To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of employees in his Department are (a) women and (b) men; and what the average hourly pay of his Department's (i) male employees and (ii) female employees was in the latest period for which figures are available. (287122)

As at 1 July 2009, 41 per cent. of the current Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) workforce is female and 59 per cent. is male.

The average hourly rate of basic pay for male staff in the FCO is £20.56 and for female staff £20.11.

These figures are for basic salary only and are taken from the last Equal Pay Audit conducted in the autumn of 2007. The executive summary of the audit highlighted:

“that average basic salaries for each grade when compared on the grounds of gender, ethnicity and disability are within the 5 per cent. tolerance set out by the EOC (Equal Opportunities Commission)”

(now Equality and Human Rights Commission).