Women earn less than men at Bedford Borough Council

Women working for Bedford Borough Council earn less than their male colleagues, figures show.

Employers with 250 or more workers must publish figures on differences in pay between their employees through the Government's gender pay gap service.

Most local authorities in England and Wales submitted figures for the year to March 2022, with around a third of councils already doing so for the latest financial year.

The figures show the median hourly salary for women at Bedford Borough Council was 8.9% less than for men in the year to March 2022 – meaning women's pay has increased in relative terms, with women earning 11.7% less than men at the organisation in the year to March 2021.

But the council said it was continuing to track pay and that it was an “improving situation”.

Of the 307 councils that provided data for 2021-22, the average local authority paid women 3% less than their male colleagues – a small improvement from 3.3% the year before.

Data for 2022-23 puts the pay gap at around 2.9% – although only 119 have submitted data so far, with Bedford Borough Council still to do so.

Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for women's rights, said: "While it's an important step, Gender Pay Gap Reporting isn't a solution on its own.

"As these figures show, there is a gulf between the best-performing and the worst-performing local authorities."

Across England and Wales, 12 councils reported a gender pay gap of more than 20% in 2021-22.

Meanwhile, 88 other councils paid women more than men – with Three Rivers District Council in Hertfordshire reporting a 45% difference.

The number of outsourced employees and differences in the services provided by each council is like to play a role in the variation between them.

Ms Olchawski urged employers to publish plans on how to tackle their pay gaps, recommending that local authorities share knowledge with those that "need to up their game".

A Bedford Borough Council spokesperson said: “The council continues to measure and track pay relationships to ensure its pay policy is fair, non-discriminatory and remains fit for purpose. This is also an improving situation.”