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New Working Paper on Scotland's gender pay gap
Close the Gap has recently published its most recent working paper on gender pay gap statistics with a specific analysis of Scotland’s gender pay gap.
The paper uses the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) tables to calculate the average difference in pay between women and men working in Scotland.
The overall mean gender pay gap has remained high at 14.8% for Scotland, meaning that women on average earn 85p for every £1 men earn.
The part-time pay gap has increased by over 1 percentage point to 33.5%. The part-time pay gap is calculated by comparing part-time women’s average earnings to men’s average full-time earnings, and is illustrative of the concentration of part-time work in undervalued low paid work such as cleaning, admin, caring and retail.
The working paper also provides information on the average difference in earnings in across different age groups, occupational groups, and an analysis of the Scottish gender pay gap over time.
April's news roundup
It has been a busy month in the land of women and work, with stories focussing on the early presence and impact of gender stereotyping in children and young people's lives, discrimination in employment contracts and hiring processes, women's organisation's voices in the upcoming Scottish Election, and the economic benefits of gender equality. We've pulled them together here, in one handy post, for all your gender and employment news needs.
Is it time for a women’s trade union?
The gender pay gap never quits: it won’t even stop working when you do
'Boys will be boys': Are gender stereotypes harming Scottish children?
EHRC find new junior doctor contract discriminates against female medics and is potentially illegal
Just one in five films made in Europe is directed by a woman
Workplace health and safety risks force pregnant women and mothers to quit jobs
Sixteen women’s organisations sign up to Engender’s call for single payments of Universal Credit
Women’s organisations warn switch to Universal Credit will trap women in abusive relationships
Paypal hold all-male panel on gender equality in the workplace
Economy could be £17bn better off by eliminating the gender gap, Close the Gap report finds
Engender launch new paper on Scottish parliament election asks on violence against women
Nicola Sturgeon pledges to impose penalties on councils dragging their feet on equal pay claims
Discrimination, “choice”, and the gender pay gap
Middle class feminism has a blind spot over female cleaners
Only one fifth of working women in Scotland are employed in STEM
Women’s Budget Group publish comprehensive gender assessment of the UK 2016 Budget
Research shows only a tiny proportion of new fathers are opting for shared parental leave
The role of early years professionals in tackling gender stereotypes
Female architects speak out on industry sexism in tributes to Zaha Hadid
Extent of gender stereotyping laid bare in short film depicting primary school children’s drawings
And finally, taking the biscuit this month we have:
New Close the Gap research finds women’s labour market equality worth £17bn to the Scottish economy
Last week we launched our new research report, Gender Equality Pays. The research, which reviews evidence of the economic case for addressing women’s labour market equality, was carried out by Emily Thomson at Women in Scotland’s Economy research centre at Glasgow Caledonian University.
It revisits and updates previous research by Close the Gap in 2007 which examined the link between actions to advance gender equality and profit at the organisational level.
Gender Equality Pays identifies clear and mounting evidence that gender equality at work is not just good for women, but is also a critical driver for improved business performance, and a worldwide catalyst for economic growth. The report highlights a flourishing of evidence in three key areas:
- The correlation between gender balance at senior level, and improved corporate and financial performance.
- The business benefits of providing flexible or agile working;
- The macroeconomic gains where women's under-used skills are more effectively utilised across the labour market, particularly in sectors which are characterised by occupational segregation.
Crucially, closing the gender gap in employment could be worth more than £17bn to the Scottish economy.
The report also includes case studies of companies that are already benefiting from taking actions to advance women’s equality.
The findings come at a critical time. The restructuring of Scotland’s labour market since the Great Recession has entrenched the gendered inequalities in labour market participation, particularly in relation to underemployment. Women’s employment in general has become more precarious through an increase in redundancies, temporary work and zero hour contracts.
To close the gender gap in employment, we need programmes of work from policymakers at all levels which target the gendered barriers to the labour market. We also need to employers make meaningful changes to workplace policies and practices. Because the clear message from the growing evidence base is that gender equality pays. For women, business, and the economy.
Read the report here.
EVENT: Gender Equality Pays research launch
Close the Gap is launching a new report, Gender Equality Pays, which reviews the evidence of the business and economic cases for addressing women’s inequality in the labour market.
The research, which was undertaken by Women in Scotland’s Economy (WiSE) research centre, demonstrates that there is a sound business case for individual employers to take steps to address gender inequality through flexible or agile working, and increasing women's representation at senior levels. The research also finds that there is clear and mounting evidence indicating that gender equality could hold the key to unlocking Scotland’s productive potential in a post-recession economy.
The event will be held at:
10.15am - 11.45am on Friday 22 April 2016
Room A527A
Govan Mbeki Building
Cowcaddens Road
Glasgow G4 0BA
Tea and scones will be available.
Register here
Close the Gap assessment reveals significant regression in public authorities' compliance with the public sector equality duty
Close the Gap completed its second assessment of public authorities’ compliance with the gender and employment requirements of the public sector equality duty. By 30 April 2015 listed public authorities were required to publish:
- an updated mainstreaming report;
- updated gender-disaggregated employee data;
- a report on progress to meet equality outcomes; and
- an updated gender pay gap figure.
We looked at the same sample of public authorities that were included in our assessment of 2013 reporting, which included organisations from local government, higher and further education sector, the NHS, and non-departmental public bodies.
Among the sample of public bodies assessed, compliance with the duty has largely regressed, with the majority of public authorities assessed as having lower scores than in 2013. Just under a third achieved an improved score.
Key themes from the report include:
- incomplete, inconsistent, and insufficiently detailed gender-disaggregated data;
- significant under-reporting on pregnancy and maternity;
- more than half of the public authorities assessed had no outcomes on gender on employment;
- a significant lack of evidence on progress to meet equality outcomes; and
- inadequate gender pay gap reporting including miscalculations, poor or no analysis of the causes, and failure to set actions to address the pay gap.
The full report is available here.
The regression of public authorities’ performance is particularly concerning as our assessment work of 2013 reporting, and research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, revealed that performance in 2013 was already poor.
It’s clear that there are significant challenges for public authorities in complying with the public sector equality duty. These include a lack of knowledge and understanding of gender equality, inadequate systems to gather and analyse employee data, and organisational cultures which result in a lack of prioritisation of equalities work.
The persistent failure to meet the duty, and take actions to progress gender equality means that women workers in the sector, where they comprise the majority of the workforce, will continue to face gendered barriers to equal participation at work.
The findings of this assessment will inform the development of future Close the Gap work to support public authorities in complying with the duty. In the new year we’ll be developing refreshed guidance for public authorities on gender and employment, equal pay, and occupational segregation to update our guidance published in 2012.
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