Latest data on Scotland’s gender pay gap highlights women’s continued inequality in the labour market

The gender pay gap represents the divergent experiences women and men have not only in employment but also in education, training, care and other unpaid domestic labour. As the key indicator of women’s labour market inequality, data relating to the gender pay gap is critical to Close the Gap’s work.

The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces data on the average hourly earnings of women and men in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). Each year, Close the Gap analyses this data in order to assess how the gender pay gap has changed over time.

The latest data shows that there has been a marginal narrowing of Scotland’s gender pay gap of 0.3 percentage points from 2020 to 2021. This means that the gender pay gap remains a persistent feature of the Scottish labour market and currently sits at 10.1%.

This aligns with the general trajectory of the gender pay gap which has remained relatively stable over time. For example, from 2015 to 2019, the gender pay gap declined by only 1%.

By contrast, data from 2020 showed that the gender pay gap had declined by almost 3 percentage points from the previous year. However, as we outlined last year, this should be treated with caution. 2020 data came with reliability warnings around the collection of data during public health restrictions, and the impact of the pandemic on the gender pay gap was unclear.

As the more substantial decline in the gender pay gap has not been replicated within the latest data, it is likely that changes to the gender pay gap in 2020 reflected Covid-19 job disruption, rather than underlying pay trends. The pandemic brought significant changes to working hours and 8.8 million employees across the UK were furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme when the 2020 data was collected.

ASHE data also enables us to analyse the gender pay gap by occupation, industry, working patterns and age groups. Close the Gap analysis of this data forms the basis of our annual gender pay gap statistics paper. The key findings from our latest paper include:

• In 2021, women working full-time earn 6.6% less than their male counterparts, while part-time women earn on average 26.9% less than men working full-time. This illustrates the systemic undervaluation of "women's work" which continues to be concentrated in low-paid, part-time jobs.
• The majority of part-time workers are women (75%) and just under half of employed women (41%) are working part-time, compared to 13% of men. In order to capture an accurate picture of women’s experiences of the labour market, it is important to include part-time workers in gender pay gap data and not rely on the full-time figure alone.
• Women continue to account for the majority of low-paid workers in Scotland. Meanwhile, the highest female earners continue to earn substantially less than their male counterparts, with a gender pay gap of 17.6% for those in the highest earning percentile.
• After the age of 22, women’s average hourly earnings are lower than their male counterparts. This means there is a gender pay gap for all age groups from age 22-29 to the over 60s group.
• The gender pay gap for those aged 40 and over is higher than the national average. This reflects the ‘motherhood penalty’ and the lower incidence of women moving into higher-paid managerial occupations after the age of 39.

These findings highlight that we are still very far from meaningful progress on the inter-related barriers women face in entering and progressing in employment. This is despite increasing focus on the gender pay gap, including the publication of Scotland’s first gender pay gap action plan in 2019. Issues remain around employer complacency and a continued lack of gender mainstreaming in labour market policymaking.

Data pertaining to the gender pay gap delivers vital insight into women’s continued inequality in employment, providing a greater understanding of the undervaluation of women’s work; occupational segregation; and women’s low pay. However, there remains a lack of gender-sensitive, sex-disaggregated data on the labour market and intersectional data remains almost non-existent. For example, there are critical data gaps on pay and earnings for Black and minority ethnic women and disabled women. Addressing these data gaps are critical to realising gender equality in the labour market.

At current rate of progress, it will take a very long time to close the gender pay gap. Moreover, lower gender pay gap figures can mask the inequalities that women continue to experience in the labour market. This is not, therefore, a time for complacency in tackling the causes of women’s inequality at work.

You can read Close the Gap’s gender pay gap statistics paper here.

Equally Safe at Work employer accreditation opens to new councils

Following the success of our Equally Safe at Work pilot with councils, Close the Gap is pleased to roll out this world-leading accreditation programme with a new cohort of councils from March 2022 to July 2023.

Equally Safe at Work is an innovative employer accreditation programme developed to support the local implementation of Scotland’s Equally Safe Strategy. The aim of the programme is to support employers to understand how gender inequality and violence against women (VAW) affect women in the workforce, and to provide a framework to generate change. Employers are supported to collect and analyse data, develop, review and update policies, practices and resources, and undertake training. This is assessed through meeting the criteria in six fundamental areas to advance women’s labour market equality:

• Leadership
• Data
• Flexible Working
• Occupational segregation
• Workplace culture
• Violence against women

Equally Safe at Work was piloted with an early adopters' group of councils between January 2019 and November 2020 and four councils received bronze accreditation: Shetland Islands Council, North Lanarkshire Council, Midlothian Council and Aberdeen City Council. As a result of the programme, councils have delivered a range of activities such as developing VAW policies, introducing Gender-Based Violence Support Officers, or developing actions to increase women participating in an existing mentoring programme, and implementing systems to collect intersectional data on employee experiences of VAW.

What’s new with Equally Safe at Work

We're delighted to be working with nine councils who will be working towards accreditation: Angus Council, East Ayrshire Council, East Dunbartonshire Council, Fife Council, Glasgow City Council, Highland Council, Inverclyde Council, Perth & Kinross Council, and West Dunbartonshire Council. As part of this roll out, Close the Gap has developed a new tier for councils who are early on their gender equality journey: the development tier. Once councils who are working on the development tier meet the criteria, they will be able to share in learning with other councils working towards bronze and receive tailored support from Close the Gap.

There are now four tiers to the programme: development, bronze, silver, and gold. The bronze, silver and gold are cumulative, and the development tier will support councils who are at the early stage of their equality journey. The development tier, which is comprised of selected criteria from the bronze tier, will enable councils to begin developing gender-sensitive policies and practice that will support them to meet the full criteria for bronze. In addition to the introduction of this new tier, we have also developed e-learning modules on flexible working and VAW, and further guidance on VAW and work to support line managers was created.

As part of the next steps following the launch of the programme with the new cohort of councils, we will also be developing new awareness, raising material and guidance.

The impact of Covid-19 on Equally Safe at Work

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, women’s experience of domestic abuse has intensified, and their experience has been exacerbated by a lack of access to support networks or specialist services. The COVID-19 pandemic has set back efforts to address women’s labour market inequality and end VAW, and has created several transformations to workplaces forging even more barriers for victim-survivors to access support. Employers more than ever have a key role to play in supporting women during this period. By recognising the gendered impact of COVID-19 and engaging with the Equally Safe at Work accreditation programme, employers will be able to better support their employees and develop policies and practice that reflect the experience of women at work. We are looking forward to working with councils over the next year to see where we can affect long term and meaningful change for all women working in councils.

To find out more about the programme, visit the Equally Safe at Work website.

Scotland can’t become a fair work nation without realising fair work for women

As a result of women’s pre-existing inequality in the labour market, women’s employment has been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 job disruption. This means that the pandemic has significantly increased the challenges to realising gender equality at work. Other labour market changes, such as automation and the threat to employment rights that Brexit presents, also create risks to women’s equality at work.

Scottish Government’s commitment to improving the quality of work in Scotland, through its flagship policy of fair work, therefore remains pivotal. However, fair work must mean fair work for women, too. Fair work policy development must be better gendered if it is to create change for women in Scotland.

Women’s employment remains characterised by undervaluation, low pay, discrimination, and insufficient and unreliable working hours. This is particularly true for young women, disabled women and Black and minoritised women. Single parents. 91% of whom are women, also face multiple and specific barriers to good quality employment. As a result, generic approaches to labour market policymaking sustain the structural barriers that women face at work.

Close the Gap recently responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on becoming a fair work nation. This is an important opportunity for Scottish Government to assess how gender can be better integrated into fair work policymaking. Our response to the consultation highlights that the current fair work policy framework and supporting tools do not afford sufficient attention to women’s experiences of employment and there is a lack of specific actions designed to achieve fair work for women.

While there have been some improvements, including the addition of a specific gender pay gap element to Fair Work First criteria, fair work policy is not well-gendered. The Fair Work Convention’s fair work framework, described by Scottish Government as setting out the strategic ambitions for Scotland becoming a fair work nation, does not sufficiently engage with women’s labour market experiences. The fair work action plan, designed to implement the framework, is also not gendered. The plan fails to recognise the gendered nature of care and the actions do not mention gender. Accompanying reports and tools, such as the Fair Work Convention’s Fair Work in Scotland report and the fair work employer support tool, replicate this approach.

Fair work policy is also not intersectional, and as such fails to meet the needs of marginalised women. The current policy framework is therefore unlikely to create the transformational change needed to tackle the causes of the gender pay gap or enable employers to operationalise fair work for women.

Employer complacency remains a critical challenge to addressing women’s labour market equality. This is despite a clear business case for promoting equality, with employers able to recruit from a wider talent pool, address skills gaps, and see their businesses become more productive, more innovative, and more profitable. This complacency is compounded by a regulatory context which does not drive action on the causes of women’s inequality in the workplace.

The absence of women’s experiences from fair work policy, measurement tools, and employer resources will mean that fair work is not delivered for women. Scotland can’t become a fair work nation without realising fair work for women.

The solution is to build intersectional gender competence among those developing and delivering fair work policy and programmes. The articulation of fair work should also be refreshed so that gender is integrated, and employers understand precisely the action they should take to deliver fair work for both women and men.

Covid-19 has exposed and exacerbated the inequalities that women face in the labour market. Scotland’s economic recovery needs to be one that works for women. Action on barriers women face at work must be central to policy development if gender equality is to realised. That means integrating gender into the National Care Service, the National Strategy for Economic Transformation, reform of the public sector equality duty and the next Child Poverty Delivery Plan. Scottish Government need to prioritise action on women’s low pay, rising job insecurity in female-dominated sectors, the undervaluation of women’s work, and pregnancy and maternity discrimination.

Without such action, ongoing labour market shifts will worsen women’s unemployment, reinforce women’s labour market inequality and intensify women’s financial insecurity, adding to a rising tide of child poverty. Now is the time for bold action to tackle gendered inequalities in the labour market.

You can read Close the Gap’s full response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on becoming a fair work nation here.

We're hiring!

Close the Gap is hiring for two new positions! The first is for the role of Research and Evaluation Officer to support the delivery of our innovative Equally Safe at Work employer accreditation programme. The second is for the role of Communications and Administration Assistant, to assist with expanding our communications work and the smooth running of the organisation. You can find more information for both roles, and details of how to apply, below.

Close the Gap values diversity in our workforce and encourages applications from all sectors of the community. Flexible working options are available for both of these roles. Close the Gap is a Living Wage accredited employer.

Hours: 34 hours per week
Salary: £29,646
Pension: 10% employer contribution
Location: 166 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, G1 2LW (homeworking while Covid-19 restrictions are in place)

Responsible to: The Executive Director

The post is fixed term, funded until 30 September 2023, with potential extension depending on funding.

Purpose

To support the delivery of Close the Gap’s employer accreditation programme, Equally Safe at Work, by monitoring and evaluating its implementation in a range of sectors. Equally Safe at Work supports employers to develop gender-sensitive employment practice to advance gender equality at work and prevent violence against women. To work closely with the Programme Manager, contributing to the development and delivery of the evaluation plan, and to design and deliver data gathering processes for Equally Safe at Work and related Close the Gap work. To gather and analyse data from employers and employees to support monitoring and evaluation.

Role

We’re looking for someone with knowledge and experience of quantitative and qualitative research methods to join our team to support the delivery of Equally Safe at Work, Close the Gap’s employer accreditation programme. Committed to women’s labour market equality, and with experience of evaluating policy or programmes, you’ll be working closely with Equally Safe at Work colleagues to evaluate the accreditation programme in local government, NHS boards, third sector employers and Scottish Government. You’ll be implementing an evaluation plan and gathering quantitative and qualitative data from employers and employees. You’ll also be writing research and evaluation reports and developing case studies.

Organisation profile

Close the Gap is Scotland’s policy advocacy organisation working on women’s labour market participation. We work strategically with policymakers, employers and unions to address the causes of women’s inequality at work.

Application notes

Electronic applications must be submitted using our online application form which you can find on our website at https://www.closethegap.org.uk/jobs/. If you are unable to use an online application process, please contact us at info@closethegap.org.uk. Please do not submit a CV as it will not be read, and will not be used for shortlisting.

The deadline for applications is 20^th February 2022.

You will be notified by 2^nd March 2022 if you have been selected for interview.

It is anticipated that the interviews will take place remotely during the week commencing 7^th March 2022.

Communications and Administration Assistant

Hours: 28 hours per week
Salary: £17,738 (FTE £22,172)
Pension: 10% employer contribution
Location: 166 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, G1 2LW (homeworking while Covid-19 measures are in place)

Responsible to: Policy & Development Manager

The post is fixed term, funded until 30 September 2024, with potential extension depending on funding.

Purpose

To co-ordinate Close the Gap social media channels and websites, and support wider communications work. To contribute to the work of Close the Gap by providing administrative support.

Role

We’re looking for an enthusiastic person with professional social media experience and strong communication skills to contribute to the delivery of Close the Gap’s work. Committed to women’s labour market equality, you'll provide administrative support, contributing to the effective running of the organisation. You'll also be working within our small, busy team to assist with the development of communications, events and publications.

Organisation profile

Close the Gap is Scotland’s expert policy advocacy organisation working on women’s labour market participation. We work strategically with policymakers, employers and unions to address the causes of women’s inequality at work.

Application notes

Electronic applications must be submitted using our online application form which you can find on our website at https://www.closethegap.org.uk/jobs/. If you are unable to use an online application process please contact us at info@closethegap.org.uk. Please do not submit a CV as it will not be read, and will not be used for shortlisting.

The deadline for applications is 11.59pm on Sunday 20th February 2022.

You will be notified by Monday 7th March 2022 if you have been selected for interview.

It is anticipated that the interviews will take place remotely during the week commencing Monday 14^th March 2022.

 

Close the Gap (SCIO) (known as Close the Gap) is a Scottish charity, no SC046842.