Dudley Council's gender pay gap closed after cuts to low paid women’s jobs, report shows

At its meeting on February 11, the authority’s cabinet will be asked to approve the latest snapshot of the difference between pay for its male and female staff.

The gender pay gap is the difference between average pay for men and women across the authority, which the report says was 2.7 percent on the 31 March 2025; an improvement from 4.6 percent reported the previous year.

The report, signed by chief executive Balvinder Heran (who earns £197,792 per year), said: “The decrease can be attributed to a decrease in headcount from 4,803 to 4,414 with the biggest change being in female part-time staff (221 employees less than last year).

“These positions are generally on lower paid grades, so a reduction in these posts would shift the balance slightly to the full-time, high paid grades, thus affecting the gender pay gap.”

Dudley’s male staff earn an average of £18.41 per hour while women working for the council get £17.92 per hour.

The national gender pay gap is 6.9 percent, significantly higher than Dudley Council’s.

The gap in Dudley widens when measured on the median figure, which is the mid-point between the highest and lowest pay levels.

The median hourly rate for men working in Dudley Council is £17.29 while women get £15.58, making the gap 9.9 percent of male pay.

The report said: “Like other local authorities, the lower paid roles within the council such as cleaner and administration are predominantly female.

“The majority of these roles are also part-time with female employees making up 78.13 percent of part-time workers.

“As a result, the gender pay gap within Dudley is, in part, due to the high concentration of female employees in part-time and lower paid job roles.”

The authority says it is striving to do more to cut the gap by encouraging women into traditionally male dominated careers.