Energy firm SSE moves to address gender inequality

Perth-based electricity giant, SSE is taking steps towards addressing gender-based pay inequality in Scotland.

Rosie MacRae, head of inclusion and diversity at SSE and who works in the Fair City head office, was speaking at a Holyrood Parliamentary Committee.

Ms MacRae is responsible for ensuring the energy firm has the right mix of employees from all backgrounds and genders.

She was giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s economy, jobs and fair work committee.

The meeting was exploring the steps Scotland must take to help encourage complete gender equality in the workforce.

In 2016 SSE decided to make public its gender pay gap, almost two years before the government mandated deadline, a decision seen as a crucial first step in the journey towards fixing its inclusion and diversity issues.

The company was the first in its industry and one of the few FTSE100 companies to do so.

Rosie said: “As of April 2018, large companies need to publish this data anyway so we decided to get ahead of the game and publish it almost two years ahead of the deadline.

“We’ve always known getting women and girls to take up careers in the STEM subjects is very difficult, but we had to know our base level to decide the best way to get more women and girls into the industry.

“As it transpired, we were around the UK average (19%), but knowing that allowed us to work on addressing the issue.”