4. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's review of gender equality? OAQ52540

My ambition is for the review to provide the change needed for Wales to become a world leader in women’s rights and gender equality. I know the leader of the house recently updated Members on the first phase of the review. Phase 2 will provide a comprehensive programme of actions to take forward. 

Thank you, First Minister. Last week, we held the first meeting of the cross-party group on women, supported by the Women's Equality Network, a membership network of over 1,000 organisations and individuals working to advance the rights of women in all spheres of Welsh life. The Women's Equality Network delegation is presenting their UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women report to the UN committee this week, asking a wide range of questions of the UK and Welsh Governments regarding gender equality. Will you agree to meet with the delegation to respond to their report, which includes calling on the Welsh Government to formally adopt the Istanbul convention and CEDAW principles to provide internationally recognised standards to make Wales the safest place in Europe to be a woman?  

Yes, I will be able to meet with the delegation to discuss the report. We will, of course, formally respond to the report during the UN examination on the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in February of next year. Could I suggest as well that the leader of the house and the national advisers who recently attended Cabinet are also involved in any meeting with the delegation?

First Minister, your own intentions towards honing a Government of equals is sadly undermined by figures that make clear that the Welsh Government's gender pay gap, for your own staff, has recently increased. The annual employer equality report earlier this year found that the pay gap between men and women working in the Welsh Government had actually increased in 2017 from the previous year. On average, men actually earn more than women in every single pay grade, from team support to senior civil service. Men also outnumber women in each of the three highest pay grades and the average basic full-time equivalent salary for men was more than £3,000 higher than for women. Given such a scale of inequity and unfairness within your own Government departments, do you not now think that it is time to practise what you preach and to better seek to lead by example—in other words, First Minister, by getting your own house in order?

Well, the Welsh Government gender pay gap is 8 per cent. It is nothing to shout about, of course, but it's better than the pay gap that exists in Whitehall—[Interruption.]

Oh, that is—you are a—[Inaudible.]

What on earth is wrong—[Interruption.]

Carry on, First Minister. 

What on earth is wrong with comparing the situation in Wales to the situation that is so shameful with the Conservatives in England? [Interruption.]

The First Minister is answering the question, please. [Interruption.] Please will you allow the First Minister to continue his answer. 

Thank you, Llywydd. We do recognise the current position isn't good enough. It's fair to say the majority of higher paid roles are currently filled by men, and Welsh Government is fully committed to doing everything it can to reduce the pay gap. Women hold 40 per cent of senior civil service posts in the Welsh Government. Now, of course, the pay arrangements of senior staff are not in the control of the Welsh Government, they're not devolved, but there is a commitment on our part to achieving 50:50 representation across the senior civil service by 2020.

So, what measures are being taken? Well, measures are being taken to attract more women into senior posts; this includes support for women who are pregnant or on maternity leave, ensuring job adverts are inclusive, offering development courses to women and having no all-male shortlists for recruitment exercises. Alongside this, the Welsh Government has signed up to Chwarae Teg's Fair Play employer benchmarking service, and that will help to review existing practices and develop the action plan for further changes.