Hackney Council's Corporate Committee has deferred a report detailing the council's gender and ethnicity pay gap until its next meeting on 17 November 2026. The decision was made during a meeting held on Monday, September 14, 2026.
The report, intended to provide an overview of the council's pay disparities, revealed a mean gender pay gap of -5.16% and a median gender pay gap of -1.57% for 2026. This indicates that women on average earn more than men. However, the report also highlighted that men are over-represented in the lowest pay quartile.
The primary reasons cited for this negative gender pay gap are that women are 5-10% overrepresented in the top three pay quartiles, but under-represented in the bottom quartile.
This suggests that women are much less likely to be employed in certain roles in the council, for example working in trades.
Conversely, the ethnicity pay gap shows a disparity in favour of white employees. For 2026, the mean ethnicity pay gap is 12.63% and the median gap is 7.68%. Black and Global Majority employees are disproportionately represented in the lowest pay quartile, making up 72.8% of this group.
The incoming administration had pledged in their 2026 manifesto to tackle pay inequality across Hackney Council, especially racial pay inequality.
To address the identified ethnicity pay gap and the over-representation of Black and Global Majority employees in the lowest pay quartile, the report outlines an Ethnicity Pay Gap Action Plan - Workforce Analysis, Progression and Occupational Data Review.
This plan will undertake a detailed ethnicity pay gap review to better understand the underlying factors contributing to differences in pay outcomes for Black & Global Majority employees.
The review will examine occupational segregation, representation across grades and job families, recruitment outcomes, career progression, promotion rates and retention patterns.
The findings are intended to provide an evidence base to identify where targeted interventions are required to address structural barriers and improve workforce equity.
Progress will be monitored through the EEDIB KPI Framework reporting on a bi-annual basis.
The full report can be found in the Public reports pack for Monday 14 September 2026.
