Research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found median salaries in Whitehall for full-time male employees were 14% higher than those of female staff in 2008, while the median gender pay gap in the economy overall was 12.8% for full-time hourly pay.
When civil servants’ grades are taken into account, the aggregate pay gap in the Civil Service drops to about 5% – suggesting fewer women occupy the higher positions within the service.
A government spokesman told the Financial Times: “Since 1997, the number of women in the senior Civil Service has almost doubled and the gender pay gap (which is considerably less than in the private sector) continues to reduce. But there is much further to go, which is why the Equality Bill has tough new measures to require both public and private bodies to report on gender pay. ”
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