In a world of gender inequality, women continue to be underappreciated for the important roles they fill in society. Not only does the pay gap ensure that businesses pay women less than men, but women also tend to be underrepresented in essential fields of work.
The same is true of the ambulatory services field, specifically in regard to the widespread gender inequality found within the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust. According to the Comet, “inequality within the region’s ambulance service is prevalent, with basic pay higher for men than women in all areas and a poor representation of women in senior roles.”
The trust provides “24 hour, 365 days a year accident and emergency services to those in need of emergency medical treatment and transport in – Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire,” according to its official website.
The NHS Trust claims to be a promoter of inclusion, and claims to reject inequality of any sort. The trust has the goal of increasing the diversity of workers in the field.
“We promote equal treatment regardless of age, disability, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, gender, belief, sexual orientation, domestic circumstances, social and employment status, HIV status, gender reassignment, political affiliation or trade union membership other than that which is genuinely justifiable,” according to its equality, diversity and inclusion page.
Although the NHS Trust strives to improve diversity and give more women opportunities to fill crucial roles, these intentions do not appear to be moving forward. The trust’s annual report, shared by the Comet, reveals that less than 15 percent of directors and less than 25 percent of operational middle managers are women.
In addition, less than 20 percent of air and specialist operations roles are filled by women. Also, every person who operates vehicles is a man. Clearly, the trust has not been meeting their goal to increase gender diversity. Over the past year, men have been paid more than women in all of the occupational fields.
The Comet reports that “earlier this year the trust launched a women’s special interest group… with the aim of exploring issues women face at work and what can be done to break down barriers. Lindsey Stafford-Scott, the NHS Trust’s Director of People and Culture, said: ‘Across the NHS there is a need to support more women into senior leadership positions.’”
Although the Trust has many objectives in place to support the increase of women in many roles of ambulatory services, women are still very underrepresented and underpaid in the East of England Ambulance Service. Hopefully, the trust will continue to work towards its objectives to make the field more inclusive for men and women alike.
According to the Independent and government statistics, the UK’s pay gap “is a little more than 18 percent… That’s a blunt average, though, and reflects a slew of factors, including the fact that men hold a bigger proportion of senior jobs and high-paying roles.”
With the trust’s goal of getting more women into senior jobs and high-paying roles, they will likely be able to someday have better representation and improved wages. Hopefully, the world will follow the trust’s example in its objectives to increase representation and pay for all women.
Featured Image by mliu92 on Flickr
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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