New figures show that women who work at Devon County Council earn just over 15 per cent less than their male colleagues.

The figures show the median hourly salary for women at Devon County Council was 15.4 per cent less than for men in the year to March 2022 – the same as in 2021-22 less than men at Devon County Council in the year to March 2021.

Of the 307 councils that provided data for 2021-22, the average local authority paid women three per cent less than their male colleagues – a small improvement from 3.3 per cent the year before.

Data for 2022-2023 puts the pay gap at around nearly three per cent – Devon County Council published the data on their website on March 8.

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Most local authorities in England and Wales submitted figures for the year to March 2022, with around a third of councils already doing so for the latest financial year.

A spokesman for Devon County Council said: "It’s an indicator of the differences in opportunity and choices of men and women within the workplace.

"Our workforce is made up of: 47 per cent full-time female staff, 26 per cent part-time female staff, 23 per cent full-time male staff, 4 per cent part-time male staff.

"Across all of our employees, excluding casual or variable staff, our median earnings for male staff is £16.98; compared to £14.39 for female staff. We’ve been working hard to reduce our gender pay gap, and it is moving in the right direction, having got smaller since 2021.

"So while our Gender Pay Gap has reduced since 2021 for all employees, there is still work to be done.

"We are making progress though. The percentage of females in the upper quartile has increased by 2.7 per cent since 2021, which we hope will continue through our programme of coaching and mentoring.

"And we’re continuing to support and encourage: women into traditionally male dominated roles, men into traditionally female dominated roles, women into more senior posts, men to make use of the flexible working and family-friendly policies, an environment where staff feel safe and supported."

Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for women's rights, said: "While it's an important step, Gender Pay Gap Reporting isn't a solution on its own.

Ms Olchawski added urged employers to publish plans on how to tackle their pay gaps, recommending that local authorities share knowledge with those that "need to up their game."