West Midlands Fire Service has reported a 6.5% mean sexual orientation pay gap and a -6% mean disability pay gap, sharing the data for both for the first time.
The service’s mean gender pay gap narrowed to 5% this year, down from 5.5% last year. Women earned 92p for every £1 earned by men when comparing median hourly pay, meaning their pay was 8% lower than men’s. Women’s mean, average hourly pay was 5% lower than men’s.
The service’s analysis also highlighted that its gender gap is more pronounced among non-uniformed employees.
Women made up 26.1% of employees in the organisation’s highest-paid quartile, and 44.3% of those in the lowest-paid quartile.
Meanwhile, West Midlands Fire Service’s ethnicity pay gap widened to 5% from 3.5% last year. Its ethnicity pay gap is measured by drawing a comparison between white employees and those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
The organisation also revealed a wider sexual-orientation gap where employees have not disclosed their orientation, while those who have declared a disability are, on average, in higher-paid roles than those who have declared no disability.
Kelly Harding, head of people at West Midlands Fire Service, said: “We welcome the progress on our gender pay gap, and the fact we are now reporting across more characteristics. However, we will not gloss over the widening of our ethnicity pay gap. Publishing more of our data is a deliberate step to be transparent about where we stand, and to hold ourselves to account for closing the gaps.
“Every percentage point represents real employees and real experiences. We are continuing our pay and grading review for our non-uniformed staff, with robust job evaluation to ensure clearer, more consistent decisions. We’re expanding leadership and progression support for under-represented employees and tightening how we attract, assess and progress people to reduce bias. We will report openly on our progress.”
