The Greater London Authority (GLA) has released its first ever gender pay audit, revealing a pay gap of 4.63 per cent.
The audit found that women working full time were paid £21.40 per hour, while their male counterparts received £22.44. The pay gap for those working part time increased to 7.03 per cent, with women being paid £23.58 while men are paid £25.36. This is a lower pay gap than the London average, which currently stands at 11.9 per cent.
Women make up 52 per cent of City Hall staff; 41 per cent of senior staff earning £60,000 or more are female; and 29 per cent of staff earning over £100k are female.
Following the audit’s release, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has launched an action plan with the aim of ensuring full pay equality across the Greater London Authority. Khan has vowed to support women in gaining equal pay and equal access to senior positions.
The Mayor of London is now encouraging other bodies within the GLA such as the Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade, to release their own gender pay audits.
Since being elected, Khan has appointed a number of women in top positions at City Hall. These include Valerie Shawcross as Deputy Mayor for Transport; Sophie Linden as Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime; Justine Simons as Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries; and Joanne McCartney as Statutory Deputy Mayor.
Speaking after the release of the pay audit, Khan said, “I have vowed to be a proud feminist at City Hall, and I am determined to make the GLA a model employer that removes any barriers to women by adopting the highest possible standards for fair pay, good working conditions and gender equality.”
“It is unacceptable that in London, one of the world’s greatest and most progressive cities, someone’s pay and career prospects can still be defined by their gender.”
“I want City Hall to be a model employer, adopting the highest standards to support women in the workplace and I challenge both ourselves and others to take action to break the glass ceiling that still exists to limit their success.”
