Equality duties: pay gap report 2025

Pay gap information

Coverage

The Scottish Government has three groups of staff each with separate sets of remuneration arrangements. The three pay groups are:

• Scottish Government Main (SGM)
• Scottish Government Marine (SGMarine)
• Senior Civil Service (SCS)

The SGM bargaining unit covers Core Scottish Government Directorates and a number of other bodies. Across SGM, staff share common terms and conditions of employment and fall within a single pay and grading system. The make-up of the SGM bargaining unit is provided in the section: SGM bargaining unit composition.

The Scottish Government has delegated authority to determine the pay, and terms and conditions for all staff below SCS. The SCS is reserved to the UK Government. While the members of the SCS are Scottish Government staff, their remuneration is determined and managed in line with UK Cabinet Office pay and performance management framework. Scottish Government aims to ensure that there are coherent pay arrangements between our delegated and SCS grades and that the principle of equal pay for work of equal value is delivered.

The Scottish Government pay gap analysis calculates the difference between average full-time equivalent earnings for specified groups. These calculations compare earnings for groups where protected characteristics have been declared. Both mean and median pay and pay gaps are presented below. The mean is the Scottish Government preferred method and is derived by summing the values for a given sample and then dividing the sum by the number of observations in the sample. The mean can be disproportionately influenced by a relatively small number of high-paying jobs but ensures that all staff are represented in the statistical analysis.

The median is the value below which 50% of observations fall and is less affected by a relatively small number of very high earners and any skewed distribution of earnings. A higher level of median pay gap compared to the mean pay gap reflects that new staff to the grade start at the minimum of the pay range and progress through their pay range, annually by one pay step, until they reach the maximum for their grade. Therefore, the median salary is subject to large fluctuations on a year-by-year basis depending on which step the ‘middle’ person falls into. As there is a higher proportion of female staff at lower pay grades than higher pay grades, it is more likely that the median female salary will fall on a lower pay step than the median male salary. The size of the median pay gap reflects the difference between these pay steps.

The data this report refers to is contained in a separate Official Statistics publication covering diversity and inclusion in the Scottish Government workforce. A full breakdown of workforce composition and pay gap information can be found via: Diversity and inclusion of the Scottish Government workforce - 2024

Within each individual grade (e.g. representing work of equal value) we have either no pay gap or a very minimal pay gap which is ultimately addressed by all staff in that grade reaching a common salary level within a relatively short period of time. Table 1 provides an illustration of this.

Gender

As at 31 December 2024 the mean pay gap between female and male staff was 2.82%, and the median pay gap between female and male staff was 6.31%.

A positive pay gap indicates where male staff have a pay lead.

Since publication of the 2023 Mainstreaming Report, the Scottish Government mean gender pay gap, the preferred method of measurement, has reduced from 3.09%. The median gender pay gap has remained the same.

Data on other organisations can be found here: Search and compare gender pay gap data - Gender pay gap service - GOV.UK

The Scottish Government seeks to ensure that all policies that support the employment of staff are free from bias and that work of equal value attracts equal pay. Within the Scottish Government (SGM and SGMarine) where men and women are undertaking work of equal value (i.e. within the same pay range) they are paid a similar rate and consequently the pay gap is low.

The reason for an overall mean pay gap of 2.82% is that despite the increased proportions of women at senior grades, overall there are still more women in lower pay ranges which lowers the overall average hourly rate across the whole of the Scottish Government. 

Table 2 in the section: Occupational segregation summarise the female – male workforce composition by pay band.

Chart A shows the Scottish Government gender pay gap from 2016 to 2024 as published in our equality mainstreaming reports every 2 years.

Working Pattern

As at 31 December 2024 the mean pay gap between part-time female and full-time male staff was 1.11% and the median pay gap between part-time female and full-time male staff was 5.6%.

A positive pay gap indicates where full-time male staff have a pay lead.

In the 2023 publication, the Scottish Government mean pay gap was 0.37% in favour of full-time males in relation to part-time females.

Chart B shows the Scottish Government working pattern pay gap from 2016 to 2024 as published in our equality mainstreaming reports every 2 years.

Ethnicity

As at 31 December 2024 the mean pay gap between those staff self-declared as an ethnic minority and those staff self-declared as white was 8.20%, and the median pay gap was 9.71%.

A positive pay gap indicates where white staff have a pay lead.

This analysis includes only those who have self-declared their ethnicity. Out of a total of 16,383 staff, there are 3,557 who have not self-declared themselves either minority ethnic or white.

In the 2023 publication of our workforce diversity data, the Scottish Government mean pay gap was 9.78% in favour of staff self-declared as White. The current narrowing of the mean figure represents an improvement towards equality for those staff who self-declared as an ethnic minority.

The reason for an overall mean pay gap of 8.20% is that minority ethnic staff are generally underrepresented in our workforce overall, and there are still more staff self-declared as an ethnic minority in lower pay ranges which lowers the overall average hourly rate across the whole of the Scottish Government. Table 3 in the section: Occupational segregation summarises the ethnic minority – white workforce composition by pay band.

Chart C shows the Scottish Government ethnicity pay gap from 2016 to 2024 as published in our equality mainstreaming reports every 2 years.

Disability

As at 31 December 2024 the mean pay gap between those staff self-declared as disabled, and those staff self-declared as non-disabled staff was 9.22%, and the median pay gap was 10.56%.

A positive pay gap indicates where non-disabled staff have a pay lead.

This analysis includes only those who have self-declared themselves disabled or not disabled. Out of a total of 16,383 staff, there are 4,827 who preferred not to say or whose disability status is unknown.

In the 2023 publication of our workforce diversity data, the Scottish Government mean pay gap was 9.45% in favour of staff declared as not disabled. The current narrowing of the mean figure represents an improvement towards equality for those with a declared disability.

The reason for an overall mean pay gap of 9.22% is that overall there are still more staff self-declared as disabled in lower pay ranges which lowers the overall average hourly rate across the whole of the Scottish Government. Table 4 in the section: Occupational segregation summarises the disabled – non-disabled workforce composition by pay band.

Chart D shows the Scottish Government disability pay gap from 2016 to 2024 as published in our equality mainstreaming reports every 2 years.