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West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) has reported a slight improvement in its gender pay gap, which has narrowed to five per cent as of April 2025, down from 5.5 per cent the previous year.
For the first time, the service has also published pay gap data relating to sexual orientation and disability, with figures showing a 6.5 per cent gap based on sexual orientation and a reverse gap of -6 per cent for disability — indicating that employees who have declared a disability earn slightly more, on average, than those who have not.
However, the organisation’s ethnicity pay gap has widened, rising to five per cent from 3.5 per cent last year. This figure reflects the difference in average hourly pay between white employees and those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
Kelly Harding, Head of People at WMFS, said the service welcomed progress on gender equality but recognised the need to address disparities in ethnicity pay. “We welcome the progress on our gender pay gap, and the fact we are now reporting across more characteristics,” she said. “However, we will not gloss over the widening of our ethnicity pay gap. Publishing more of our data is a deliberate step to be transparent about where we stand, and to hold ourselves to account for closing the gaps.”
The figures are based on mean pay gap analysis, which compares the average difference in hourly pay between comparator groups across the organisation. WMFS data shows the gender gap is most pronounced among non-uniformed staff, while a wider sexual orientation gap is observed among employees who have not disclosed their orientation. The analysis also indicates that colleagues who have declared a disability are, on average, in higher-paid roles than those who have not.
Harding emphasised that the figures represent more than statistics, highlighting the organisation’s ongoing efforts to create a fairer workplace. “Every percentage point represents real colleagues and real experiences,” she said. “We are continuing our pay and grading review for our non-uniformed staff, with robust job evaluation to ensure clearer, more consistent decisions.
“We’re expanding leadership and progression support for under-represented colleagues and tightening how we attract, assess and progress people to reduce bias. We will report openly on our progress.”
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