Staffordshire Police working to close gender pay gap

Staffordshire Police is continuing its work to close the gender pay gap after publication of its latest annual report over the gap within force.

The report, which has analysed data from 2020 to March 2021, shows that though there is a relatively even split between the number of men and women working in the organisation – 53 percent men and 47 percent women - there is still more to be done to achieve pay parity.

The majority of officers working in the force are men; 1,173 of out a total of 1,733, whereas 37 percent of officers are women.

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.

Currently, the gap is 11.95 percent, up from 11.7 percent in 2020 – on the basis of the difference in the hourly pay of male and female employees.

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

The number of women in senior leadership roles within the organisation could also be improved, as currently 73 percent of those in such roles are male, while 23 percent are female.

However, the force continues to strive to promote and encourage women to join the force, with a number of programmes in place to increase the number of female officers by March 2023.

Recent intakes of new police officers have almost an equal split in terms of gender with 46% being female and 54% male.

A spokesperson from Staffordshire Association for Women in Policing (SAWP), 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 have 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.

Dionne Johnson, Equality Diversity & Inclusion Lead within the force, said: “We have found, since the conception of this initiative, that a great number of women and others have attended the STEP In workshops and have later on achieved success in gaining a position as a student officer at Staffordshire Police.

“We will continue to review the success rate data and look to offer support to individuals beyond the application stage.”

To find out more about Staffordshire Police’s commitment to inclusivity, visit: An Inclusive Organisation (staffordshire.police.uk)

To apply to be part of the force and to find out how to get involved, visit: Eligibility & Recruitment Process | Staffordshire Police