The Head of Business Improvement has submitted a report to:

Present and seek approval for the publication of the annual Workforce Equality Report 2020, which includes the Gender Pay Gap Report and the Ethnicity Pay Gap Report; 

Share current progress on the development of the draft Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy where it relates to Workforce Equality; and

For the Cabinet to note that the actions that will fall out of the draft EDI strategy will support the Council to develop the relationships with local communities, which will assist the Council to realise its employee representation aspirations.

Recommendations: That Cabinet resolves to:

1.Approve the contents of the Workforce Equality Report 2020;

2.Delegate authority to the Head of Business Improvement to publish the Workforce Equality Report and to make any changes as may be required before publication following Cabinet discussion;

3.Approve the contents of the Gender Pay Gap and Ethnicity Pay Gap reports for this year recognising that in the next year a methodology will be developed to undertake a “deep dive” into both datasets to understand the intersectional position, and in addition conduct a Disability Pay Gap analysis; and

4.Delegate authority to the Head of Business Improvement to publish the Gender Pay Gap table at paragraph 26 before 30 March 2021 and the Ethnicity Pay Gap table at paragraph 44 on the Council website.

The Head of Business Improvement had submitted a report to:

Present and seek approval for the publication of the annual Workforce Equality Report 2020, which includes the Gender Pay Gap Report and the Ethnicity Pay Gap Report; 

Share current progress on the development of the draft Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy where it relates to Workforce Equality; and

For the Cabinet to note that the actions that will fall out of the draft EDI strategy will support the Council to develop the relationships with local communities, which will assist the Council to realise its employee representation aspirations.

Councillor Nigel Chapman, Cabinet Member for Customer Focused Services, introduced the report which reflected on the data for the year ending 31 March 2020 and was in respect of Council staff only and not Oxford Direct Services (ODS). This annual report was set, for the first time,  in the wider context of the Council’s emerging Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy. It was important for the Council to set a positive example as an employer and to be a credible advocate for equality and inclusion throughout the City. There had been two area of recent focus, increasing the number of ethnic minority employees in the City and the number of women in senior positions. In relation to the number of ethnic minority employees the position had held steady at about 13%. Exit interviews suggested that the majority left for reasons of promotion or geography. In relation to the number of women in senior positions, the data (c. 9 out of 26) suggested that more work was needed. This might include, for example, the promotion of job sharing.

The gender pay gap was about 12% (compared with a national figure of about 17%) and was a direct function of the higher proportion of women in lower paid jobs.

The ethnicity pay gap, published on a voluntary basis, was also driven by the higher proportion of those from an ethnic minority in lower paid jobs.

It was noted that the gender pay gap would be contributed to, in part, by women making positive choices about their work/life balance.

The Chair endorsed the points made and agreed that it would be good to explore opportunities for job sharing, for both men and women.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.Approvethe contents of the Workforce Equality Report 2020;

2.Delegate authority to the Head of Business Improvement to publish the Workforce Equality Report and to make any changes as may be required before publication following Cabinet discussion;

3.Approve the contents of the Gender Pay Gap and Ethnicity Pay Gap reports for this year recognising that in the next year a methodology will be developed to undertake a “deep dive” into both datasets to understand the intersectional position, and in addition conduct a Disability Pay Gap analysis; and

4.Delegate authority to the Head of Business Improvement to publish the Gender Pay Gap table at paragraph 26 before 30 March 2021 and the Ethnicity Pay Gap table at paragraph 44 on the Council website.