Scotland has the potential to lead the way on tackling gender inequality – after figures revealed that the gender pay gap for full-time employees in Scotland decreased from 7.2% in 2019 to 3.0% in 2020.
The Gender Pay Gap for all employees in Scotland decreased from 14.4% in 2019 to 10.9% in 2020, the lowest since the series began in 1997 – in comparison to the UK where there was a 1.9% decrease in 2020, to 15.5%.
The Gender Pay Gap for full-time employees in Scotland has been lower than in the UK since 2003.
The SNP has taken considerable action to combat the gap – ensuring that all public authorities with more than 20 employees publish their pay gap every two years, doubling funding to support businesses led by women, and establishing a women returners scheme.
MSP Gillian Martin (pictured) said:
“Although Scotland has already taken great strides towards combatting the gender pay gap, and inequality between men and women, we still need to go further to achieve a truly equal society.
“The gender pay gap is far smaller in Scotland than it is across the UK, but our economy could benefit by a further £15 billion if we had the powers to fully eradicate that gap between male and female workers.
“We need employment law for a start.
“Westminster has not delivered on economic equality for women, and their Gender Pay Gap reporting obligations are toothless and tokenistic.
“With employment powers in our own hands we can take action which will hugely benefit our workers, businesses and economy.
“With independence we can fund uplifts in free childcare provision like other small progressive nations do.
“Although Scotland’s progress is promising, we still have a fair distance to travel before we can sit back and say we’ve tackled gender inequality.
“The pandemic has been particularly hard on women, and we need radical and swift action to address it in the recovery.
“We owe it to future generations to end women’s inequality once and for all, and we don’t have any time to lose.”
