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
Equality monitoring
Summary of workforce
2021 - 2022 |
2022 - 2023 |
2023 - 2024 |
2024 - 2025 |
Target |
How well are we doing? |
|
Top 5% of earners who are female |
42.42% |
42.86% |
34.21% |
35.14% |
45% |
9.86% below target |
Top 5% of earners who belong to a black, Asian, or ethnic minority background |
9.09% |
11.43% |
15.79% |
16.22% |
14% |
2.22% above target |
Staff who are registered disabled |
10.03% |
11.57% |
10.72% |
19.82% |
12% |
7.82 above target |
Staff from a black, Asian, or ethnic minority background |
24.69% |
26.54% |
26.23% |
25.78% |
26% |
0.22% below target |
Percentage of workforce under 25 |
4.78% |
4.78% |
6.52% |
6.26% |
8% |
1.74% below target |
Gender profile |
Male
|
Male
|
Male
|
Male
|
Male
|
2.7% above target |
Gender pay gap
The Government requires organisations to publish their gender pay gap data by 30 March for the preceding financial year.
Mean average gender pay gap (hourly rate)
March2020 |
March2021 |
March2022 |
March2023 |
March2024 |
March2025 |
|
Male |
£15.43 |
£16.56 |
£16.89 |
£17.80 |
£18.97 |
£19.68 |
Female |
£14.08 |
£15.78 |
£16.43 |
£17.69 |
£18.77 |
£19.77 |
Gender pay gap |
8.74% |
4.71% |
2.72% |
0.62% |
1.05% |
-0.46% |
The mean Gender Pay gap has reduced from 1.05% in 2024 to -0.46% in 2025.
Median average gender pay gap (hourly rate)
March2020 |
March2021 |
March2022 |
March2023 |
March2024 |
March2025 |
|
Male |
£15.34 |
£16.01 |
£16.29 |
£17.29 |
£17.29 |
£19.45 |
Female |
£13.64 |
£16.01 |
£16.78 |
£17.78 |
£17.78 |
£20.30 |
Gender pay gap |
11.08% |
0% |
-3.01% |
-2.83% |
-7.33% |
-4.37% |
As at the snapshot date of 31 March 2025 there was -4.37% 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
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Male |
85 males48% |
82 males50% |
76 males53% |
79 males54.48% |
82 males
|
90 males58.44% |
Female |
91 females52% |
83 females50% |
67 females47% |
66 females45.52% |
69 females
|
64 females41.56% |
Middle earners
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Male |
91 males52% |
125 males76% |
114 males79% |
113 males
|
117 males76.97% |
117 males75.97% |
Female |
85 females48% |
40 females24% |
30 females21% |
33 females
|
35 females23.03% |
37 females24.03% |
High earners
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Male |
157 males89% |
91 males55% |
76 males53% |
78 males53.42% |
83 males
|
79 males50.97% |
Female |
19 females11% |
74 females45% |
68 females47% |
68 females46.58% |
69 females
|
76 females49.03% |
Top earners
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Male |
111 males63% |
116 males70% |
97 males67% |
94 males
|
97 males
|
99 males63.87% |
Female |
64 females37% |
50 females30% |
47 females33% |
53 females36.05% |
55 females
|
56 females36.13% |
Ethnicity pay gap
We have chosen to voluntarily report the ethnicity pay gap as it aligns with our value of respecting differences and to help us to understand where we may need to make changes for the future.
Mean average ethnicity pay gap (hourly rate)
March 2023 |
March 2024 |
March 2025 |
|
Ethnic minority |
£16.83 |
£17.81 |
£18.82 |
White |
£18.11 |
£19.31 |
£20.04 |
WH mean ethnicity pay gap as at March 2025 is reported at 6.09% compared to 7.77% in 2024.
Median average ethnicity pay gap (hourly rate)
March 2023 |
March 2024 |
March 2025 |
|
Ethnic minority |
£17.29 |
£18.29 |
£19.45 |
White |
£17.45 |
£19.63 |
£20.30 |
As at the snapshot date of 31 March 2025 there was a 4.19% ethnicity pay gap between White and ethnic minority colleagues employed by Wolverhampton Homes compared to 6.83% in 2024.
Salary quartiles
Lowest earners
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Ethnic minority |
53 colleagues
|
61 colleagues40.40% |
56 colleagues36.36% |
White |
92 colleagues
|
90 colleagues59.60% |
98 colleagues63.64% |
Middle earners
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Ethnic minority |
30 colleagues
|
31 colleagues20.39% |
29 colleagues18.83% |
White |
116 colleagues
|
121 colleagues79.61% |
125 colleagues81.17% |
High earners
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Ethnic minority |
38 colleagues
|
48 colleagues31.58% |
46 colleagues29.68% |
White |
108 colleagues
|
104 colleagues68.42% |
109 colleagues70.32% |
Top earners
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Ethnic minority |
41 colleagues
|
30 colleagues19.74% |
32 colleagues20.65% |
White |
106 colleagues
|
122 colleagues80.26% |
123 colleagues79.35% |
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We've reduced our gender pay gap
We have taken steps to reduce our gender pay gap. As of 31 March 2025, the median gender pay gap, which compares the midpoint hourly pay rate for male and female employees, has continued to reduce year on year. There is currently a negative pay gap of -4.37% indicating that the median hourly rate for female employees is higher than that for male employees.
The gender split across the company remains on a similar trend as per the previous reporting period. While females represent 51.5% of the Wolverhampton city population, they account for 37.7% of the workforce. This remains above the company’s target of 35% but slightly below the wider local population profile.
Female representation among the highest paid employees has increased slightly to 35.14% which is up from 34.21% in 2023 – 2024. This change reflects a reduction in the overall headcount rather than an increase in the number of female top earners. The number of employees remains at 13 and below the target of 45% (17 employees).
-
Our plans
There's always room for improvement in how we celebrate and respect differences. Here's what we have planned as we look ahead:
- 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 Wolverhampton Homes through a variety of channels
- deliver on our priorities and key initiatives as set out in our EDI action plan
- 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
Reducing the ethnicity pay gap
Our ethnic minority colleagues represent 25.78% of the workforce, which takes us just beneath our target of 26%. This reduction reflects a higher number of leavers than new starters during the reporting period.
A contributing factor to the ethnicity pay gap remains the lower representation of ethnic minority employees in senior roles.
The percentage of the top 5% of ethnic minority earners is above our target of 14% for the second consecutive year at 16.22%.
Actions to address pay gaps and workforce representation
Strengthen talent pipelines into higher paid roles – the report indicates that pay gaps are influenced by representation in senior and higher paid roles, particularly for ethnic minority employees, and to a lesser extent, women. WH will:
- Continue to develop internal talent pipelines for progression into senior and specialist roles.
- Provide targeted development pathways for under-represented groups aligned to existing learning and development activity.
Focus recruitment activity on under-represented groups – the recruitment trends show that male applicants outnumbered female applicated during the period linked to an increase in trades-based roles and that appointments from ethnic minority backgrounds broadly reflect workforce representation but not city demographics. WH will:
- Review the attraction strategies for roles with persistently gender imbalanced applicant pools.
- Using inclusive recruitment practices and outreach, broaden diversity particularly in hard to fill roles.
Sustain and monitor progression outcomes – the report indicates improvement in promotion outcomes for ethnic minority employees, with 27.3% of promotions secured by employees from ethnic minority backgrounds. WH will:
- Continue to monitor promotion data annually to ensure progress is sustained.
- Review progression routes to ensure they remain transparent and accessible to all employees across the organisation.
Maintain regular pay gap monitoring and analysis – the report demonstrates year on year improvement in both mean and median gender and ethnicity pay gaps. WH will:
- Continue to analyse pay gaps alongside workforce composition data.
- Use internal and external benchmarks to track progress, particularly where external comparison is limited for ethnicity pay gap reporting.
-
Our colleagues
Where we are underrepresented amongst our colleagues, we will always state that applications from that group are welcomed when we advertise jobs.