reviewing and updating HR policies to ensure inclusivity and regular monitoring to support equality in the workplace.

Workforce Equalities Monitoring Report

The committee approved the Workforce Equalities Monitoring Report for publication. The report presents an analysis of workforce diversity within the council as of April 2025, focusing on compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty¹.

The report highlighted improvements in data disclosure and examined workforce composition across various protected characteristics compared to the local community. Since 2017, there has been a steady increase in employees declaring their diversity data, aided by recruitment processes, staff networks, and self-service updates during appraisals.

As of April 2025:

• The council's workforce is 72% White British and 15% ethnic minorities, with 13% not declaring ethnicity. New starters show increased ethnic minority representation (32.4%) compared to the borough's 13%.
• The workforce is predominantly female (75%), which is typical in local government, contrasting with the borough's near-equal gender split. Females are more represented in lower salary bands, partly due to outsourcing of traditionally male roles. The mean gender pay gap is 11.49%, and the median is 11.60%.
• Five percent of employees declared a disability, below the borough's 13%, with 39% not declaring. The council participates in the Disability Confident Scheme² to encourage applications from disabled candidates.
• Two percent of employees identify as gay or bisexual, with 31% not declaring sexual orientation.
• Religious affiliation shows 28% Christian, 26% no religion, and 34% not declared, with declaration rates improving over recent years.
• The workforce is older compared to the borough population, with 40.1% aged 35-49 and 37.4% aged 50-64, reflecting typical working age distribution and recruitment initiatives targeting younger candidates.

From April 2024 to March 2025, female applicants constituted 62% of total applicants and 80% of appointments. Ethnic minority applicants represented 58% of applicants and 32.4% of appointed candidates. Disability declarations among appointed candidates were low at 1.4%. The council plans initiatives to enhance diversity in recruitment further.

The council recognises that it has an ageing workforce in parts and is committed to looking at increasing entry apprenticeships into the council, enhanced work experience opportunities and other opportunities of inclusive employment.