Equality in employment
We are committed to achieving equality in employment and learning practices. We promise to:
- create an environment where differences and contributions of all are valued
- ensure every employee is entitled to a working environment which promotes dignity and respect
- ensure no form of discrimination, intimidation, bullying or harassment will be tolerated
- ensure that training, development and progression are available to all
- recognise that equality in the workplace is good management practice and makes good business sense
- review all our employment practices and procedures to ensure fairness
- recognise that breaches of our equality policy will be regarded as misconduct and could lead to disciplinary proceedings
- monitor and review our equality policies and performance yearly
Gender pay gap and equality monitoring
Summary of workforce
2018 - 2019 |
2019 - 2020 |
2020 - 2021 |
2021 - 2022 |
Target |
How well are we doing? |
|
Top 5% of earners who are female |
35.9% |
36% |
44.44% |
42.42% |
45% |
9% below target |
Top 5% of earners who belong to a black, Asian, or ethnic minority background |
7.69% |
8.3% |
2.78% |
9.09% |
14% |
5.7% below target |
Staff who are registered disabled |
8.57% |
10.42% |
11.21% |
10.03% |
12% |
1.5% below target |
Staff from a black, Asian, or ethnic minority background |
21.9% |
23.06% |
23.60% |
24.69% |
26% |
2.94% below target |
Percentage of workforce under 25 |
5.58% |
4.31% |
3.69% |
4.78% |
8% |
3.69% below target |
Gender profile |
Male
|
Male
|
Male
|
Male
|
Male
|
1.95% above target |
Gender pay gap
Mean average gender pay gap (hourly rate)
March 2019 |
March 2020 |
March 2021 |
March 2022 |
March 2023 |
|
Male |
£15.17 |
£15.43 |
£16.56 |
£16.89 |
£17.80 |
Female |
£14.09 |
£14.08 |
£15.78 |
£16.43 |
£17.69 |
Gender pay gap |
7.12% |
8.74% |
4.71% |
2.72% |
0.62% |
The mean Gender Pay gap has reduced by 77% compared to 2022 at 2.72% now at 0.62%.
Median average gender pay gap (hourly rate)
March 2019 |
March 2020 |
March 2021 |
March 2022 |
March 2023 |
|
Male |
£15.04 |
£15.34 |
£16.01 |
£16.29 |
£17.29 |
Female |
£13.28 |
£13.64 |
£16.01 |
£16.78 |
£17.78 |
Gender pay gap |
11.7% |
11.08% |
0% |
-3.01% |
-2.83% |
As at the snapshot date of 31 March 2023, there was -2.83% gender pay gap between males and females employed by WH. Where we have a negative percentage, this means that the midpoint hourly rate of pay of female employees is higher than the pay of male employees.
Salary quartiles
Lowest earners
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Male |
93 males51% |
85 males48% |
82 males50% |
76 males53% |
79 males54.48% |
Female |
88 females49% |
91 females52% |
83 females50% |
67 females47% |
66 females45.52% |
Middle earners
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Male |
100 males55% |
91 males52% |
125 males76% |
114 males79% |
113 males
|
Female |
82 females45% |
85 females48% |
40 females24% |
30 females21% |
33 females
|
High earners
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Male |
160 males88% |
157 males89% |
91 males55% |
76 males53% |
78 males53.42% |
Female |
22 females12% |
19 females11% |
74 females45% |
68 females47% |
68 females46.58% |
Top earners
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Male |
109 males60% |
111 males63% |
116 males70% |
97 males67% |
94 males
|
Female |
73 females40% |
64 females37% |
50 females30% |
47 females33% |
53 females36.05% |
-
We've reduced our gender pay gap
We have taken steps to reduce our gender pay gap. As of 31 March 2023, there was a negative pay gap of -2.83% between the average median hourly pay of our male and female employees. This means that the midpoint hourly rate of pay of female employees is higher than the pay of male employees.
We are proud to be a fair and progressive employer and we've helped to bridge this gap through:
- our equality forum celebrating key dates such as International Women's Day
- a popular mentoring programme to support professional and career development
- our revised recruitment process where candidates are assessed against a range of elements, not just based on their interview
- partnering with several recruitment organisations to develop targeted recruitment opportunities for underrepresented groups
- every recruitment panel being made up of a diverse group of staff
- work being done to support applicants with mentoring prior to the interview process
- a range of family-friendly policies that support staff to balance their work, home and family life.
-
Our plans
There's always room for improvement to ensure we are celebrating and respecting differences, so here's what we have planned as we look forward:
- develop and consult on our new Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) strategy to ensure it is fit for purpose and the objectives support the changing landscape of housing
- promote learning opportunities to colleagues on our revised HR policies, aligned to new ways of working so employees (where job role allows) are empowered to work flexibly which will in turn support gender equality
- continue to promote equality, diversity and inclusion across WH through a variety of channels
- deliver on our priorities and key initiatives as set out in our EDI Strategy action plan
- develop PowerBI dashboards to provide greater insight into the business to include ethnicity pay gap reporting and annual employment monitoring
- review the current targets that were set against the 2011 Census to reflect the outcomes of the 2021 Census more closely
- continued use of the mentoring scheme to support staff opportunities for development and promotion
- review further collaboration opportunities with customers and partners in the city
-
Our staff
Where we are underrepresented amongst our staff, we will always state that applications from that group are welcomed when we advertise jobs. We also advertise on Proud Employers.