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Holyrood report: Scottish Government ‘can help close gender pay gap and boost economy by up to £17billion’

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The Scottish Government could use devolved powers to help close the gender pay gap, and boost Scotland’s economy, according to a Holyrood committee report.

The Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee gender pay gap report, ‘No Small Change’ calls on the Government to take action in a range of devolved areas, including making care a priority sector; and upskilling women currently compelled to return to lower-paid, lower-skilled jobs after career breaks.

The report’s recommendations include:

  • Developing an overarching strategy covering all areas of policy where positive steps could be made towards narrowing the pay gap.

    • Care should become a Scottish Government priority sector, acknowledging the importance of the sector to Scotland’s economy. Improving pay, conditions and the status of the child, adult and elderly care sectors would not only reduce the gender pay gap but also help recruit a more balanced workforce.

      • Scottish Government to learn from the successes of the Modern Apprenticeship programme and develop a new, appropriately resourced programme for people returning to work. Currently, ‘Three in five professional women returning to the workforce being likely to move into lower-skilled or lower-paid roles, experiencing an immediate earnings reduction of up to a third.’** This approach could bring many additional jobs to Scotland.

        • Scottish Government, its agencies, and the Scottish Parliament to ensure that they are following best practice principles and ensure that all roles are advertised as flexible, agile or part-time, unless there is a business reason not to do so. The committee was told that currently UK-wide, in the region of ‘8 per cent of roles that are advertised with a salary of over £20,000 per annum offer some sort of flexible working.’ ***

          • Convener of the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee, Gordon Lindhurst MSP said: “The Committee is clear there is a gender pay issue for Scotland’s workforce. Women across Scotland’s economy are still concentrated in low-paid jobs and part-time work. The pay gap primarily affects women and isn’t just attributable to women choosing to start a family or to take time out of their careers.

          “Each and every one of us is likely to rely on professional care at some time in our lives. Despite the radical change in skills over the years, this continues to be one of the lowest-paying, female-worker dominated sectors in Scotland. We want to see the Government address this issue by prioritising the care sector; it is vital that we raise the status of care in Scotland.

          He added: “Supporting everyone – both female and male - in all our sectors to achieve their full economic potential will take ambition, innovation and, for some, a shift in cultural thinking. But it is within the Scottish Government’s power to help make this happen, and the benefits for Scotland’s economy could be significant.”

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