Men working at Ofsted are paid on average 8.1 per cent more than women, according to the inspectorate’s gender pay gap report.

The report released today also reveals that men get 20.6 per cent more in bonuses on average, the equivalent of £196, and that 70.7 per cent of men get bonuses, compared with 62.2 per cent of women.

Women make up 63 per cent of staff at Ofsted - compared with the civil service average of 54 per cent and a UK average of 51 per cent.

And there are more women at senior level (45 per cent) than the civil service average of 42 per cent.

More men in higher-paid jobs

But Ofsted’s analysis of the pay gap shows that overall there are more women in more junior grades, where pay is lower, and more men in the upper pay quartiles.

In particular, it says, more than 80 per cent of inspectors on its lowest inspector grade are women: “This reflects the demographic of the social care and early years sectors from which we recruit to posts in this grade.”

In its report, Ofsted states: “We will ensure that women continue to have the opportunity to progress in their careers through development conversations with their line managers, bespoke succession planning for those in SCS feeder grades and talent management schemes such as Women in Leadership.

“We will explore how we can attract more men into our workforce to create a more even gender balance, given that we have more women at most levels of our organisation. We will consider this specifically for our administrative, professional and technical workforce.”

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