Jersey’s Gender Pay Gap (follow-up) report (S.R.6/2022): response of the Chief Minister.

Findings

Comments

1

There  has  been  little  or  no  progress made  in  closing  the  gender  pay  gap since 2019, which has been fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As  a  result  of  recent  additional  Government investment into Statistics Jersey, it is now possible to use administrative data that is already held by the  Government  to  produce  the  first  median earnings  report.  By  using  such  data,  Statistics Jersey have been able to publish experimental all- economy gender pay gap data for Jersey for the very first time for June 2016 to June 2022, with detailed breakdowns by industry and age. This report indeed shows that the gender pay gap, at 12%, was at its highest in 2022. As such, it is agreed that the Pandemic was clearly a disrupter to employment markets.

The gender pay gap reduced to 4% during 2020, partly as industries were affected differently by the pandemic, with a lower impact seen on sectors which  employ  over  half  of  females  such  as financial  and  legal  activities,  public,  and information and communication. Over half of the net reduction in female employees were in the lowest pay quarter, while the number of male employees  in  the  lowest  pay  quarter  was essentially  unchanged  between  June  2019  and June 2020.

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Although international comparisons show that this is lower than the OECD average, and lower than the UK, the Council of Ministers does not believe it is acceptable for Jersey to have a gap of that size, or any size.

2

In PwC's Channel Islands Women in Work  Index  2021,  it  found  that workplace  gender  inequality  in  the Channel  Islands  increased  between 2017 and 2019, with Jersey falling from 20th  to  24th  of  the  35  jurisdictions examined.

Agree with this statement, as outlined above.

3

Jersey's first public sector gender pay gap  report  was  published  in  October 2019 which showed the difference in the average (median) pay between all men and women in the workforce was 18.3%.  In  the  Government's  second report  detailing  the  2020  figures  the median  average  has  gone  up  from 18.3% to 24.3%. Therefore, the gender pay  gap  in  the  public  sector  has widened.

The  soon-to-be  published  Annual  Report  and Accounts 2022 provides information relating to fair pay. The methodology has been updated to be more in line with UK government guidelines. The data shows Median Hourly Pay Gap has worsened from 12.25% in 2021 to 15.01% for 2022. The Mean Hourly Pay Gap in the Public Sector has improved  from  14.33%  in  2021  to  14.07%  in 2022.

The Government of Jersey will publish its 2022 Gender Pay Gap report in due course.

4

In the public sector there are more men in senior roles than women.  Although just  over  65%  of  the  workforce  are female, the majority are in the lower salary bands.

We  have  continued  to  increase  diversity  and representation at senior levels. For example:

• Chief Officers (inc CEO) – 60% male and 40% female

• Senior Leadership Group – 62% male and 38% female

• Senior Manager Group – 52% male and 48% female

Our  recruitment  strategy  seeks  to  challenge stereotypical  imagery,  including  outreach  into schools to show the range of roles and careers open to people. At the application stage, new technology solutions may allow us to build out bias  in  selection  processes,  but  this  is  not  a simple task.  We will be focusing on areas with skills gaps and recruitment challenges in the first instance.

The  SEB  sponsored  Board  apprenticeships  for women within the public sector into the private

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sector.  We are maintaining our commitment to grow this programme.

5

Without statutory reporting lines, very few  private  sector  organisations currently disclose their gender pay gap.

Agree with this statement.

This  Council  of  Ministers  is  committed  to publishing the Island-wide gender pay gap data on an annual basis. We will continue dialogue with  business  groups  to  understand  how  to encourage companies to adopt their own gender pay  gap  analysis  voluntarily.  We  will  also discuss with business groups how a mandatory requirement might work.

In the interim, many organisations in the Private Sector  are  already  supplementing  the  family friendly  employment  laws  introduced  by  the Government, with their own policies to address gender inequality at the recruitment and talent development phases.

Jersey Post, for example, should be congratulated for conducting its own gender pay gap analysis which was published in its Annual Report. By generating  the  data  and  publishing  it,  private companies  can  start  a  dialogue  with  their employees and challenge internally some of the factors that are contributing to it.

6

The  Government's  People  Strategy outlines its ambition to be a forward- thinking  organisation,  which  offers high-quality public services, values its people  and  grows  its  talent  for  the future.  Through  this  Strategy,  the Government  has  committed  to  take action in relation to diversity, equality and inclusion.

Agree with this statement.  The Government of Jersey is taking steps to address insufficiencies in matters  of  diversity,  equality,  and  inclusion. Structured pay grades and scales are in place and there  is  also  increased  flexibility  in  working practices, particularly for working parents as part of the Flexible Working Policy.  We have also developed the IWILL network and an additional internal mentoring programme for Public Sector employees.  Additionally,  as  part  of  the Government's  commitment  to  address deficiencies in diversity and equality, since 2022 a number of Employee Led Networks (ELN) have been  established  to  consider  such  matters  (for example,  the  Menopause  Café  who  have  been instrumental in helping to shape a policy change in the way menopause related absence from work is recorded).

The  Government  of  Jersey  is  an  equal opportunities' employer and encourage a diverse

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representation in job applications, interviews and roles.

7

The Government has launched a Flex Positive  initiative  which  aims  to provide  flexible  working  across  the public  sector.  The  Panel  welcomes this  approach,  particularly  as  it received evidence in 2019 that some women found that

options  were  limited  in  terms  of succeeding in their career whilst having to juggle childcare responsibilities with work.

Agree with this statement.

8

The Panel welcomes the appointment of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Consultant in November 2021 whose role is to deliver the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy, currently being finalised by the Government.

The  ELNs  were  established  to  focus  on improving  the  Government's  approach  to diversity,  equity,  and  inclusion  to  ensure  the views  of  members  of  the  Public  Sector  are considered  and  utilised  to  build  an  inclusive workplace.

The new Government of Jersey HR system has the ability to capture a wide range of diversity information from staff on a voluntary basis. The questions are, where possible, aligned to census questions so that results can be compared to the Island as a whole.

The role of the lead for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is responsible for taking forward the Government's strategy on these topics, as part of the  People  Strategy  and  the  Chief  Minister's Delivery  Plan.  In  addition  to  the  I  WILL network,  the  Government  has  established  the following ELNs, which the Lead is involved in:

• REACH – membership of 57

• LGBTQ+ - membership of 161

• Menopause Café – membership of 121

• Neurodiversity membership of 120

• Disability – membership of 32

• I WILL – membership of 400

9

Part  of  the  Government's  I  WILL Board  Apprentice  Scheme  is  to support  gender  diversity  in  board membership across the public sector, arm's length organisations and wider

The SEB sponsored IWILL network partnered with ALO's to enable women to take up board opportunities during 2022. This programme has also  been  extended  into  2023.  The  network continues to extend its sphere of influence and

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States-owned bodies. In 2019, the Panel found  that  women  were underrepresented in boardrooms of all the States- owned and majority owned entities  which  has  only  mildly improved since 2019.

was  able  to  input  into  the  revised  Flexible Working policy

The IWILL steering group aims to meet on a monthly basis and a regular speaker programme is set over the course of the year.

We are maintaining our commitment to grow this programme, building on previous successes.

10

Stereotypes towards men and women in wider society continue to encourage young  people  to  opt  for  subjects  of study  that  perpetuate  occupational segregation in the future. In the 2021 Children  and  Young  People  Survey males were

significantly more likely than females to be interested in IT, engineering and sport, while females were significantly more likely to be interested in medical, education and hair and beauty.

Our recruitment branding and strategy seeks to challenge  the  stereotypical  imagery.  We  are delivering outreach into schools to show the range and diversity of roles and careers that the public sector offers.

11

Although  the  principle  of  greater anonymity  of  candidates  in  the recruitment process was supported by the Chief Minister in 2019, there has been  limited  progress  from  the Government in ensuring that any bias is eliminated  within  its  recruitment practices.

Agree  with  this  statement.  With  our  current technology capabilities, we are able to mitigate some bias in our recruitment process for certain roles – e.g., there is no requirement to add a date of birth at the application stage or gender, nor secondary school. Given the diversity of roles in the Public Sector, more work will be required to ensure  bias  is  mitigated,  as  best  as  possible, across all roles.

A public sector roll out will take time to change the  automated  processes  within  recruitment. However, we agree with the principle and have approved  a  number  of  pilots  to  test  how anonymity could be applied whilst waiting for the technology changes.

For example, in the Cabinet Office the recruitment of Policy Officers in March 2023 has included a work-around,  whereby  the  recruiting  managers

will receive redacted CV and application material in order to reduce the risk of bias at the sifting stage. We  will  continue  to  develop  and  iterate  such processes  in  order  to  promote  equality  and fairness.

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12

The Chief Minister has acknowledged that  there  are  many  actions  the Government  could  take  to  aid  the removal  of  barriers,  for  example, including  women  in  shortlists,  using skills-based  assessment  tasks  in recruitment, using structured interviews and  introducing  transparency  to promotion processes. He also said that utilising  software  to  identify  gender- biased language in job descriptions and job  adverts  would  have  a  positive impact.

Agree with this statement. See response, above.

13

There continues to be a lack of data on the economic value of work done in the home  including  childcare,  cooking, shopping,  housework,  odd  jobs  and gardening.

The Gender Pay Gap Scrutiny Review Panel's April 2022 report noted the briefing provided by Statistics Jersey on the requirement for a Time- Use Survey to be able to estimate the time (and therefore the value) spent on work done in the home. This would require work on a similar scale to  the  Living  Costs  and  Household  Incomes Survey, which would likely require a year of data collection  followed  by  a  similar  period  for capture, processing and analyses.

The Government has asked Statistics Jersey to review and advise on more immediate ways of collecting information on work done in the home, so that we can gain insight and data in the shorter term.

14

The  Panel  welcomes  the  enhanced family friendly policy and hopes that it will  initiate  a  culture  change  within Jersey that fathers, as well as mothers take  on  responsibility  for  childcare. However, despite the legislation being progressive,  the  leave  period  is  not backed up by Government funding, so only  those  who  can  afford  to  take unpaid leave will use it.

The Government has introduced family friendly legislation  and  encouraged  private  sector businesses to supplement these with supportive policies  and  practices.  The  public  sector  has sought to act as a role model in implementing these reforms.

Every working parent is entitled to 6 weeks of paid leave under Employment Law. This is paid at  the normal  rate of pay for  the parent.  In addition, parents can claim up to 32

weeks of parental allowance, which can be shared between  them.  The  allowance  is  paid  at  the standard  rate  of  contributory  benefit  which  is currently £256.89.  In addition, a one- off sum of

£740.67 is available per child.  These rights and

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benefits apply to all parents, including adoptive and surrogate parents.

15

Evidence suggests that the socio- economic effects of Covid-19 have fallen  disproportionately  on women. More

women than men took on the burden of home-schooling and additional labour in the home during the pandemic.

Agree with this statement.  The gender pay gap reduced  to  4%  during  2020,  indicating  that women  were  more  likely  to  be  in  essential occupations  and  working  throughout  the pandemic. This suggests that lower paid female employees were more likely to lose their jobs due to  Covid-19  than  higher  paid  females.  Male employees  lost  jobs  more  evenly  across  the income distribution.

The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on gender disparity  has  been  mirrored  in  most  Western countries. This serves as a reminder that we need to do more to counteract its effect in Jersey.

16

The  Census  2011  shows  that  more women than men are employed in the industries that were hit hardest by the pandemic, such as hospitality, travel, education and retail. More women than men  were  actively  seeking  work between

October 2020 and December 2021.

Since the return to normality after the Covid-19 pandemic, Jersey has the highest number of jobs recorded to date. The number of people actively seeking work in December 2022 was 140 lower than in December 2021. It is at its lowest level for at least the last five years.

17

Covid-19 has initiated a cultural shift with greater access to flexible working. However, employers will need to be careful to mitigate the risk of a two-tier system  of  career  progression  -  with promotion more likely for employees able  to  work  regularly  in  the  office compared to those working more hours from home.

Agree with this statement.  The Government of Jersey  is  actively  encouraging  awareness  of flexible working and will continue to promote greater access through internal mechanisms:

• Flexible working being included in the corporate My Welcome induction events  so  that  all  new  hires  know about the code of practice and their rights to be able to request flexible working as part of our policies.

• The regular Manager updates that are issued  by  the  internal  Corporate Communications  team  will  include an article to remind managers of the code of practice and to ensure that their respective teams know about the flexible working policy.

The code of practice and flexible working policy will also be raised at the next Senior Manager Group (SMG) session to ensure senior awareness and engagement with the code of practice and policy.

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18

The  Government's  Flex  Positive initiative  will  not  be  accessible  to everyone,  particularly  uniformed services. Access to flexible, affordable childcare  would  help  address  the challenges around flexible working for those who are not

in 9 to 5' roles.

Agree with this statement. We are running pilots in areas  where  there  is  greater  difficulty  in introducing more flexible working.  This will be addressed as part of progressing the Early Years workstream in the longer term.

19

The Government did not take a gender sensitive approach to its policies during the Covid-19 pandemic. There was no specific  consideration  of  gender inequality or the social impacts of the pandemic on women during Scientific and Technical Advisory Cell meetings.

Agree with this statement. It is acknowledged that there  was  a  differential  impact  on  different population  groups  in  Jersey,  which  could  not always be well understood at the time. However, we have sought to learn from the experience of this  pandemic  and  will  ensure  that  any  future critical incident will have quality decision making at its core.

20

During  the  lockdown  periods,  the Jersey  Advisory  and  Conciliation Service received more contacts from women than men regarding concerns about working at home and a lack of additional childcare provision.

Agree with this statement.

21

Although  part-time  work  is  a  good enabler for women in the workplace, particularly after children, it can "trap" them in roles, meaning less pay and progression.

Agree with this statement.

The  flex  positive  approach  is  to  encourage employees  and  managers  to  consider  "what's possible", this may include a change to working arrangements, increased hours, more flexibility to spend time with family.

In support of this the government issued a change to their parental leave policy, effective  January 2022, which allowed for an additional 8 weeks parental leave to be taken;

The additional 8 weeks can be transferred between parents, if both worked for Government of Jersey. This was in support of our pledge to "put children first", allowing new parents increased time with their children.

22

In  accordance  with  the  Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 employees are able to  make  an  application  to  request changes to their hours of work, their times of work and their place of work. Although  employees  can  request flexible working, it is not currently the

Agree with this statement. The Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service (JACS) exists to provide advice on aspects of employment law. We will work  with  JACS  and  with  the  Government Communications  network  to  explore  ways  in

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default position.

which to support wider understanding of flexible working rights in Jersey.

23

Jersey is currently ahead of the UK in terms  of  the  qualifying  period  for requesting to work flexibly. In the UK, employees must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks to be  eligible.  In  Jersey,  there  is  no qualifying period.

Agree with this statement.

24

The Early Years Policy Development Board,  established  by  the  Chief Minister,  made  a  number  of  policy recommendations  specifically  in relation to childcare including further family  friendly  measures  to  support parents who want to rear their child at home during the first year of

the child's life and a review of the under use of school nursery classes.

The Best Start Programme received two years of funding  from  the  COVID-19  Social  Recovery fund.

25

There are a number of challenges faced by  women  in  Jersey  who  want  to achieve  a  successful  and  fulfilling career and contribute to the economic well-being  of  their  families.  Many women  across  the  spectrum  of occupations consider that the high cost of childcare often prevents them from achieving their family objectives.

This is a clear priority within the portfolio of the Minister  for  Children  and  Education  and  the Assistant Minister with responsibility for Early Years  and  Families  is  addressing  this  with  a combination of short-term actions and a longer term, broader view of the system. The new Cost of Living  Ministerial  Group  is  also  actively considering the capacity of the childcare system and its affordability for Jersey families.

We are seeking to collect data across private and third sector Early Years settings to provide greater focus, and enable appropriate action, in this area.

26

There is a lack of data available on both

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the  structural  issues  (impacts  of policies and working practices) that can create barriers for women and on the cultural issues (stereotypical views and values) that can create biases

about women's capabilities.

Agree with this statement. Ministers have asked Statistics Jersey to consider and advise whether and  how  better  data  on  these  issues  might  be provided.

Recommendations

To

Accept / Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

1

The  Minister  for Education  should undertake  an  audit  of registered  childcare providers,  pre-school and  primary  schools  to ensure  gender  neutral practices  within  the curriculum  and  the general  culture  and ethos. The results of the review  should  be published  by  quarter  1 2023  in  order  to demonstrate  how  a gender  sensitive approach to  teaching  is encouraged  and resourced.

Education Minister

Accept

In early years and childcare, we have taken the opportunity to build this into our regulatory and quality assurance activities. By weaving this aspect of practice  into  the  quality  framework and  curriculum  guidance documentation  we  will  be  able  to ensure that this is being sufficiently addressed and challenged.

The approach in the foundation stage and within play settings is to allow children  to  explore,  play  and  learn through experience and involvement, guided  by  informed  and  skilled practitioners.

Any  subconscious  bias  in  practice, interactions  or  resources  will  be challenged.

Resources, play spaces and learning environment are all open, self-chosen and promote inclusion, diversity and equality.

Support  for  settings  where  parental views and preferences may differ, e.g. not wanting their son to wear dresses in the role play area.

We  have  provided  all  early  years settings  with  guidance  materials  to support  effective  delivery  of  the EYFS  which  specifically  references

Ongoing/ Active consideration

Recommendations

To

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this and underpins the requirements in their practice.

Attitudes toward gender and sexual orientation  can  limit  children  and create  inequality.  During  the  early years  a  child's  attitudes  and dispositions  are  continually  being shaped.  Children  are  influenced  by their  environments  and  the  adults around  them  in  ways  which  often affect  children's  own  ideas  about themselves.

In  terms  of  gender  and  sexual orientation,  young  children  can develop stereotypical ideas about how they should be and who they should become  which  can  limit  their potential.  It  is  important  that practitioners do not shy away from these  conversations  and  instead challenge the effects of prejudice and discrimination.

Children's  resources  and  books should avoid stereotypical depictions of people on the basis of gender and sexual orientation.

Please see the following link: Inclusive  practice  and  equalities  –

Birth To 5 Matters

2

The  Minister  for Education should, by the end of 2022, ensure that school  and  college curriculums are Equality Impact Assessed. This is an  evidence-based framework  designed  to help  make  sure  that decisions or changes are fair which would ensure

Education Minister

Accept

The  Minister  for  Children  and Education  will  consider  this  latest recommendation  (2022)  in consultation  with  the  Jersey Curriculum Council (JCC), which is established in the Education (Jersey) Law 1999 (as amended) to advise the Minister on all matters pertaining to the  Curriculum  in  our  schools  and colleges.

Ongoing/ Active consideration

Recommendations

To

Accept / Reject

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Target date of action/ completion

discrimination, bias and stereotyping is removed.

3

As  part  of  changes  to recruitment  practices within the public sector, name, age, gender and place  of  education should  be  removed from  applicants'  CVs to  ensure  that candidates  are appointed  based  on their  skills.  These changes  should  be made  by  the  end  of 2022.

Chief Minister

Accept

We  agree  with  the  principle.  The configuration of the new system as standard  does  not  yet  permit  this feature, however we are working with user groups for

the  product  (SAP)  to  seek  a technological change for the platform. In the interim, we have approved a number  of  pilots  to  test  how anonymity  could  be  applied  whilst waiting for the technology changes.

For example, in the Cabinet Office the recruitment  of  Policy  Officers  in March  2023  has  included  a  work- around,  whereby  the  recruiting managers will receive  redacted  CV and application material in order to reduce the risk of bias at the sifting stage.  We  will  continue to  develop and iterate such processes in order to promote equality and fairness.

Ongoing/ Active consideration

4

Through the Ministerial Response  process,  the Chief  Minister  should provide an update on the specific  changes  to  the Government's recruitment  practices which have been made to remove  the  barriers  for women.

Chief Minister

Accept

As part of our work to attract new people into the organisation, we have begun to rewrite advertising and role profiles to become gender neutral and training managers and recruiters on removing bias from selection criteria. Connect  will  enable  the  means  to develop a library of tests, questions and  selection  criteria  to  remove potential  bias  from  recruitment  and selection.

We have started to remove academic qualification levels where they are not required by regulation or professional registration.

Ongoing/ Active consideration

5

Through its Flex Positive initiative,  the Government  should

Chief Minister

Accept

Agree with this statement. This is best demonstrated by male public sector

Ongoing/ Active consideration

Recommendations

To

Accept / Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

work  towards  de- stigmatising  part-time working  within  the public sector and create a culture where fathers and male  carers  feel comfortable, and will not be penalised, for asking to reduce their hours.

employees  in  positions  of  senior leadership.

6

The Minister for Social Security  should  direct the Employment Forum to  consult  with businesses  and employees  in  order  to improve  the  existing statutory framework for flexible  working.  This should include measures to  help  make  flexible working  the  default unless  employers  have good reasons not to. The request  to  the Employment  Forum should  be  made  before June 2022.

Social Security Minister

Accept

The  provisions  in  the  Employment Law relating to requests for flexible working are already more generous than those in the UK. The right to request flexible working in Jersey is a Day 1 right enjoyed by all employees, unlike in the UK at present. There are limited grounds in the Employment Law  for  an  employer  to  refuse  a request  for  flexible  working,  fewer than in the proposed UK legislation. Provisions in the UK draft legislation are generally already present in the Employment Law.

The Minister for Social Security may

- but is not required to - direct the Employment  Forum  to  consider employment issues not related to the minimum wage. The Minister notes that  the  proposed  UK  legislation would enable an employee to make two requests for flexible working in a 12-month period. At present in Jersey, an employee may make one request in a 12-month period. The Minister will consider a relatively straightforward amendment to current legislation, to provide for a second request  in a 12- month period, having  consulted the Chair of the Employment Forum.

UK  response  to  consultation

Ongoing  / Active consideration

published in December 2022: Making flexible working the default:

government response to consultation

(publishing.service.gov.uk)

Recommendations

To

Accept / Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

Legislation in progress in UK: Employment  Relations  (Flexible

Working) Bill - Parliamentary Bills -

UK Parliament

7

As some employees may not  know  they  are entitled  to  apply  for flexible working as a day one  right  in  their employment,  the Minister  for  Social Security  should undertake  a  publicity campaign  highlighting people's statutory rights. This  should  be undertaken  before  the end of 2022.

Social Security Minister

Accept in part

The Jersey Advice and Conciliation Service  (JACS)  is  a  government funded  independent  organisation providing  employment  advice  to employers,  employees,  and  other interested  parties.  JACS  received  a significant  funding  increase  in  the 2023 Government Plan to allow it to expand its current services.  This will include  ongoing  publicity  and education  services  in  respect  of flexible working rights.

Ongoing  / Active consideration

8

The  recommendations made in the Early Years Policy  Development Board  should  be revisited  by  the  Chief Minister  and  a  formal response to the report's findings and suggestions should  be  published. This  should  be undertaken by the end of 2022.

Chief Minister

Accept

The  recommendations  from  the EYPD  have  been  incorporated  into the  Education  Reform  Programme, which  is  progressing  projects consistent with the recommendations.

Complete

9

The Government should commission  an independent  review  of childcare  in  Jersey  to include  accessibility, flexibility,  quality  and affordability in order to better  inform  its future policy making decisions. An  independent  person or  body  should  be commissioned before the end of 2022.

Chief Minister

Accept

An independent review of the latest evidence base has been completed to supplement  and  reinforce  priorities recommended  by  the  Early  Years Policy  Development  Board  and  to identify any gaps in policy.

Further work is planned in 2023 to engage with private and third sector providers  to  address  the  other structural  items  in  the recommendation.

Complete

Recommendations

To

Accept / Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

10

The  Chief  Minister should  take  the necessary  action  to introduce  statutory gender pay gap reporting in  Jersey  which  should include a requirement for businesses to publish a 5- year  action  plan alongside  their  reports. Law  drafting instructions  should  be issued before the end of 2022.

Chief Minister

Accept

This  Council  of  Ministers  is committed to publishing the Island- wide  gender  pay  gap  data  on  an annual  basis.  We  will  continue dialogue  with  business  groups  to understand  how  to  encourage companies to adopt their own gender pay gap analysis voluntarily. We will also discuss with business groups how a mandatory requirement might work.

In the interim, many organisations in the  Private  Sector  are  already supplementing  the  family  friendly employment laws introduced by the Government, with their own policies to  address  gender  inequality  at  the recruitment  and  talent  development phases.

Jersey Post, for example, should be congratulated for conducting its own gender pay gap analysis which was published in its Annual Report. By generating the data and publishing it, private companies can start a dialogue with their employees and challenge internally some of the factors that are contributing to it.

Ongoing/ Active consideration

11

In  preparation  for statutory  reporting  in Jersey,  a  consultation should  be  undertaken with businesses in order to  determine  the appropriate  threshold level  for  mandatory reporting and what level of  support  businesses might require in order to report  on  their  gender pay gaps effectively.

Chief Minister

Accept

Agree with this statement.

Ongoing/ Active consideration

12

The  Chief  Minister should  introduce  a political  lead  for

Chief

The  Minister  for  Home  Affairs, Deputy Helen Miles , is responsible for promoting equality and diversity, as

Complete

Recommendations

To

Accept / Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

diversity,  equality  and inclusion.  This  would champion  the  causes, introduce  accountability and  help  drive  change within  the  political system.

Minister

Accept

part of supporting and maintaining an inclusive community. Deputy Louise Doublet and Deputy Hilary Jeune , as Assistant Ministers for Home Affairs, will  jointly  lead  on  diversity  and equality within the portfolio.

13

The Council of Ministers should  adopt  a  gender equality  perspective across  all  Government actions which would help  make  better decisions  to  achieve gender equality. Gender statistics  should  be collected and published, with

the support of Statistics Jersey,  in  order  to implement  a  gender mainstreaming approach.

Chief minister

Accept

This Council of Ministers' Common Strategic  Policy  states  that  equality will  be  at  the  heart  of  all  policy development:

"We will create a more inclusive and vibrant  community. Inclusivity is at the heart of our vision for Government and for the Island. We have already committed  to  much  more  proactive government  engagement  with  the parishes, older and younger people, disabled Islanders, and our diverse communities.  We  will  actively promote  equality,  diversity,  and social inclusion in conjunction with our  specific  priorities  on  children, families and our ageing  population. We  will  continue  to  work  towards ensuring  that  the  services  and facilities provided by the Government are  accessible  and  that  the government departments have access and inclusion plans in place so that all people are treated equitably."

As part of this, gender equality' will be an active consideration.

Statistics Jersey already publishes a lot  of  data  (including  2021  Census results)  by  Gender.  Jersey  Opinion and Lifestyle Survey (JOLS) results are  typically  included  in  published reports  when  differences  between genders  are  statistically  significant, but  Statistics  Jersey  can  provide further breakdowns on request – as

Ongoing/ Active

consideration

Recommendations

To

Accept / Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

were  provided  in  response  to  the Scrutiny Panel.

Administrative data (data already held by  government) has the potential to enable production of statistics by more detailed  breakdowns  (including  by gender) than is possible from surveys.

On  22  February,  Statistics  Jersey published  innovative  experimental statistics on gender pay gaps based on data already held by government. The data was broken down by age, sector and  nationality.  Additional investment  for  Statistics  Jersey  in Government  Plan  2023  will  allow further development of these gender pay gap statistics.

Statistics  Jersey's  aspiration  is  to develop greater use of administrative data, which may have the potential to allow  publication  of,  for  instance, detailed  Labour  Market and employment information by gender.

Consideration  can  be  given  to  the frequency  and  costs  of  regular publication of such data.