Council in the dark on staff sexuality and gender

Richard Evans - Local Democracy Reporter

An employment report on staff at a Welsh council revealed nearly half of its workforce wouldn’t confirm their sexual orientation or gender.

The Employment Monitoring Report 2023-24 provides a snapshot of employment data as of 31 March 2024 as a statutory requirement.

The report revealed Conwy employed 4,569 permanent and fixed-term staff, 48 more than last year.

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Workforce

The report said 72% of staff were female compared to 28% male, including permanent, fixed-term, and casual employees.

67% of the permanent and fixed-term workforce fall within the age groups 25-34 (16%), 35-44 (25%) and 45-54 (26%).

29% of the permanent and fixed-term workforce are aged 55 and above.

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Report

But whilst the authority holds 100% records of the age and sex of staff, as well as 99% for marital status and civil partnerships, the report revealed the council only holds data for 60% of its staff’s ethnicity.

Lower still were the categories of disability (57%) religion (54%), sexual orientation (54%), and gender identity (51%).

The report stated a new equality monitoring survey was launched during National Inclusion Week in September 2024 to start an ongoing campaign to improve and update the council’s data on staff.

The report is set to be considered at a finance resource committee meeting next week.