Scots gender pay gap closes at ‘glacial’ pace warn campaigners

● Scotland leads the way Uk-wide ● Low paid Scots women face worst deal

The pay gap has between men and women in Scotland is shrinking – but campaigners have hit out at the “glacial” pace of change.

The difference in pay between the sexes fell from 7.7 per cent of average weekly earnings in 2015 in Scotland to 6.2 per cent in 2016.

Scotland is now leading the way in the UK after a national reduction from 9.6 per cent to 9.4 per cent.

But low paid women north of the border are facing the worst discrimination Uk-wide. Male workers in the lowest income bracket earn £12,709 on average per year – over £6,400 more than women.

Employability Minister Jamie Hepburn said: “These latest figures show we are making some progress to narrow the gender pay gap in Scotland, and in comparison to the UK we are leading the way in gender and pay equality in the workplace.”

But Anna Ritchie Allan of national women’s pay campaign body Close the Gap said too many women still find themselves in low paid, parttime work following the recession.

“The glacial pace of change on the pay gap demonstrates that much more needs to be done to realise equality for women at work,” she said.

“Initiatives aimed at increasing the number of women on boards and in senior positions are laudable, but of little relevance to most working women. We need substantive action to lift women on the bottom rung of ladder out of poverty.”

Scots are also the highest earners across the UK outside of London and the South-east, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings released yesterday.

They show that Scotland has the third highest median gross weekly full-time earnings for females at £482.60, after London (£609.50) and the South East (£497.80). After inflation, gross median weekly earnings for full-time employees in Scotland increased by 1.2 per cent over the year, from £528.60 in 2015 to £535 in 2016.