Study finds huge gender pay gap in Scotland

Men in Scotland are paid almost £11,000 a year more than women, according to new research carried out by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). Its study found that the gender pay gap stood at 29.2%, the worst in the UK.

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.

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.

Ann Francke, chief executive of CMI, says that the imminent pay reporting regulations will focus employers on closing the gender pay gap in their organisations:

“Promoting men ahead of women is keeping us all back. Diversity delivers better financial results, better culture and better decision making. Even before the new regulations kick in, employers need to get on board with reporting on their recruitment and promotion policies and how much they pay their men and women. Transparency and targets are what we need to deal with stubborn problems like the gender pay gap.”