Scots Gender Pay Gap 'Worst in UK'

23/08/2016 - Men in Scotland are paid almost £11,000 a year more than women, according to new research.

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) said the gender pay gap stood at 29.2% and was the worst gap in the UK.

It follows conclusions by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, which found the wage gap in the UK became even wider when new mothers returned to work.

From April 2017 companies with more than 250 staff will be required to publish any gender pay gap data.

The CMI study also showed that male managers were 40% more likely than female managers to be promoted into higher roles.

Analysis of salary data of more than 60,000 UK employees found that in the past year, 14% of men in management roles were promoted into higher positions compared to 10% of women.

In Scotland, the gender pay gap was 29.2%, representing a £10,862 difference between genders and was the worst regional gap in the UK.

Petra Wilton, director of strategy at the organisation, said progress to address the gender pay gap had stalled.

'Reporting requirements'

She told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme that Scotland's strong manufacturing tradition combined with a "motherhood penalty" for women had resulted in less opportunity for promotion for female staff.

"That probably accounts for, in part, why Scotland is particularly suffering that 29% pay gap, compared with 23% nationally", she said.

"In Scotland there's much bigger industries in construction, financial services and some of those professional services where we do see those pay gaps bigger and also less women represented at the senior levels."

She said transparency would help highlight pay gaps at individual firms.

She added: "We're very much welcoming gender pay guidelines in reporting requirements from April next year because that will help shine a spotlight on all other sectors.

"Hopefully it will trickle through the economy and a lot of smaller organisations are looking at what best-practice looks like, otherwise they'll be missing out on talent and the female contribution in the workplace."

Earlier this year the UK government announced plans which will see 8,000 employers with more than 250 staff have to reveal the number of men and women in each pay range, and show where the pay gaps are at their widest.

A government spokeswoman said: "The gender pay gap is the lowest on record but we know we need to make more progress and faster."

"That's why we are pushing ahead with plans to force businesses to publish their gender pay and gender bonus gap - shining a light on the barriers preventing women from reaching the top."

Source: BBC News