Women pay the price of gender inequality and poverty

The 16 days of activism against gender-based violence gives focus to the continued need for action to eradicate violence against women (VAW). VAW occurs at epidemic levels with one in three women affected globally. In Scotland, one in four women experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, and 70% of women report that they’ve experienced or witnessed sexual harassment at work.

VAW is not often seen as a workplace issue, despite it affecting all aspects of women’s lives. Perpetrators of domestic abuse use a range of tactics to disrupt women’s employment as a way to coerce and control. This can include using workplace resources such as phone and email to threaten, harass or abuse them. Other tactics can include destroying work clothes and personal documents which may prevent them from applying for jobs in the first place. In addition, we know that the cost of childcare is prohibitive for many women, and so the reliance upon abusers to provide childcare which is then deliberately withdrawn is damaging to women’s wellbeing, their ability to do their job, and ultimately their career prospects.

There is a critical link between VAW and poverty, with financial dependency and poverty being primary risk factors for victim-survivors, making it difficult to leave abusive relationships. We know that VAW is both a cause and consequence of gender inequality, and that women’s poverty is intrinsically linked to this and sustains these ingrained inequalities faced by women. This is why it is essential to address women’s labour market inequality and tackle women’s poverty to prevent violence against women.

The link between violence against women and women’s labour market inequality

Women’s labour market and economic inequality reduces their financial independence, restricts their choices in employment and creates a conducive context for VAW. Living in poverty can also make it harder for women experiencing violence or abuse to move on and maintain employment.

Women are not a homogenous group and their experiences of men’s violence and also workplace inequality, are shaped by the intersecting and compounding inequalities they face. For example, socioeconomic background has an influence on women’s labour market outcomes, with women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds being less likely to be represented in higher paid jobs, and more likely to be in lower-paid, stereotypically female, work such as care and cleaning. This drives the higher level of female poverty which diminishes women’s options in the face of violence and abuse.

In tackling women’s poverty, women’s labour market inequality, and wider gender inequality, it’s vital to understand that barriers to paid employment are costly to women’s safety. Employment itself is not necessarily a guaranteed route out of poverty either, due to the low levels of pay and the prevalence of zero-hour contracts that are associated with ‘women’s work’. Women are significantly more likely to be employed on zero-hour contracts than men, with this figure growing sharply in the last decade. Moreover, it is not just the insecure nature of these jobs that are a threat to women’s long-term financial stability and overall safety, but zero-hour contracts are notoriously characterised by low pay, with just 40% of employees on zero-contracts having an hourly earnings that matched (or higher than) the 2021 Living Wage. The financial instability due to these precarious contracts can limit women’s choices when facing violence and abuse. Addressing women’s labour market inequality is therefore a necessary step in ending violence against women.

The gendered nature of poverty and its link to violence against women

There is no escaping that poverty is gendered in Scotland. Women are more likely to be living in poverty than men, with a disproportionate number of women, particularly single mothers living in poverty. Women in Scotland who are on low incomes are more likely to be impacted by the cost of living crisis, especially with deepening poverty and facing hardship including hunger, going without essential items, and inability to afford to heat their homes.

Moreover, it has been acknowledged also that worsening debt is connected to the gendered cycle of violence, with debt being linked to experiences of domestic abuse. Poverty itself is associated with domestic abuse as both a cause and a consequence of violence against women which is why it is relevant in understanding the connection between poverty and gender inequality.

While financial abuse and economic abuse are often used interchangeably, the difference is that economic abuse consists of the many different ways an abuser may control someone’s economic situation, extending to the restriction of accessing food, transport, employment, and housing. Financial abuse is thus a sub-category of economic abuse, involving the use or misuse of money to control someone’s life which may include coercing a victim-survivor into taking on debt, or controlling their finances. A survey of 4,000 women found that women were more likely than men to experience financial abuse with over half of women reporting that they experienced financial abuse having personal incomes below £20,000 annually. Women’s exposure to abuse is prolonged by poverty, as victim-survivors often cannot afford to leave an abusive partner, especially in the current context of the cost-of-living crisis.

For those who experienced economic abuse, the most common stage at which the abuse started was when their pay decreased due to the coronavirus, with 35% reporting this. This reinforces that in times of financial uncertainty, whether due economic shocks, low pay or poverty, this is a conducive context for abuse to happen. Women are more likely than men to report economic abuse, with 89% of women who experienced economic abuse, and reported experiencing other forms of abuse with higher rates of physical, emotional and sexual abuse compared to men. The long-term impact of economic abuse can make it more challenging for victim-survivors to rebuild their lives. While economic abuse is more likely to occur within the context of domestic abuse, it is also prevalent in other situations, including when a woman is being sexually harassed at work.

Structural inequalities require structural solutions

To prevent violence against women, it’s critical to address gender inequality in the workplace. By advancing women’s labour market equality, and dismantling gendered barriers such as inflexible work, the high and prohibitive cost of childcare, inadequate support for victim-survivors in the workplace, low-paid and low-quality part-time roles, only then can we be closer to eradicating men’s violence against women.

Close the Gap’s Equally Safe at Work accreditation programme directly supports employers to improve their employment practice to advance gender equality at work and prevent violence against women. In the most recent roll out of the programme, 14 new public and third sector employers have become accredited, taking the total to 18 across Scotland. Findings from the evaluation in local government, NHS and third sector in 2022-2023 found that employers across sectors have, as a result of participating in the programme, taken a wide variety of action to improve their employment practice to be more gender- and VAW-sensitive. This included but was not limited to, the introduction of special leave for victim-survivors, the implementation of new policies including a VAW policy and a standalone sexual harassment policy as well as the development of new data collection systems. Further action saw employers review and update existing policies on flexible working, recruitment, equal opportunities, and organisational change. Alongside this, innovative awareness-raising campaigns highlighted the organisational commitment and dedication from employers in preventing VAW.

Employers have a critical role to play in preventing violence against women in and outwith the workplace, and advancing gender equality. However, to rely solely upon increasing women’s labour participation as the solution to gender equality, and a safeguard against poverty, is reductive. Further understanding and action is required to address the structural inequalities within the labour market. These contribute to and sustain women’s inequality, especially the systemic undervaluation of women’s work which drives women’s and children’s poverty.

To find out more about Close the Gap or Equally Safe at Work, please visit the website at www.closethegap.org.uk or www.equallysafeatwork.scot

 

 

New report: Findings from the evaluation of Equally Safe at Work in local government, NHS and third sector

At Close the Gap, we’re always keen to understand what works in creating change for women in the workplace. One area where we’ve seen success in our work is Equally Safe at Work, our innovative employer accreditation programme that supports employers in local government, NHS and third sector develop gender- and VAW- sensitive employment practice. The programme was first piloted between 2019 and 2020. Over the past 18 months, we’ve been working with a new cohort of councils and introduced a pilot in the NHS and third sector. As a result of the recent roll out, we’re delighted that 14 new employers have become accredited.

To measure the effectiveness of Equally Safe at Work, developing an evaluation framework was a core element of the work. We collected qualitative and quantitative data throughout the accreditation process which included disseminating employee surveys, holding focus groups with women working in lower-paid roles, and conducting semi-structured interviews with staff leading on Equally Safe at Work in their organisation. Collecting this data is integral for understanding whether changes being made as part of Equally Safe at Work are reaching staff at all levels in the organisation. It also provides Close the Gap, and participating employers, with a greater understanding of the experiences of women working across the public and third sector in Scotland.

Our recently launched Equally Safe at Work evaluation report highlights the positive impact the programme has had on local government employers and also provides details on the effectiveness of the pilot in NHS boards and third sector organisations. The reports includes key findings from the data collected through the programme and celebrates the wide variety of activities and initiatives introduced by employers that will make a real difference for women in their organisation.

Evaluation methodology

While a variety of data was collected throughout the programme, the employee survey and focus groups with women working in lower-paid roles provided helpful insight into women’s experiences of work. The employee survey captures data on access to flexible working, access to learning and development opportunities and barriers to reporting VAW. The survey also asks questions on attitudes towards and behaviours around gender equality and VAW, and staff experiences of VAW. Across the three sectors, 7,575 respondents completed the survey. The data collected in each organisation is shared with employers with recommendations that link to the criteria of the programme. One council lead shared how useful they found this:

“The employee survey presented questions to staff for the first time. We will be keeping some of the questions in our employee survey that happens every three years. It will start to give us data about the picture for people and their experiences.”

Another fundamental element of our data collection is conducting focus groups with women working in lower-paid roles. It’s important to hear the voices of these women because they work in jobs which are undervalued in the economy, are among the lowest grades in each organisation, and they report feeling excluded and omitted from discussions happening in their organisation. In total 62 women catering workers, cleaners, care workers, admin, library assistants, and nurses shared their experience of work. The survey and focus group data provides us with a rich picture of women workers’ experiences in Scotland. The focus group data is particularly important as women working in lower-paid roles are routinely ignored by policymakers and employers in action to tackle the gender pay gap.

What the evaluation told us

As a result of the programme, employers across the public and third sector have improved their employment practice to be more gender and VAW sensitive. This was highlighted by a variety of changes made to the workplace which includes:

• Developing a VAW policy.
• Developing a sexual harassment policy.
• Sharing video with all staff of the Chief Executive explaining what occupational segregation is and how it impacts the council.
• Implementing new systems to collect data on women returning from maternity leave and other returners.
• Including a question on the availability of flexible working in internal vacancy control forms for recruitment managers.
• Introducing new systems to collect data on experiences of VAW, including whether victim-survivors were satisfied with how their disclosure was handled.
• Setting up a staff women’s network to provide insight and consultation on changes happening in the council.
• Collating and analysing data on flexible working refusals and reasons for refusals and using this to inform practice.
• Reviewing and updating their equality policy to include information on occupational segregation, VAW, sexism, misogyny, and intersectionality.
• Reviewing and updating policies on flexible working, recruitment, and organisational change.
• Third sector organisations analysed and published data for the first time on mean pay gap data, median pay gap data, and occupational segregation.

Challenges and opportunities across sectors

The evaluation identified a number of opportunities and challenges that arose during the accreditation period. The pilot in the NHS and third sector provided valuable learning on implementing Equally Safe at Work in new sectors. Importantly it has continued to be an effective mechanism for supporting employers to change policies and practice. For example, we learned in the previous pilot with councils that organisations were most successful when introducing new policies or practices, rather than updating and reviewing previous work. For the third sector, since many of the activities undertaken during the pilot were new, employers were able to make substantial changes to the workplace in a relatively short period.

Some of the challenges faced by all employers included budget constraints, and issues with recruitment and staffing. This resulted in two organisations withdrawing from the programme due to a lack of staff to drive the work forward. This also meant that those leading work on Equally Safe at Work had conflicting priorities and in some cases, the work was led by a graduate intern. Another contributing factor was the impact of Covid-19. Through the Covid-19 pandemic, VAW and gender equality became deprioritised as many key staff were redeployed into crisis management. As a result, many organisations are catching up on key equalities work from that time, which means that progress on gender equality and preventing VAW has slowed.  

Through the pilot with NHS boards and third sector organisations, Equally Safe at Work has been an effectiveness mechanism for facilitating change in different sized and types of organisations across Scotland. The prescriptive nature of the programme provides a clear framework for employers to work through within a specific timeframe. For some employers, this is the first time they have had a focus on progressing work on gender equality and VAW, and they have told us that the programme has created momentum for further change.

“I think development level is a good overall first step in the journey to improving awareness and ensuring positive experiences for staff in the organisation around gender equality and violence against women.”

Third sector lead

“I would definitely recommend the programme. It’s well run. Goals are tough but achievable. Would recommend it to organisations of all size and even if they can’t complete everything, there is so much useful learning.”

NHS lead

“My advice would be to be open. Lots of organisations would want to make it political, gender equality benefits everyone. Do exactly what’s in the manual and to not just tick boxes, to really dive deep into each standard. Don’t do the bare minimum.”

Council lead

The evaluation of the pilot in the NHS and third sector has highlighted key learning that we will be embedding into the programme over the next few months. We will then be inviting new employers to join the programme in Spring 2024. In the meantime, you can read more about Equally Safe at Work on our website, www.EquallySafeatWork.scot

Congratulations to the newly accredited Equally Safe at Work employers!

Our Equally Safe at Work team has been busy working with a range of employers over the last 18 months to enable them to develop improved gender-sensitive employment practice and prevent violence against women. We’re now delighted to announce that 14 new employers have received accreditation in recognition of the work they’ve delivered to create better workplaces for women workers. These employers include:

Bronze accreditation:

• Fife Council
• East Ayrshire Council
• Inverclyde Council

Development accreditation:

• West Dunbartonshire Council
• Highland Council
• Angus Council
• Glasgow City Council
• Perth and Kinross Council
• NHS Ayrshire and Arran
• Public Health Scotland
• Healthcare Improvement Scotland
• NHS Dumfries and Galloway
• Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland
• Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire

We want to congratulate all the employers who have participated in the Equally Safe at Work programme and the great work they have done to progress gender equality and better support victim-survivors in the workplace.

We are pleased to see so many employers achieve accreditation through a difficult period of budget constraints, recruitment challenges, and the ongoing cost of living crisis. Also, for the NHS boards and third-sector organisations, this was the first time we have tested out Equally Safe at Work in new sectors. The pilot with NHS boards and third sector organisations provided us with key learning, including how to roll out the programme to different sizes and types of organisations, for example, the differences in working with organisations ranging from 15,000 staff to 7 staff. Overall, the pilot with NHS boards and third sector organisations, and the rollout with councils, has been successful in enabling employers to develop gender and VAW-sensitive employment practices. The evaluation of this work shows the impacts that employers have identified in their own organisations:

“The fact that we have made the change to the gender-based violence policy, and added paid time off for seeking refuge, probably wouldn’t have thought of doing this if not part of the programme. It’s about making women more confident about raising these issues at work, so they know they’re entitled to this. It raises the profile and makes it more acceptable to take up.”

                                                                                                                   - Local government participant

“We introduced collecting data on flexible working refusals. We wouldn’t know before if this had been denied but now reasons for refusal have to go through HR and highlights where this is about safety.”

                                                                                                                   - Local government participant

“Through the programme, we’ve improved our recruitment practices, introduced special leave, made flexible working more accessible. We are doing the work and making progress on equality in our organisation.”

                                                                                                                   - Third sector participant

 

What's next

We have been collecting qualitative and quantitative data throughout the programme to measure whether the programme has resulted in change. We will be launching the evaluation report with our findings and key considerations for moving forward on the 28^th of November. For more details on how to attend, visit the Eventbrite link.

For more information on the Equally Safe at Work programme, you can visit our website www.EquallySafeatWork.scot

Scotland’s gender pay gap continues to fluctuate as women’s labour market inequalities remain unchallenged.

The gender pay gap shows the difference between women and men’s average hourly earnings. It illustrates the divergent experiences women have in employment, as well as education, training, unpaid domestic labour, and men’s violence. As the key indicator of women’s labour market inequality, gender pay gap data is critical to Close the Gap’s work.

Data relating to the gender pay gap is produced annually in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) by the UK Office for National Statistics. Each year, Close the Gap analyses this data to track and assess how the pay gap is changing over time.

The most recent data indicates that the gender pay gap in Scotland has widened slightly by 0.8 percentage points between 2021 and 2022. This widening means that the gender pay gap in Scotland remains stubbornly in place, currently sitting at 10.9 per cent. Whilst there has been this slight increase in the pay gap from last year’s data, looking at the longer-term trends suggests the pay gap continues to slowly decline. It is likely the increase in last year’s pay gap is related to the labour market disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which disproportionately affected women’s employment.

This widening of the pay gap, to 10.9 per cent in 2022 contrasts with a substantial (3 percentage points) decline between 2019 and 2020, where the pay gap declined from 13.3 per cent to 10.4 per cent, and a further marginal decrease to 10.1 per cent in 2021. The pay gap does tend to fluctuate year to year and is affected by economic changes. As this significant decrease is not present in the current data and has instead reversed slightly, it suggests that the changes to the pay gap in the previous two years were the result of Covid-19 job disruption, rather than being because of a reduction in the inequalities women face in the labour market. This widening also reinforces Close the Gap’s view that pay gap data from during the pandemic should be treated with caution.

ASHE data also allows us to analyse the gender pay gap by different occupations, industries, working patterns and age groups, giving a more in-depth look at the pay gap across various dimensions. Close the Gap’s analysis of this data forms the base of our annual gender pay gap statistics paper. The key findings from this year’s analysis include:

• The combined pay gap (which accounts for all women and men) sits at 10.9 per cent.
• As of 2022, women working full-time earn 7.9 per cent less than men working full-time, an increase of 1.3 per cent from 2021. Women working part-time earned 26.3 per cent less than men working full-time, which is a marginal decline from the previous year. The part-time pay gap illustrates the systemic undervaluation of “women’s work” which continues to be concentrated in low-paid, part-time jobs.
• Women make up the majority (73 per cent) of part-time workers, and are three times as likely to work part-time than men (38.3 per cent of women compared to 13.4 per cent of men). Capturing women’s part-time pay in headline pay gap figures is essential as looking at the full-time figures only can mask gendered differences in pay.
• Women are concentrated in jobs characterised by low pay. At the same time, the highest female earners continue to earn significantly less than their male counterparts. Current data shows women in the highest earning percentile earn 17.1 per cent less than men in the same percentile.
• The most recent data shows a continued trend of women over the age of 22 having lower average hourly earnings than their male counterparts. For 18–21-year-olds, 2022 is the second year in a row where women of this age group have lower hourly earnings than their male counterparts, suggesting the pay gap is widening for this age group.
• The pay gap for women over the age of 40 continues to be higher than the national average, which partly reflects the ‘motherhood penalty’ and the lower rate of women moving into higher-paid managerial occupations after the age of 39 compared to men.

These findings illustrate the complexities which drive the gender pay gap in Scotland, and that the pay gap varies for different groups of women. Despite more visibility on tackling the pay gap in recent years, the barriers women face in entering, remaining and progressing in employment persist. Significant issues remain around employer complacency and a continued lack of gender mainstreaming in policymaking.

The gender pay gap represents a lifetime of discrimination and inequality for women. The current cost-of-living crisis is compounding women’s experiences, as they are at the sharp end of economic shocks. Research has shown that women are disproportionately affected by the cost-of-living crisis, particularly single mothers, disabled women, older women, and racially-minoritised women. Since women make up the majority of low-paid workers, they are already more likely to be in poverty, so the cost-of-living crisis puts additional financial pressures on them.

Headline gender pay gap data provides key insights into women’s continued inequality in the labour market and provides a better understanding of its causes such as the undervaluation of women’s work, occupational segregation, and women’s low pay. However, it does have its limitations. There remains a significant lack of gender-sensitive, sex-disaggregated data on the labour market, and there is a distinct lack of intersectional data pertaining to the labour market. As such, there are major gaps in Scotland-level data on the pay for racially-minoritised women and disabled women, resulting in less insight into their specific labour market experiences. Without this data, it is more difficult to analyse how the gender pay gap is changing for different groups of women, which compounds the intersecting inequalities that they already experience.

When taking into account the current rate of progress, it will take a significant amount of time for the gender pay gap to close, which further illustrates how far we still have to go to achieve greater equality in earnings. In addition, lower pay gap figures do not mean gender inequality in the labour market is resolved, as low pay gap figures can hide inequalities women continue to face in the labour market, such as occupational segregation.

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