Publication - Strategy/plan
A fairer Scotland for women: gender pay gap action plan
Our action plan setting out a list of actions that will be taken to address the many drivers of the gender pay gap.
This document is part of a collection
Annex A References
There are a number of policy frameworks which are contributing to tackling the gender pay gap. These include:
Early years and childcare
| Policy framework | Commitment |
|---|---|
| Fairer Scotland Action Plan | “By 2020, entitlement to free early learning and childcare will almost double for all three and four-year olds, as well as those two-year olds that stand to benefit most, to 1,140 hours per year (from current levels of 600 hours per year).” |
| “In 2017-18, we will pilot approaches, in locations throughout Scotland, to reducing upfront childcare costs.” | |
| A Blueprint for 2020: The expansion of early learning and childcare in Scotland action plan | “Work with local authorities and delivery partners to develop recruitment and career pathways which assist in both attracting and retaining high calibre candidates within the ELC workforce, and which also improve the gender balance across the sector.” |
| “Work with delivery partners, who already have excellent links to communities across Scotland, to raise the profile of a career in ELC amongst underrepresented groups.” | |
| “Implement a programme of pilot approaches in 2017-18 to explore how additional support can be tailored to help reduce the burden of upfront childcare costs. The pilots will focus on trialling deposit guarantee schemes.” | |
| “Provide sufficient additional revenue funding to allow local authorities to agree rates with funded providers in the private and third sectors that enable them to pay the Living Wage to care workers providing the funded entitlement.” | |
| A Blueprint for 2020: The expansion of early learning and childcare in Scotland: Quality action plan | “Prepare a national induction resource for all staff who are new to delivering early learning and childcare to ensure that they are well supported in developing the skills and understanding they need in their role.” |
| “Develop guidance that will support local authorities and early learning and childcare providers in the private and third sectors to implement the living wage commitment.” | |
| Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan | “New support for childcare after school and in the holidays.” |
| STEM education and training strategy | “Introduce new measures to tackle inequality and inequity, including gender stereotypes, in STEM learning and careers from the early years onwards.” |
| “Work with early learning providers and schools from June 2018 to help them recognise and address unconscious bias and gender stereotyping and tackle inequity.” | |
| Equally Safe Delivery Plan | “Develop a resource for early learning and childcare practitioners on promoting gender equality.” |
| “Work with early learning providers and schools to help them recognise and address unconscious bias and gender stereotyping, including steps to embed good practice from the successful Institute of Physics Improving Gender Balance project across all schools.” | |
| “Take forward a transformative programme to expand free Early Learning and Childcare entitlement to 1,140 hours per year by 2020, including piloting a deposit guarantee scheme for childcare places.” | |
| “Increase the flexibility of how this funded entitlement is delivered in order to support more parents to work, train or study, especially those who need routes into sustainable employment and out of poverty.” | |
| “Deliver a Returner’s Programme to assist women to re-enter the workforce following a career break – funding projects which address the under-representation of women in STEM, increase business start-up rates for women and the number of women in senior positions and encourage men into childcare to help to change the perception of caring as ‘women’s work’.” | |
| Early Learning and Childcare Service Model for 2020: Consultation paper | “All providers should describe how they will commit to fair work practices for workers engaged in the delivery of the funded ELC entitlement in their setting. In addition to committing to payment of the real living wage, all settings will be able to demonstrate at least one of the following [six practices] including: A fair and equal pay policy across their setting. |
| Early Learning and Childcare Workforce Delivery Plan 2018 | “We will explore the ability to track and monitor indicators in the ELC workforce, recognising the difficulties with current data sources.” |
| “We will establish links with disability networks and ethnic minority groups to identify the barriers to ELC employment for specific groups and address those barriers.” | |
| “We will collate and actively promote advice/sources of funding/external support/best practice examples on diversifying workforce for ELC employers. We will share widely a as standalone document.” | |
| “We will address those barriers via our recruitment campaign and by working with stakeholders to ensure employers are fully supported in increasing diversity in the workforce.” | |
| Skills Investment Plan for Scotland’s Early Learning and Childcare Sector | “Deliver a high profile recruitment campaign to attract a diverse workforce.” |
| “Promote the sector and create opportunities for under-represented groups.” |
School
| Policy framework | Commitment |
|---|---|
| Developing the Young Workforce: Scotland’s youth employment strategy | “Scotland should embed equality education across Curriculum for Excellence.” |
| “Promotion and communication of career options should actively target equalities groups to promote diverse participation across gender, Black and Minority Ethnic groups, young people with disabilities and care leavers. The promotion of Modern Apprenticeship opportunities should be to the fore of this activity.” | |
| Career Education Standard (3-18) | “All involved in career education should provide advice, guidance and opportunities that contribute to eradicating discrimination; and promoting mutual respect and equality of opportunity across genders, social background, disabilities, ethnicities, sexual orientation and religions.” |
| Developing the Young Workforce: Work Placements Standard | “All stakeholders involved in any work placement should provide advice, guidance and opportunities that contribute to eradicating discrimination; and promoting mutual respect and equality of opportunity across genders, social background, disabilities, ethnicities, sexual orientation and religions.” |
| Delivering Excellence and Equity in Scotland | “We will work with the General Teaching Council for Scotland to provide more support to teachers on equality issues through Career Long Professional Learning to be in place by August 2017.” |
| Education: A delivery plan for Scotland | “We will work with Education Scotland and the General Teaching Council for Scotland to undertake a review of Initial Teacher Education programmes to report by April 2017, to ensure that they provide appropriate detail on content for literacy, numeracy, health and wellbeing, data literacy and equality across both primary and secondary sectors.” |
| “We will continue to address wider issues such as gender to ensure that we are creating the conditions for all children and young people in Scotland to flourish and thrive.” | |
| STEM Education and Training Strategy | “Introduce new measures to tackle inequality and inequity, including gender stereotypes, in STEM learning and careers from the early years onwards.” |
| “Skills Development Scotland will continue to develop its approach to support key influencers (teachers, parents, career advisors and peers) to challenge assumptions of traditional career choices and encourage under-represented groups to take up STEM apprenticeship opportunities. This will include embedding equality considerations in the quality assurance of apprenticeships provision.” | |
| “We will seek to embed good practice from the successful Institute of Physics Improving Gender Balance project across all schools by 2022. We will create a dedicated resource to lead, manage and support this work and will involve equalities experts in the third sector.” | |
| “Skills Development Scotland will work with partners at a local level to increase female uptake of Foundation Apprenticeship STEM-related programmes, starting in 2018 and continuing until 2022.” | |
| Equally Safe Delivery Plan | “Expand the delivery of the Rape Crisis Sexual Violence Prevention Programme in schools, to increase understanding of consent and healthy relationships.” |
| “Through a review of Personal and Social Education, investigate how consent is taught within early years, primary and secondary schools.” | |
| “Pilot the development of a ‘whole school’ approach to tackling gender-based violence.” | |
| “Through the Developing the Young Workforce programme, develop a holistic approach towards addressing gender stereotypes and norms in schools and education settings.” | |
| “Provide more support for teachers on equality issues, including through the development of an online resource on relationships, sexual health and parenthood information for teachers and youth workers.” | |
| “Following publication of the refreshed approach to addressing bullying in schools (including bullying based on sexism and gender), develop guidance for monitoring and recording incidents.” | |
| “Promote prevention programmes within the wider context of positive relationships and behaviour in schools, and encourage the harmonisation of prevention approaches across local authorities.” | |
| Modern Apprenticeship Equalities Action plan | “Build regionally co-ordinated school interventions to effect long-term cultural change with a particular focus on challenging gender stereotypes in STEM subject areas through the Improving Gender Balance (IGB) Scotland Project.” |
Post-School
| Policy framework | Commitment |
|---|---|
| Developing the Young Workforce: Scotland’s youth employment strategy | “Reduce to 60%, the percentage of MA frameworks where the gender balance is 75:25 or worse by 2021.” |
| “Increase by five percentage points the minority gender share in each of the 10 largest and most imbalanced superclasses by 2021.” | |
| “Promotion and communication of career options should actively target equalities groups to promote diverse participation across gender, Black and Minority Ethnic groups, young people with disabilities and care leavers. The promotion of Modern Apprenticeship opportunities should be to the fore of this activity.” | |
| “Senior phase vocational pathways should be designed to encourage more gender balance across occupations.” | |
| “The Scottish Funding Council and colleges should develop an action plan to address gender disparities within college education. This should be underpinned by realistic but stretching improvement targets. The Scottish Funding Council should report on this annually.” | |
| “Skills Development Scotland should develop an action plan to address gender disparities within Modern Apprenticeships. This should be underpinned by realistic but stretching improvement targets. SDS should report on this annually.” | |
| Scottish Funding Council Gender Action Plan | Strategic aims include: |
| “By 2021, increase by five percentage points the minority share in each of the 10 largest and most imbalanced ‘superclasses’ among 16-24-year olds.” | |
| “By 2030, no subject has an extreme gender imbalance (75:25).” | |
| STEM Education and Training Strategy | “Introduce new measures to tackle inequality and inequity, including gender stereotypes, in STEM learning and careers from the early years onwards.” |
| “Skills Development Scotland will continue to develop its approach to support key influencers (teachers, parents, career advisors and peers) to challenge assumptions of traditional career choices and encourage under-represented groups to take up STEM apprenticeship opportunities. This will include embedding equality considerations in the quality assurance of apprenticeships provision.” | |
| Equally Safe Delivery Plan | “Through the Developing the Young Workforce programme, develop a holistic approach towards addressing gender stereotypes and norms in schools and education settings.” |
| “Work with universities and colleges to ensure the provision of a safe environment for students and staff through learning and on campus action, utilising learning from existing practice, relevant recommendations for improvement, and learning from the ‘Equally Safe in Higher Education’ project.” | |
| The 15-24 Learner Journey Review | “With regard to colleges and universities …this includes expectations for developing an effective, strategic and collaborative approach to preventing gender-based violence on campuses.” |
| “We will ensure learners in schools, colleges and universities receive a joined-up approach to careers, information, advice and guidance. This work will start in 2018. We will work in partnership with colleges to ensure greater consistency in CIAG service delivery to learners. This will include better access to specific career practitioners in the college sector. We will work with QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education) and Universities to ensure their quality processes align with Scottish Government aspirations for learner access to CIAG support.” | |
| Modern Apprenticeship equalities action plan | “Build regionally co-ordinated school interventions to effect long-term cultural change with a particular focus on challenging gender stereotypes in STEM subject areas through the Improving Gender Balance (IGB) Scotland Project.” |
| Skills for Scotland: Accelerating the recovery and increasing sustainable economic growth | “Promote equality of opportunity to those who face persistent disadvantage and to improve the numbers of people economically active across all groups within society.” |
Employability
| Policy framework | Commitment |
|---|---|
| The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018-22 | “£12 million investment in new, intensive employment support for parents.” |
| Equally Safe delivery plan | “Ensure the successful bidder(s) to deliver devolved employment services demonstrate clearly how they will deliver a service that is gendered in terms of understanding the needs of women seeking employment; and use levers at their disposal to encourage employers to consider flexible working approaches which enable more women to take up a broader range of opportunities.” |
Employment
| Policy framework | Commitment |
|---|---|
| Programme for Government 2018 | “Introduce fair work criteria, including, paying the Living Wage, excluding exploitative zero hours contracts and being transparent on gender-equal pay to business support grants through Regional Selective Assistance and other large Scottish Enterprise job-related grants, starting with grants offered in 2019-2020.” |
| “Implement the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018, and provide guidance on the new requirements.” | |
| “Invest an additional £5 million over the next three years to support around 2,000 women’s return to work.” | |
| “Work with business organisations to showcase the positive contributions of women returning to work and address skills gaps in businesses across Scotland.” | |
| “Seek to offer pre-employment support to women in their local area before they undertake a three-month placement with an employer.” | |
| “Encourage women to return into more advanced roles where we know the gender pay gap is the widest.” | |
| “Work with training providers and employers to support women returning to the workforce to undertake roles in male-dominated sectors.” | |
| “Launching a major national campaign in spring 2019 to challenge sexual harassment and sexism.” | |
| “Pilot an accreditation scheme for employers which will support employers to tackle gender-based violence in their workforces.” | |
| Labour Market Strategy | “We will be innovative in supporting those facing barriers in the workplace through initiatives such as a project to help women returners back into the workplace.” |
| “Our approach will include … continuing to tackle inequalities around pay gaps and occupational segregation in the labour market for women and for other equality groups.” | |
| “Establish a Returner’s Project focused so that women can get help updating skills and knowledge, and employers can retain skilled staff after a career break.” | |
| STEM Education and Training Strategy | “Introduce new measures to tackle inequality and inequity, including gender stereotypes, in STEM learning and careers from the early years onwards.” |
| “Skills Development Scotland will continue to develop its approach to support key influencers (teachers, parents, career advisors and peers) to challenge assumptions of traditional career choices and encourage under-represented groups to take up STEM apprenticeship opportunities. This will include embedding equality considerations in the quality assurance of apprenticeships provision.” | |
| Equally Safe Delivery Plan | “Work with universities and colleges to ensure the provision of a safe environment for students and staff through learning and on campus action, utilising learning from existing practice, relevant recommendations for improvement, and learning from the ‘Equally Safe in Higher Education’ project.” |
| “Encourage employers to put in place robust processes to deal with instances of sexual harassment.” | |
| “Develop a pilot Equally Safe employer accreditation programme in order to lever better employment practice in tackling gender-based violence experienced by the workforce.” | |
| Scotland’s Economic Strategy | “Continue funding for a range of organisations to tackle the pay gap, address occupational segregation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) areas and to work with employers to promote and support flexible working.” |
| Fair Work Framework | “By 2025, people in Scotland will have a world-leading working life where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, businesses, organisations and society. The Fair Work Framework sets out what is meant by fair work, why it is important, who can play a part in making Scotland a world-leading nation in fair work and how this might be achieved.” |
Social Security
| Policy framework | Commitment |
|---|---|
| Fairer Scotland Action Plan | “We will make social security fairer when we can.” |
| “We will do more to help carers as soon as we have the ability”. | |
| “We will work with a range of partners to help people claim the benefits they are entitled to.” | |
| “We will create a new Best Start Grant (BSG).” | |
| “By 2020, entitlement to free early learning and childcare will almost double.” | |
| “From April 2017, our proposed reforms will make the current Council Tax system fairer for low income families.” | |
| Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan | “A new minimum payment for the School Clothing Grant across Scotland.” |
| “£1 million on new practical support for children experiencing food insecurity during school holidays.” | |
| “New support for childcare after school and in the holidays.” | |
| “A new income supplement, which in time will provide vital financial support for parents on low incomes.” | |
| “A new Best Start Grant.” | |
| Equally Safe delivery plan | “Develop proposals for delivering split payments under Universal Credit, working with stakeholders to explore potential policy options.” |
| “Continue to set out strong opposition to the UK Government’s policy of restricting benefits to two children and the subsequent requirement on women to disclose they have been raped to access further benefits.” | |
| “Develop guidance for professionals who may be asked to act as third party assessors for the exemption where a child is conceived through rape, to ensure that women seeking such an assessment receive the right support.” |
Contact
Email: lorraine.lee2@gov.scot
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