26 April 2021
The States Employment Board has published its gender pay gap figures for 2020. The report covers employees across the whole of the Government of Jersey, the States Assembly, States Greffe and Non-Ministerial departments.
The gender pay gap shows the difference between the average earnings of men and women. It is not a measure of the difference in pay between men and women doing the same job.
The most accurate year-on-year figure from the report shows the 2020 average (mean) hourly pay gap is 14.2%, a reduction of 3.8% on 2019. This figure excludes the temporary inclusion of general practitioners as part of the COVID-19 response.
When including the general practitioners, the average (mean) hourly pay gap has decreased from 18% to 15.2%. This also includes other volatile market conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as an increase in part-time workers related to the COVID-19 track and trace response and other services.
The States of Jersey workforce covers many public sector operations which deliver a wide range of government services at an Island-wide and local level, legal and parliamentary functions and services and employs a diverse range of employment groups and professions.
Some professions have traditionally attracted one gender more than another. For example, teachers and nurses are predominately female, while manual workers and those working in uniformed services (States of Jersey Police and Jersey Fire and Rescue) are predominantly male. Our People Strategy, which launched earlier this year, is addressing our approach to attract more diverse candidates in future recruitment drives.
Assistant Chief Minister, Constable Richard Buchanan said: "The States Employment Board is working hard to address the issues surrounding the gender pay gap and we will be using this analysis to enhance gender equality in our workforce.
"Closing the gender pay gap will take a significant period of time however we will continue our work to remove barriers to improving the gender balance and diversity in our workforce."
"It is important to recognise imbalances in pay and opportunities across all industries and Government is no different. We are committed to providing equal and fair rewards for all our employees regardless of gender, ethnicity, or any other personal characteristics and we hope that our transparency will encourage other employers in the Island to publish their own findings."
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