Staffordshire Police working to close gender pay gap after increase

The report, which has analysed data from 2020 to March 2021, shows that there is a current pay gap of 11.95 per cent, which is an increase from 11.7 per cent in 2020.

The difference in the hourly rate for male and female officers is currently £1.71, and £1.26 for civilian police staff.

Although there is a relatively even split between the number of men and women working in the organisation - 53 per cent men and 47 per cent women - the majority of officers working in the force are men - 1,173 out of 1,733 officers.

Though the force has recruited 80 more female officers since 2020 – taking the total up to 560 from 480 – due to these being lower-level positions, this has had a negative impact on the calculation of the current gender pay gap.

While nearly half of new police officers in the force are women, in terms of senior leadership, only 23 per cent of those in such roles are female.

A spokesperson from Staffordshire Association for Women in Policing, which works to support men and women of all ranks to achieve their potential, said: “We are pleased to see that the number of female officers has increased across the force.

“Our commitment to equality runs throughout our everyday policing and in our supporting of colleagues across the organisation.

“There is still work to do, however, and we look forward to helping all officers to reach their potential whatever their gender or background.”

As part of this, the force’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion team has created and delivered a number of pre-recruitment positive action sessions for people interested in joining the force to help address underrepresentation within the organisation.

‘STEP In’ involves the running of a number of workshop sessions during the advertising of the role and after the initial familiarisation events.

Applicants from all communities are invited to attend the sessions. Visit careers.staffordshire.police.uk/inclusive