Scotland’s gender pay gap varies from survey to survey. Depending on whether you count only those in managerial roles, part time workers, full time or the workforce as a whole, the margin between what women and men are paid for similar roles is somewhere between six and 30 per cent.
The inconsistency is why data such as that published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is useful. By using the same methodology each year, it can tell us the pace of change, regardless of the measures others use.
However “fast” is misleading. In fact the gap is barely changing at all. On average women in Scotland were paid around 15 per cent less than men in 2017, according to ONS. Since 2016, the gap for those in full time work has grown, negligibly, (11 per cent) the gap for part time workers has fallen, marginally (32 per cent). But all are effectively static.
If Scotland is not doing well in tackling this problem, it is also not doing well by comparison with our neighbours. Although the average pay gap across the UK also recorded a pretty trivial fall, it is smaller at just over nine per cent.
But the lack of movement really shouldn’t be a surprise. Earlier this month the Herald reported the gender pay gap at the Scottish Parliament is 11 per cent – no better than the national average. In a report in June, the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Jobs and Fair work Committee claimed £17.2 billion is lost to our economy each year as a result of the gender pay gap.
It isn’t that we don’t know about the problem, or have an incentive to fix it. The committee called for a national strategy for change.
But the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government contains little that addresses the problem directly or even tangentially, although it claimed the gender pay gap in Scotland is shrinking, a claim which looks dubious given today’s figures.
Policies on to fund free, flexible childcare are the most obvious positive. But it is increasingly apparent that a more direct approach may be necessary.
All the old problems are still applicable. Anna Ritchie Allan, of the campaign group Close the Gap says women are sill clustered in undervalued low paid jobs such as cleaning, caring and retail. Women are still under-represented in higher paid, managerial roles.
British businesses have yet to publish their pay gap data as required by law since April and 98 per cent have yet to do so. But we have seen at the BBC how significant such information can be in exposing a discriminatory internal culture to the light.
Government is often reluctant to be prescriptive in this way to business. But in February, Debbie Crosbie, chief operating officer at the Clydesdale Bank, urged MSPs to legislate, claiming businesses will simply not look at the underlying culture and structures that lead to pay discrimination, unless obliged to.
These latest figures suggest she was right. It could be time to turn up the heat – with targets and even sanctions for businesses where change is slow or non-existent.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here