WOMEN HIT BY PAY GAP CRISIS
Equality backlash as Scots females paid £4,200 a year less than men – and the salary divide is growing faster than the rest of UK
SCOTTISH women earn £4,258 a year less than men and the gap i s growing, according to new figures. The widening divide, which leaves the SNP’s commitment to equality in tatters, is in contrast to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where it is narrowing. Middle-aged women who have shown loyalty to employers are most likely to be losing out, with those aged 50 to 55 likely to earn half as much as a man of the same age.
Experts believe Scotland’s reliance on public sector jobs, particularly for women, is the cause of the problem, as the sector has seen a pay freeze in recent years. In the private sector, which employs more men, wages have risen.
The figures, from a report by think tank Fiscal Affairs Scotland (FAS), put the SNP’s failure on the gender pay gap into sharp focus and lay bare the challenge facing Nicola Sturgeon, who promised to put ‘equality and fairness’ at the heart of government. The First Minister is currently in China, where she has been lecturing political leaders on gender equality.
FAS executive director John McLaren said: ‘If you’ve been in a job for 20 or 30 years and you’ve been underpaid, chances are you’re still being underpaid. If you’re in your 50s, it’s more likely that’s happened.’
Asked why Scotland was going backwards, he added: ‘Obviously one reason would be
that public sector jobs are more poorly paid than private sector.’
With many couples putting off starting a family, many women are taking maternity leave in their 30s and 40s and often returning to work part-time while their children are young, adding to the pay gap later.
The FAS report said: ‘This shift in the pattern of childbearing may have led to some delay in the gender gap kicking in but, post any career break to start a family, a significant gap still emerges. Women are more likely to work part time if they return to the labour market.
‘Overall, it seems that efforts made to narrow the gender pay gap have been much more successful in the earlier years of working life than in the later years.’
According to the Office for National Statistics the pay gap has been widening in Scotland since 2011.
Between then and 2014, while Miss Sturgeon was Deputy First Minister, the gender pay gap grew in Scotland from . per cent to 9 per cent.
Over the same period, it fell in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. An average Scotsman earns £15. 9 an hour, while women earn £13.35. That compares to Englishmen on £1 .7 and women on £13. 8.
Yesterday, opposition politicians warned the First Minister she needed policies to match her rhetoric.
Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said: ‘It’s disappointing that the gap between what men and women in Scotland get paid has grown
‘Ensure women are not disadvantaged’
in recent years whilst progress has been made elsewhere in the UK.
‘We may have a female First Minister in Scotland, but that doesn’t appear to be making much difference to women getting paid less than men.’
Lib Dem MSP Alison McInnes said: ‘It is fundamentally wrong that a woman should be paid less than a man for the same work and scandalous the pay gap persists 45 years after the Equal Pay Act came into force.
‘The First Minister has made welcome progress on gender equality in her Cabinet. Now she needs to ensure women working across Scotland are not disadvantaged simply by virtue of their gender.’
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: ‘Instead of endlessly talking about this matter, the Scottish Government should get its head down and actually do something. That’s what the UK Government has done and it appears to be having a positive impact.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Tackling low pay and the gender pay gap are key priorities. While equality legislation is reserved, we have introduced a duty on relevant public authorities to publish gender pay gap information and statements on equal pay. Since 2007, we have committed £3.9million to fund projects aimed at tackling the gender pay gap and occupational segregation.
‘The First Minister also made it clear she is determined to make major and lasting progress towards true gender equality and has called on businesses across Scotland to make the commitment to support equality and work towards achieving a 50/50 gender split on their boards by 2020.’