Inclusion Pay Gap Report 2025

As a Legitimacy Manager, my role is grounded in ensuring that Dorset Police operates with the confidence, trust and consent of the communities we serve. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is not an optional or peripheral activity in policing; it is fundamental to legitimacy, fairness and operational effectiveness.

Policing in the UK serves increasingly diverse communities. To be effective, we must understand, reflect and respect that diversity within our workforce and in how we exercise our powers. EDI strengthens decision-making, reduces the risk of bias, and supports ethical policing by ensuring that different perspectives inform how we protect the public and keep people safe.

Recent decisions in parts of the USA to scale back or remove EDI initiatives have reignited global debate about the value of this work. For UK policing, these developments serve as a reminder of why we must remain clear and confident in our commitment. EDI is not about ideology; it is about evidence, fairness and outcomes. When inclusion is weakened, trust erodes and disparities widen.

Closing the gender and ethnicity pay gaps is a critical part of this commitment. Pay gaps reflect structural barriers, progression inequalities and under-representation at senior levels. Addressing them is essential to fairness, morale and retention, and demonstrates that opportunity in policing is genuinely based on merit. I am pleased to see the gender pay gap continues to move in the right direction, having women better represented across all grades and ranks brings benefits for both Dorset Police and the communities we serve.

Our force’s EDI Strategy, launched in 2023, is being actively embedded across governance, leadership, recruitment, development and everyday practice. This work aligns directly with the College of Policing Culture and Inclusion Strategy, reinforcing a professional culture that is ethical, inclusive and accountable. Together, these strategies ensure that EDI is not a standalone programme, but a core part of how we lead, serve and build legitimacy in modern policing.

Karen Duke-Glover - Legitimacy Manager