Council to publish new Equality Objectives after hundreds respond

Plymouth City Council will be publishing its new Equality Objectives after more than 400 people responded to an online consultation.

The Objectives will cover the next four years and commit the Council to make progress in closing the gap in the average hourly pay between men and women.

The Council received around 430 responses to the consultation with more than 90% supporting the new objective.

Councillor Philippa Davey said: “It is nearly 50 years since Equal Pay legislation was brought in but we still have a persistent Gender Pay gap. There is no reason to have inequalities in the workplace in the 21st Century and we intend to lead by example.

“The Council will also maintain its existing objectives to increase the confidence victims have in reporting hate crime and to work in neighbourhoods to improve relations between people from different backgrounds.  Annual monitoring results will be published in January each year.

Comments from respondents to the survey included:“I do the same job as a man so why should I be paid less?” and “The council is a leader in the city and should therefore be leading the way in showing that equal pay is not only possible for employers to do but is also necessary.”

More information on the responses to the survey will  be published next month.