From data to action: Why Scotland needs mandatory gender pay gap action plans

For more than ten years, Scotland’s public sector has been required to publish gender pay gap data. Yet despite years of reporting the figures remain stubbornly high, and progress has stalled. Too often, employers stop at publishing the numbers, without setting out how they will close the gap. 

Publishing pay gap data without acting on it is like diagnosing a problem and failing to treat it. That’s why we’ve published our latest briefing, From Data to Action, calling for mandatory gender pay gap action plans in Scotland’s public sector. 

The gender pay gap: a persistent problem 

The gender pay gap remains the most well-recognised indicator of inequality in Scotland’s labour market. The most recent Scottish data shows the pay gap sits at 8.3%, while the UK gender pay gap is 13.1%. when we look at part-time workers, Scotland’s pay gap increases to 23.7%, due to part-time work being concentrated in low-paid, undervalued jobs.  

The pay gap is higher for marginalised women. There is limited Scottish data on ethnicity and disability pay gaps, but UK data paints a clear picture. Ethnicity pay gaps vary by ethnic group, however for almost all groups women from ethnic minority backgrounds face pay gaps of over 25%, when compared to white men, and disabled women face a pay gap of 23.5%, when compared to men who aren’t disabled.  

This isn’t simply about unequal pay for the same or similar jobs. The pay gap reflects the structural barriers that shape women’s working lives. Women are concentrated in low-paid, undervalued jobs such as social care, childcare, and cleaning. They are more likely to work part-time or in insecure roles, often because of caring responsibilities. Occupational segregation channels men and women into different types of work, with men more likely to hold senior and higher-paid roles. These inequalities mean women are more likely to experience poverty, including in-work poverty, with clear links to child poverty. 

Why the PSED needs reform 

The Scottish-specific duties of the PSED are Scotland’s central equality regulations, setting out what public bodies must do to advance equality in their workforces and services.  

For over a decade public bodies in Scotland have been required under the PSED to publish their gender pay gap. But reporting alone is not driving change. Our analysis shows that while most public bodies publish sizeable pay gaps, very few set out actions to address them.  

The absence of mandatory action planning within the PSED is a critical weakness. Without it, gender pay gap data is published but sits unused, with no accountability for tackling the inequalities it highlights. 

Scottish Government has committed to extend the duties to require public bodies to report on ethnicity and disability pay gaps. But, without action planning, this will simply replicate the same problems we’ve seen with gender pay gap reporting: data without action. Employers will continue to publish figures that highlight stark inequalities, but with no requirement to do anything to address them. 

Mandatory gender pay gap action plans would ensure that public bodies identify the causes of their gaps and set out concrete, measurable steps to address them, reporting on progress over time. This would strengthen accountability, enable scrutiny, and most importantly, deliver change for women. 

Scotland risks falling behind 

The UK Government is moving ahead with plans to require mandatory gender pay gap action plans from large employers as part of the Employment Rights Bill. While these provisions do not apply to Scottish public bodies, they highlight the gulf that is opening up between Scotland and the rest of the UK. 

Once regarded as a leader on equality, Scotland now risks being left behind, with women working in the public sector denied the same commitment to action as their counterparts elsewhere in Britain. The reputational risk to Scottish Government is clear, but the practical consequence of inaction is more important: without reform of the PSED, the gender pay gap in Scotland’s public sector will persist, undermining progress on women’s equality more broadly. 

That’s why mandatory gender pay gap action plans are essential. Without them, Scotland will continue to collect statistics on inequality without ever addressing it. 

A low-cost, high-impact reform 

Mandatory action plans are a simple, low-cost intervention that would materially improve women’s economic outcomes and reduce poverty. They would also deliver against Scottish Government’s core priorities: 

• Eradicating child poverty: addressing the pay gap is essential, given mothers and carers are more likely to be in low-paid, undervalued work. 
• Fair Work: transparency alone is not enough; action planning would deliver the employer change Fair Work is intended to embed. 
• Growing the economy: closing the pay gap would boost productivity by tackling women’s underemployment and pay inequality. 
• Ensuring high quality and sustainable public services: the undervaluation of women’s care work is a key cause of the crisis in social care, driven by low pay and high turnover; action planning would help public bodies tackle this sustainably. 

Time for action 

The evidence is clear: without mandatory action plans, the gender pay gap will persist, and women and their families will continue to pay the price. 

The Scottish Government must act now to strengthen the public sector equality duty and require public bodies to develop, publish, and report on gender pay gap action plans. Scotland cannot afford to fall further behind.