Aims

Close the Gap agrees its outcomes with its funder, the Scottish Government, and then sets priorities to deliver against those outcomes and focus its work.

Project Outcomes

Close the Gap works towards the achievement of specific outcomes. These are:

• Improvement in general awareness amongst employers and employees about the gender pay gap in Scotland, and its various causes.
• Improvement in employers’ understanding about the business benefits of taking action to address the gap.
• Increase in employers’ activity – and capacity – to address the gap and its causes.
• Compliance by public sector organisations with the specific duty in the Gender Equality Duty in Scotland to publish, regularly review and report on equal pay statements.
• A reduction in the gender pay gap in Scotland, as evidenced by the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings – but recognising that the causes of the pay gap are varied and complicated and often outwith the project’s sphere of influence.

Project Priorities

The project works with a wide range of organisations, and in a number of contexts. However, we have a specific focus on working with:

• Large private sector organisations, particularly those operating in Scotland's key economic sectors of Finance, Life Science, Energy (renewables), as outlined in the Government's Economic Strategy.
• Public sector bodies, specifically those operating in the higher and further education sectors.
  
• Trade unions affiliated to the STUC.
• Organisations working specifically around equality, and the development of policy.

The project also has, as one of its cross-cutting themes, occupational segregation. This is one of the Ministerial Priorities on Gender Equality.