WOMEN at the Isle of Wight Council are paid, on average, £1.33 less per hour than their male counterparts.

A report issued by the council at the end of March has revealed a gender pay gap of 9.6 per cent between male and female employees.

However, the council said the gap did not stem from paying men and women differently for the same, or equivalent, work. Instead, it was due to the roles in which men and women work within the council and the salaries those roles attract.

Seventy per cent of the council's lowest paid staff members are female and 79 per cent of part time roles are occupied by women. The report states: "One explanation for this might be that part time roles often afford greatest flexibility for those with caring responsibilities, who generally are more likely to be female."

The council said another factor was that 78 per cent of first year apprentices within the council were female and apprentices attracted a much lower pay rate in their first year, only rising to minimum wage in their final year.

Of the top five per cent of earners, 59 per cent are female.

The council said it would draw up an action plan in light of the report. Over the next 12 months it will promote opportunities for flexible working to existing employees, encourage men to take up apprenticeships, and provide advice and guidance for flexible working options — particularly to those applying for higher graded roles.

Speaking a council meeting last month, Cllr Hutchinson said: “It shows that you can’t just identify a gender gap and leave it at that, so we will be doing some more work on it.

"Our initial indications are that, compared to many of our neighbours, we are performing extremely well. As the years progress we will look at refining this information and getting a neutral gender gap.”