Women at Lewisham Council are paid nearly 11 per cent more than men, bucking gender pay trends, a pay policy statement from the authority has shown.

Women’s average hourly rates were found to be 10.9 per cent higher than men across the council, with more women taking up senior leadership positions.

Gender pay is the difference between men and women’s average earnings across an organisation, and is different to equal pay.

The statement for 2018/19, which was required to be published according to 2017 Gender Pay Gap Reporting legislation, highlighted the council’s view that every employee should be paid on a fair and equal basis.

“Whatever their role, the Council seeks to ensure that every member of staff is valued and remunerated on a fair and just basis – taking into account the burden of personal responsibility their job requires, the delivery expectations placed upon them, as well as any requirements for the exercise of any particular expertise or speciality,” the report explained.

A majority proportion of lower level jobs were occupied by men, with 68 per cent of middle and 69 per cent of upper tier roles at the council occupied by women.

The figures were calculated by dividing the workforce into equal sized groups and separating them by hourly pay rate, according to government guidelines.

Research from the Mayor of London’s office in 2017 showed women were paid 9.1 per cent less than men across the Greater London Authority (GLA).

The gender pay gap was most pronounced in the highest-paying occupations, with women paid less for senior leadership roles, according to the report.

A report based on the research stated: “The 2017 population is 199 (90 women and 109 men) with the upper quartile pay gap being 8.55%. Based on the numbers of staff at this level and the low turnover rate, addressing gender pay gap at the senior level is a long-term aim.”

Top female staff at the authority were paid an average of £36.80 per hour, with top male staff paid an average of £40.24 per hour, according to the GLA.