Close the Gap has supported Equal Pay representatives through its successful weekend schools.

Aims

Women in Scotland working full-time earn 15% less than men, if you compare hourly rates of pay. Women working part-time earn 35% less per hour than men’s full-time hourly rate. This discrepancy is called the gender pay gap.

The gender pay gap is bad for women, bad for business, and bad for Scotland’s economy.

The pay gap is a contributing factor to women and children’s higher levels of poverty and women’s pensioner poverty. It also impacts on household earnings and men’s earnings when they work in jobs with high levels of female workers.

Businesses benefit from taking steps to address pay gaps in their organisations. Companies that treat staff fairly are more productive, more innovative, find it easier to retain skilled staff, and ensure that they have a positive corporate image.

Close the Gap works across Scotland with those who can influence the pay gap as well as those who are affected by it.

We work with businesses to support them in identifying and addressing issues with pay and progression within their organisations.

We work with trade unions to promote positive action to address pay gaps in individual workplaces.