South Yorkshire’s fire service has seen the pay gap between men and women cut significantly, but fire chiefs say stereotypes are stopping women entering the industry.

The organisation’s Gender Pay Gap Report for 2023, showed that women within South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (SYFR) make 76p less an hour (4.59%) than men, in comparison to 2022’s figures of £1.69 less (10.18%).

Sue Kelsey, Director of People and Culture, said: “We are pleased with the progress we are making as a service to address the gender pay gap and particularly in breaking down the traditional views of the fire fighter role.”

The report, discussed in a meeting of the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority on 15 April, emphasised the “positive” that the organisation is “consistently” below England’s gender pay gap national average.

According to the Office of National Statistics, the national mean gender pay gap for 2023 was 7.7%, an increase from 2022’s figures of 7.6%.

The SYFR report also revealed reasons for its pay gap despite its decrease, including women being underrepresented in operational, management and senior positions, and occupational segregation remaining a “feature of the fire and rescue labour market”.

Despite its progress in equal pay, “deeply embedded” stereotypes of the industry are still limiting women from applying and excelling within the institution.

Ms Kelsey said: “We know we still have work to do to change societal views and there is a great deal of work going on, by all staff across the service to engage with our communities across South Yorkshire to develop awareness of all the different career opportunities available.

“Our women’s group in service play a key role in the engagement work and in helping shape our policies and practices to make the service an inclusive workplace for everyone.”

SYFR women’s group conducts events and highlights issues raised by women in their efforts to diversify and understand within the institution.

Since the 2022 report, it has employed multiple women into operational roles, which are the most under-represented positions held by women.

The organisation analyses the proportion of men and women applying and recruited for roles and promotions to increase workforce diversity. 

To read more on SYFR’s inclusivity efforts, see its website here.