§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the pay gap between men and women employed by his Department and its agencies in(a) Southampton, (b) Eastleigh, (c) Winchester and (d) Romsey. [171636]
§ Mr. PondThere is no official assessment made of pay differentials between men and women employed by the Department and its agencies in the specific geographical areas referred to. The following table and associated notes show an analysis of mean salaries of staff working in DWP offices in the Southampton area by gender. This analysis shows that the mean salary of a man is 98.7 per cent. of the mean salary of a women.
Male Female Difference (percentage) Total staff in post 164.7 406.2 — Total basic salary (£) 2,746,425 6,856,672 — Mean salary (£) 16,663 16,882 1.31 Notes: 1. The Southampton Area table shows salaries for staff in workplaces with an "SO" post code prefix. This includes Southampton, Eastleigh, Hythe, Romsey, Totton, Woolston, and Winchester.
2. Salaries have been calculated on the basis of "Whole Time Equivalents", meaning full time staff count as one and part time staff count as a proportion of one depending on their work 1254W pattern. Salaries are accordingly pro-rated on the basis of the work pattern. The salaries used are basic rates excluding allowances, overtime and any employer's contributions for NI or occupational pensions.
3. The percentage difference has been calculated by dividing the value of the difference into the lower mean salary. This calculation shows that the mean salary of women is 1.31 per cent. higher than the mean salary of men.
The gender differential in DWP overall is that men earn on average 4.8 per cent. more than women. This figure is calculated using the salaries of all staff within DWP excluding the Senior Civil Service. The differences between male and female mean salaries change by grade. In the administrative grades that predominate in DWP offices, such as those in the Southampton area, female mean salaries are higher. In the executive grades, male mean salaries are higher. In the Southampton area, 93 per cent. of staff are in Bands A/AA, B/AO and C/EO. Looking at the comparable selection for DWP overall the gender differential is 1.39 per cent. with women earning more than men.
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) suggests that, as a general guide, any gender differences of 5 per cent. or more, or patterns of differences of 3 per cent. or more will require exploration and explanation. The Department for Work and Pensions are committed to reviewing their pay policies to ensure that they are compliant with the current equal pay legislation and do not either directly or indirectly discriminate against any group of employees. An Equal Pay Audit is currently being undertaken to review existing policies and to inform the development of the departmental reward strategy.
All jobs that relate to the grades mentioned above are gender-neutral, that is, there is no reason why they should not be performed by men or women. There is therefore no likelihood of any gender-based variances being due to the requirement for work to be performed by staff of a particular gender.
Source:
DWP "Dataview" for December 2003 extracted from FAMIS and Rebus payroll systems.