Caerphilly County Borough Council employs more than 8,000 people, but how diverse is its workforce?

This week, the council published a report answering this, revealing stats about the gender-split, age ranges and ethnicities within its ranks.

The Workforce Development Strategy report was presented to the Policy and Scrutiny Committee meeting on Tuesday, September 28.

The council’s workforce includes council officers, education staff, elected councillors, refuse collectors and more.

More than two-thirds of council employees are female, but it is men that occupy most of the highest paying jobs.

There are 51 people working at the council who earn £70,000 or more a year. Of these, 31 are male and 20 are female.

This is at odds with the overall demographic of the council’s workforce, where 73.4% of its 8,304 staff are women.

In the report, the council said they want to fully understand the reason for this.

The report also shows younger people are more likely to be in lower-paid jobs, with older employees more likely to be in higher-paid jobs. The average age of the council’s workforce is 45.

A quarter of employees are aged 55 or above. The council said this is due to their ability to retain employees. The average time an employee will work for the council is 11.4 years.

In the report, the council said: “The council has an aging workforce and we must address the threat of loss of organisational knowledge, experience and skills when they leave the workforce.”

Meanwhile, non-white employees account for 0.9% of the council’s workforce. According to Census 2011 data, 1.6% of Caerphilly County Borough residents are non-white.

In the report, Christina Harrhy said: “We will champion diversity and challenge conscious and unconscious bias in our decision making. We will strive to ensure all tiers are fairly represented across the organisation.”

The council are a Disability Confident employer, which means they are “committed to support the recruitment, retention and development of disabled people who support our services to achieve and succeed as valued employees”.

The report shows 137 council workers have a disability, which accounts for 1.7% of the workforce. According to Census 2011 data, 25.4% of residents in the borough have a disability or long-term illness.

The council has said they are working to create more employment opportunities for those with a disability or long-term illness.

In the report, council leader Philippa Marsden said: “This strategy identifies our key priorities as we look to build on our successes. We will focus on what matters, provide greater opportunities and value and nurture our workforce.”