Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Finance to detail any steps he is taking to reduce the gender pay gap in the Civil Service.
Minister of Finance: While there is no statutory requirement here for employers to report on the gender pay gap, the Civil Service publishes this information voluntarily to support transparency and drive progress on equality and inclusion.
The most recent NISRA pay statistics, for the year ending March 2025, show that there continues to be a small gender pay gap within the Civil Service. The median pay for female staff is 2.0% lower than that for male staff.
Female representation at senior grades has increased significantly over time, but the pay gap largely reflects differences in gender representation across grades. At individual grade level, men and women are paid the same in line with Civil Service pay structures.
A range of measures are in place to support the reduction of any gender pay disparities, including:
Appointment on merit, through the operation of fair and transparent recruitment and promotion processes including gender balanced selection panels;
Regular equality monitoring of workforce data, including gender representation across grades, to identify areas of under-representation to inform the use of positive action advertising and outreach activities at recruitment competition planning stage;
People policies to support flexible working, work-life balance and family-friendly arrangements; and
An active Civil Service Women’s Staff Network which aims to increase understanding of the issues women face, improve support for women at all levels of the Civil Service and promote sources of health and wellbeing information.
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