New project focused on tackling young mothers’ labour market inequality

We’re excited to launch our new project in partnership with Save the Children. We’ll be working together to deliver a two-year project focused on understanding and addressing the barriers young mothers face in the labour market, particularly with regards to in-work poverty and sustaining fair work. We’re delighted to be supported by The Robertson Trust, who have awarded funding under their Work Pathways theme to enable this work. 

Why this project? 

“The project is important for women’s rights, more specifically for giving vulnerable young women a voice.” - Member of the Mums’ Project Advisers Group 

Young mothers are among the most marginalised in the labour market. They’re less likely to be paid the Real Living Wage, more likely to be in part-time, insecure work, and more vulnerable to income volatility. Systemic influencers including gender norms, men’s violence, disability discrimination, and racism also shape young mothers’ workplace experiences. Their gendered experiences as women in the labour market are compounded by harmful stigma surrounding young mothers, further restricting access to fair work.  

The lack of fair work for young mothers and their starkly higher levels of in-work poverty is an economic injustice that not only affects their financial and mental wellbeing but also has longer-term consequences for them and their children. Families with a mother aged under 25 are a priority group for the Scottish Government in tackling child poverty, with 55% of children in these families experiencing relative poverty. Despite this, young mothers are routinely invisible in policy responses and employer efforts to improve job quality. The absence of evidence on young mothers’ experiences is a key issue which this work aims to address. A strong evidence base is needed to drive action from policymakers, and employers need tailored support to enable them to develop employment practice that challenges the barriers young mothers face. 

What will the project involve? 

Two groups have been convened to ensure that lived and learned experience shape the direction of the project. 

1. Mums’ Project Advisers Group – consisting of 8 young mothers from across Scotland with experience of low income and/or in-work poverty. The ambition is to co-produce as much of the project as possible with them, including research design and analysis, recommendation development, influencing and creative outputs. Save the Children are leading work with this group. 

2. Stakeholder Advisory Group – consisting of representatives from 8 organisations with expertise relevant to young mothers’ employment and tackling in-work poverty. Members of this group include: One Parent Families Scotland, Young Women’s Movement, Poverty Alliance, STUC, Scottish Women’s Aid, Home Start, University of West of Scotland, and Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights. 

The project, which began in June 2025, is currently in its first phase – gathering evidence on young mothers’ labour market experiences and employer attitudes. This research phase is expected to last until early 2026. In phase two:  

• Research findings will inform a series of recommendations for Scottish Government, public bodies and employers.  
• We’ll use these recommendations to shape targeted advocacy on the actions needed to increase young mothers’ access to good quality work. 
• Employers will play a key role in developing and testing resources that enable organisations to build workplaces that support young mothers to reach their full potential. 
• Young mothers will work with us to develop a campaign to raise awareness of their employment rights.  

“This work is a movement towards equity, dignity and opportunity…led by young mums and backed by lived experience.” - Member of the Mums’ Project Advisers Group 

Recent activity and what comes next 

The Mums’ Project Advisers Group recently had their first meeting. The day was a fantastic opportunity for members to meet each other and the project team. It also served as an introduction to the project and the ways members could shape elements such as research design, influencing policymakers, and campaign development. 

“Changing the narrative of assumptions others have of young mums is such an important role to me. I hope this project can support in that.” - Member of the Mums’ Project Advisers Group 

As our research gets underway over the coming months, we look forward to developing our understanding of young mothers’ labour market experiences and the changes required to address the barriers they face. This partnership project will help to ensure that lived experience drives our approach to improving job quality and influencing meaningful change for young mothers. 

We hope to be able to share our learning so far in early 2026. You’ll be able to find updates on the project here on the Close the Gap blog. 

The far right is a threat to women’s equality and rights: Close the Gap’s response to recent rise of far-right activism

Close the Gap strongly condemns the rise of far-right activism and its cynical attempt to co-opt violence against women and girls (VAWG) as a cover for racism. VAWG is a longstanding, systemic oppression caused by gender inequality. The vast majority of women and girls who experience violence and abuse are harmed by men they already know, not by strangers or migrants. Two women a week in the UK are murdered by a current or former partner. This is not an issue caused by immigration – it is happening in homes across the UK, where women and girls should be safe. 

The far right is not protecting women – it poses a direct and increasing threat to women’s rights, as well as to the rights of racially minoritised people and LGBTQI communities. Far-right activism fuels violence, particularly racist and Islamophobic violence, and violence against women and girls.  

Close the Gap is working to become an anti-racist organisation. We recognise the fear generated by the rise of the far right among racialised and marginalised communities.  We stand in solidarity with all groups whose lives are affected by racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and disability discrimination.  

We join calls for Government action to challenge the spread of disinformation and hate. Urgent action is needed to address the increasing poverty and inequality that is fuelling the power of the far-right activism. Years of austerity policies and public sector cuts have shredded the social security safety net and created a scarcity of public services. We need urgent investment to create good-quality jobs, improvements to social infrastructure, such as childcare and social care, social security, education and housing.  

Close the Gap stands against hate in all its forms. Equality, solidarity, and justice must be centred in our response to the rise of the far right. 

From data to action: Why Scotland needs mandatory gender pay gap action plans

For more than ten years, Scotland’s public sector has been required to publish gender pay gap data. Yet despite years of reporting the figures remain stubbornly high, and progress has stalled. Too often, employers stop at publishing the numbers, without setting out how they will close the gap. 

Publishing pay gap data without acting on it is like diagnosing a problem and failing to treat it. That’s why we’ve published our latest briefing, From Data to Action, calling for mandatory gender pay gap action plans in Scotland’s public sector. 

The gender pay gap: a persistent problem 

The gender pay gap remains the most well-recognised indicator of inequality in Scotland’s labour market. The most recent Scottish data shows the pay gap sits at 8.3%, while the UK gender pay gap is 13.1%. when we look at part-time workers, Scotland’s pay gap increases to 23.7%, due to part-time work being concentrated in low-paid, undervalued jobs.  

The pay gap is higher for marginalised women. There is limited Scottish data on ethnicity and disability pay gaps, but UK data paints a clear picture. Ethnicity pay gaps vary by ethnic group, however for almost all groups women from ethnic minority backgrounds face pay gaps of over 25%, when compared to white men, and disabled women face a pay gap of 23.5%, when compared to men who aren’t disabled.  

This isn’t simply about unequal pay for the same or similar jobs. The pay gap reflects the structural barriers that shape women’s working lives. Women are concentrated in low-paid, undervalued jobs such as social care, childcare, and cleaning. They are more likely to work part-time or in insecure roles, often because of caring responsibilities. Occupational segregation channels men and women into different types of work, with men more likely to hold senior and higher-paid roles. These inequalities mean women are more likely to experience poverty, including in-work poverty, with clear links to child poverty. 

Why the PSED needs reform 

The Scottish-specific duties of the PSED are Scotland’s central equality regulations, setting out what public bodies must do to advance equality in their workforces and services.  

For over a decade public bodies in Scotland have been required under the PSED to publish their gender pay gap. But reporting alone is not driving change. Our analysis shows that while most public bodies publish sizeable pay gaps, very few set out actions to address them.  

The absence of mandatory action planning within the PSED is a critical weakness. Without it, gender pay gap data is published but sits unused, with no accountability for tackling the inequalities it highlights. 

Scottish Government has committed to extend the duties to require public bodies to report on ethnicity and disability pay gaps. But, without action planning, this will simply replicate the same problems we’ve seen with gender pay gap reporting: data without action. Employers will continue to publish figures that highlight stark inequalities, but with no requirement to do anything to address them. 

Mandatory gender pay gap action plans would ensure that public bodies identify the causes of their gaps and set out concrete, measurable steps to address them, reporting on progress over time. This would strengthen accountability, enable scrutiny, and most importantly, deliver change for women. 

Scotland risks falling behind 

The UK Government is moving ahead with plans to require mandatory gender pay gap action plans from large employers as part of the Employment Rights Bill. While these provisions do not apply to Scottish public bodies, they highlight the gulf that is opening up between Scotland and the rest of the UK. 

Once regarded as a leader on equality, Scotland now risks being left behind, with women working in the public sector denied the same commitment to action as their counterparts elsewhere in Britain. The reputational risk to Scottish Government is clear, but the practical consequence of inaction is more important: without reform of the PSED, the gender pay gap in Scotland’s public sector will persist, undermining progress on women’s equality more broadly. 

That’s why mandatory gender pay gap action plans are essential. Without them, Scotland will continue to collect statistics on inequality without ever addressing it. 

A low-cost, high-impact reform 

Mandatory action plans are a simple, low-cost intervention that would materially improve women’s economic outcomes and reduce poverty. They would also deliver against Scottish Government’s core priorities: 

• Eradicating child poverty: addressing the pay gap is essential, given mothers and carers are more likely to be in low-paid, undervalued work. 
• Fair Work: transparency alone is not enough; action planning would deliver the employer change Fair Work is intended to embed. 
• Growing the economy: closing the pay gap would boost productivity by tackling women’s underemployment and pay inequality. 
• Ensuring high quality and sustainable public services: the undervaluation of women’s care work is a key cause of the crisis in social care, driven by low pay and high turnover; action planning would help public bodies tackle this sustainably. 

Time for action 

The evidence is clear: without mandatory action plans, the gender pay gap will persist, and women and their families will continue to pay the price. 

The Scottish Government must act now to strengthen the public sector equality duty and require public bodies to develop, publish, and report on gender pay gap action plans. Scotland cannot afford to fall further behind.

The Equally Safe at Work Community of Practice: Why working together matters

The Community of Practice peer support network had their first session back on 27^th February 2025, and the focus of the day was understanding and embedding key elements of gender-sensitive practice. We were pleased to see many familiar faces, and also welcome new employers to the group.

Currently, 17 employers across the public and third sector are working towards the Equally Safe at Work accreditation and an additional 30 employers across Scotland are actively engaged in the Community of Practice peer learning network. Membership includes employers from across the third and public sector, including local governments, NHS boards, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, COSLA, and Scottish Government.

Since the first meeting of the Community of Practice, the peer learning network membership has grown significantly, which has offered new insight and fresh perspectives in discussions. Employers’ active participation in the meetings has enhanced its value, and the unique contributions from across sectors and organisations has resulted in employers taking away practical actions and ideas to test our in their own workplaces.

What is the Community of Practice?

The Community of Practice was first developed in 2023 to test out a new approach of shared learning by bringing together different sizes and types of organisations at different stages of their journey on gender equality and VAW. The aim was to find out whether participation in the group helped improve employment practices on gender equality. The evaluation of Equally Safe at Work found that the Community of Practice proved to be a useful mechanism for employers to build relationships, share information, and problem solve through common challenges.

The Community of Practice has further developed into a dedicated space for employers involved in the Equally Safe at Work accreditation programme to share best practice and learning to advance their gender equality work. Additionally, it works well to introduce employers to the programme, and to support them to get ready to work towards accreditation in the future.

Highlights from past Community of Practice meetings

Since its inception, the Community of Practice has continued to evolve, whilst ensuring that member feedback has guided the general direction of the network. Having an online platform dedicated to the Community of Practice was among the suggestions from employers on how to get more out of the group. This led to the development of a KHub group page where members can ask each other questions, easily share resources and access all Close the Gap and Equally Safe at Work materials to support their work.

By seeking member input, it also meant that they could vote on the topics to discuss at each meeting for the year. The meetings for the Community of Practice covered a variety of topics which included:

• Embedding an anti-racist approach in your gender equality practice;
• The role of leaders in tackling women’s workplace inequality;
• Workplace culture and the impact of negative workplace cultures, particularly on women’s employment experiences;
• Sexual harassment and employment law; and
• Successes and hopes for 2025.

At our most recent meeting, members shared that when thinking about gender equality and violence against women in their organisation, they would like to see better intersectional data in the future, reduced pay gaps, and improved understanding of what violence against women involves. From feedback, members noted that they left the session energised and eager to share their learnings with their own teams and organisations.

What’s worked

What has been vital to the success of the Community of Practice has been the participant engagement and continued commitment. It’s positive that so many new members have joined the group in the past year, but it’s been equally important that members have remained engaged throughout the programme of meetings for the Community of Practice. This high level of engagement has been encouraging for new members and has demonstrated the benefits of having a collaborative environment where shared learning is prioritised:

“Coming to these sessions is so positive. I am a new entrant to the programme, but these are invaluable for shared ideas and practice.” (Member of Community of Practice)                                                                                                                   

When the Community of Practice first began, it was expected that only Equally Safe at Work leads would be in attendance. Now, it has expanded out to staff across organisations who are interested in learning more about best practice, and about what other people are doing in the space of gender equality. This helps bring together a diverse range of views, experience, and expertise to the group as staff are from a variety of roles and sectors.

The desire to hear from employers about the different types of work they’re doing on gender equality has been evident, with members keen to know the specifics about how others were improving their reporting processes on VAW, how they disseminate resources effectively and increase engagement with hard-to-reach groups in surveys. Ultimately, the common goal of advancing gender equality and sharing ways of doing this has been reassuring for employers but especially for smaller organisations who may not have equalities teams or HR departments. This helps to foster a sense of community, despite organisational differences and structures.

Others found that there isn’t just one section of the Community of Practice that works well for them. The level of information, structure of the meetings, and length of time between meetings work effectively for them to remain engaged in the group. However, it is the overarching theme of being able to meet people from other organisations and learning from them that consistently comes through in all member’s feedback. The collective responsibility to share learning and advance gender equality is clear and appreciated, as multiple accredited employers delivered presentations throughout the year, sharing their experiences and valuable insight about what it’s like being part of the Equally Safe at Work journey and the vital work they’ve done as part of this.

How to get involved with Equally Safe at Work and the Community of Practice?

There are two ways to get involved and improve your gender- and VAW- sensitive practice. This includes, becoming an employer of choice through our Equally Safe at Work employer accreditation programme. Register your interest and start your journey now by completing the form here.

If you’re not quite ready to begin the process of accreditation but seek to improve your gender equality practice and gain access to this dynamic and supportive network, you can become a member of the Community of Practice. Here you will receive the latest updates about the Community of Practice, Equally Safe at Work and the wider work of Close the Gap including events and research. Join our Community of Practice peer learning network here.