Since 2017, all organisations in England, Scotland and Wales with more than 250 employees have been obliged to record and report gender pay gap data. Currently, however, there is no legal obligation at all in Northern Ireland to do so.

Alliance has previously called on the council to step up and lead the way on the issue.

Alliance Balmoral Councillor Tara Brooks, who proposed the motion, said: "In this day and age, the thought that women could still be earning less than their male counterparts on average is totally objectionable, and we must be taking every possible step to monitor the situation if we’re ever going to bridge that gap.

“The TUC calculated that in 2023, the average woman in paid employment effectively works for free for nearly two months of the year compared to the average man. The disparity is even more stark however for working mothers, or those who work in education, finance or insurance. If we don’t consistently measure pay by gender, how can we understand and address those structural inequalities?

“We believe that this council has an obligation to lead the way here by adopting robust, transparent and accountable methods for recording and reporting on the gender pay gap.

"Alliance remains committed to tackling the gender pay gap, and the cross-party support shown to get this motion over the line is very welcome. We hope that the new measures will shine a light on ongoing inequalities and will encourage other organisations to follow suit."