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.

The pandemic hasn’t drastically changed the flexible working landscape, we still need regulatory and cultural change

The lack of quality flexible working opportunities in the UK labour market remains a key cause of the gender pay gap. The lack of flexibility sustains women’s concentration in low-paid, low-skilled work. This also results in women’s under-representation at management level and in senior grades. Improving access to flexible working is thus critical to addressing women’s low pay, tackling women’s poverty and child poverty, and closing the gender pay gap.

The Value of Social Care

The creation of a National Care Service is an opportunity to improve the lives of people who use social care and their families and carers. But whatever form it takes, a reformed social care system must address the undervaluation of its workforce if it’s to succeed in improving the quality and provision of care services in Scotland. To do this, we must acknowledge the reason that care work is so undervalued – because it’s seen as “women’s work”.

Equal Pay Day 2021: A look at BME women’s inequality at work

From today – Equal Pay Day – women are now effectively working for free until the end of the year. New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that Scotland’s gender pay gap has narrowed slightly from 10.4% to 10.1%, suggesting women’s workplace inequality remains stubbornly entrenched. As with last year, the data comes with reliability warnings due to the impact of COVID on the sample size of employer pay data. Further COVID-related factors such as the recent end of furlough and the impact of labour market shortages also won’t be reflected in gender pay gap data for some time.

Women are more likely to experience long Covid but, once again, the system of support doesn’t meet their needs

The emergence of long Covid has exposed yet another way in which the pandemic has disproportionately affected women in Scotland. Long Covid describes symptoms that persist four weeks after contracting the virus. A TUC survey found that those with long-term Covid symptoms experienced brain fog (72%), shortness of breath (70%), difficulty concentrating (62%) and memory problems (54%). These symptoms have led to workers having to reduce their working hours, or stop working altogether.

Challenge Poverty Week: The next Child Poverty Delivery Plan must prioritise action on women’s labour market equality

Across Scotland an increasing number of women, and their children, are locked in the grip of poverty. We know that women are more likely to be in poverty than men; are more likely to experience in-work poverty; and are more likely to experience persistent poverty than men. The pandemic has exacerbated these trends, with women who were already struggling now under enormous financial pressure.

What will the end of furlough mean for women’s employment?

Despite the latest data showing that one-quarter of employers across the UK were still using the scheme, the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme is scheduled to finish at the end of September.

Furlough has been a welcome, if imperfect, intervention by the UK Government. The scheme has supressed unemployment, with cumulative data showing that over 910,000 jobs in Scotland have been furloughed over the course of the pandemic. Given women’s concentration in service sectors such as retail and hospitality, the scheme has enabled women who work in these sectors to protect some of their income during prolonged periods of sector shutdowns.

The decision to end the scheme in September has been viewed by some as an arbitrary decision, not tied to any particular milestone in the pandemic or the state of the economy. Indeed, the trajectory of the pandemic still remains somewhat unclear. In Scotland, positive cases and hospitalisations have been on the rise again and it is likely that there may be further surges in the winter months. In the absence of furlough to protect jobs during any future lockdowns or sector shutdowns, there are concerns about unemployment in the coming months.

What’s Violence Against Women got to do with women’s labour market inequality? Close the Gap’s new animation explains.

Close the Gap has developed a short animation for Equally Safe at Work that explains the link between violence against women (VAW) and women’s labour market inequality. Tackling women’s inequality in the workplace is a necessary step in preventing VAW, so employers therefore have a key role to play.

We're hiring!

Close the Gap are hiring for three new positions to support the delivery of our Equally Safe at Work employer accreditation programme.

Making sure a green economy also works for women

Prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19, green jobs and green skills were a key aspect of Scottish Government’s efforts to transition to a net zero economy. The ongoing crisis has brought further weight to these considerations, with focus turning to the importance of building a greener and fairer economy in the aftermath of the pandemic.

How will political parties promote gender equality in the labour market? What we learnt from the women’s election hustings

Coverage of the Scottish Parliament elections, which are now only a few weeks away, have been very much focused on COVID-19 and Scotland’s economic recovery. So far, equalities considerations have been notable by their absence. Within mainstream public dialogue and formal televised debates, there has been very little, if any, focus being afforded to promoting gender equality.

One year on: New Close the Gap research highlights the impact of COVID-19 on women’s employment

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on Scotland’s economy. Women’s labour market participation has been impacted in multiple and specific ways by sector shutdowns, furlough, job losses and increases in the amount of unpaid work, particularly childcare and care.

Close the Gap’s new research, One Year On: The impact of COVID-19 on women’s employment in Scotland uses labour market data, statistics relating to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, and Scottish Government labour market analysis to assess how COVID-19 has impacted women’s employment and labour market equality over the last 12 months.

Findings from the evaluation of the Equally Safe at Work pilot

Yesterday Close the Gap held an online event to celebrate the success of the Equally Safe at Work pilot and launch the evaluation report for the pilot.

Celebrating the Equally Safe at Work pilot councils

We are delighted to announce that Aberdeen City Council, Midlothian Council, North Lanarkshire Council and Shetland Islands Council have been awarded bronze accreditation for the Equally Safe at Work pilot.

COVID-19 has put health and safety at the heart of fair work, but women’s needs remain under-researched, under-reported and under-compensated

COVID-19 has brought new emphasis to the danger of occupational exposure to disease and injury, leading to increasing focus on health and safety concerns within the context of fair work. These concerns are particularly important for women who account for the majority of key workers, meaning they have greater exposure to the virus in the workplace.

Gender equality can help employers to weather the Covid-19 storm

Women’s employment has been hit hard by Covid-19 and it is highly likely that there may be a loss of female talent in the workplace if employers don’t act to support their female staff. This could drive up costs, including recruitment, training and the loss of experienced staff.

The Gender Pay Gap Manifesto: the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections are an opportunity to realise fair work for women

Close the Gap have now published our manifesto for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. The Gender Pay Gap manifesto outlines 14 policies that should be adopted over the next parliamentary term to address the gender pay gap and realise fair work for women. In line with the multiple causes of the gender pay gap, the policy priorities cover early learning and childcare, automation, the public sector equality duty, employment practice, occupational segregation, low pay, skills policy, tackling the undervaluation of “women’s work” and economic development.

16 days of activism: Recognising the impact of Covid-19 on women’s experience of gender-based violence.

This week marks the beginning of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. The campaign starts on the 25^th of November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The focus of this year’s campaign is the impact Covid-19 has had on women’s experience of gender-based violence. The theme places a strong emphasis on prevention, ensuring essential services for victim-survivors and greater data collection to improve services for victim-survivors.

Equal Pay Day 2020: Why it’s important to look beyond the headline figures

Equal Pay Day is the day from which women are effectively working for free for the rest of the year because of the gender pay gap. Of course it's much earlier in the year for Black and minority ethnic women and disabled women, who experience higher gender pay gaps.