Everything you wanted to know about the gender pay gap

Writing or talking about the gender pay gap can be a tricky business. Whether it’s a piece in a national newspaper, or an informal (heated?) chat at your local coffee shop, discussions of the gender pay gap can cover a huge amount of ground, referencing cold, hard data, social norms and conventions, deeply-held opinions and everything in between. Is it really the gender pay gap you’re talking about, or is it unequal pay? How are these different, and do they interact? Why do different reports in the media use different figures for the pay gap? Is the pay gap even a thing anymore? (Spoiler alert: YES)

At Close the Gap we think it’s important that anyone interested in or working on any aspect of the gender pay gap is as informed as possible. That’s why we’ve just published a rundown of Scotland’s gender pay gap data, including a broad range of analyses and stats. Alongside this, we’ve published a FAQ which provides answers to all those zingers that come up whenever the gender pay gap is in the news or in your conversations.

Our Gender Pay Gap Statistics paper is for you if you like/need to get into the detail of the data, and gives an in-depth look at Scotland’s gender pay gap in 2018, including full-time and part-time pay gaps, pay gaps by occupational group, a comparison of the public and private sector, an intersectional analysis of the gender pay gap by ethnicity, age and disability, and more. While, our FAQ, Everything you wanted to know about the gender pay gap but were afraid to ask, takes a whistlestop tour of our most-asked questions (at events, on Twitter, round the dinner table) on the pay gap, and will provide you with everything you need to issue a sound rebuttal whenever that old chestnut – “the pay gap isn’t real” – comes up in conversation.

We hope you find our latest reports interesting, informative and useful. Keep an eye on the blog for details of our next research paper which looks at how the extension of the right to request flexible working has impacted access to flexible working (no spoilers forthcoming).