Women are paid slightly more than men at Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AFRS), an annual gender pay gap report has revealed. It means that, technically, the difference between male and female wages has tripled since last year – from 1p to 3p an hour in favour of women.
Avon Fire Authority (AFA) members welcomed the figures, from a snapshot date of March 31, after hearing it was probably the result of ongoing efforts to improve diversity and inclusion in the service and help female employees climb the career ladder. It comes less than four years after government inspectors found that women were treated “inappropriately” at AFRS.
AFA’s people & culture committee heard on Thursday, June 9, that the 157 female firefighters and non-uniformed staff received an average hourly rate of £15.92 compared with £15.89 for the service’s 737 men. A report to members said: “The pay gap between men and women in Avon Fire & Rescue Service has marginally increased from 0.07 per cent in 2021 to 0.18 per cent in 2022 in favour of female staff.
