Scottish Government workforce diversity and inclusion statistics 2025
Statistics on the diversity of core Scottish Government permanent staff and the experiences of different demographic groups within the workforce.
Trans status or history - Scottish Government
The data below cover staff working in core Scottish Government directorate generals, selected agencies and selected non-ministerial departments. Data covering staff in core Scottish Government directorate generals only are also available. More details can be found in the notes page of this publication.
The term “trans” is used as a shorthand for “transgender” and encompasses multiple trans and non-binary identities. The terms “cis” or “cisgender” refer to individuals who are not trans and do not have a trans history.
Data on turnover and promotions of trans staff or staff with a trans history have not been included in this publication. Due to the low numbers of trans staff within the Scottish Government, such measures could be disclosive. They have therefore been removed to reduce the risk of disclosing sensitive information.
Declaration rates for trans status are 45.0% in our internal HR system, 87.1% in our recruitment system, and 99.1% in the People Survey.
Declaration rates for our internal HR system are currently low because this question was introduced for the first time in October 2024.
Workforce composition
Staff who haven’t declared their trans status are not included in the percentages below.
Headcounts
Staff that are trans or have a trans history make up 0.5% of the Scottish Government workforce, compared with 0.5% of Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64 who are transgender/other.
The chart below shows the breakdown of the Scottish Government workforce by trans status and by UK Civil Service pay band or working pattern (i.e. full-time or part-time). Percentages may include up (↑) or down (↓) arrows where data are significantly higher or lower than the overall Scottish Government representation. The trans status breakdown of Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64 is included as a comparison where available.
A table in the supplementary dataset also shows the breakdown for each Scottish Government agency, Director General area, or other body covered by this publication.
Figure 3a: Pay band or working pattern, by trans status - December 2025
Part-time staff make up 16.6% of all permanent staff.
Recruitment
0.7% of applications come from applicants that are trans or have a trans history. The proportion of offers accepted from applicants that are trans or have a trans history is suppressed for confidentiality purposes.
The chart below shows the percentage breakdown of applicants by trans status at each stage of the recruitment process. Applicants applying to multiple jobs are included once for each application they submit. The trans status breakdown of Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64 is included as a comparison where available.
Figure 3b: Recruitment stages reached in 2025, by trans status
The stages of the recruitment process are explained in the notes page of this publication.
Staff experiences
Figures for staff who haven’t declared their trans status are not included in the charts below, although they are included in the total figures.
Absences
Staff that are trans or have a trans history lost an average of 23.2 working days to sickness absences.
Staff that are not trans and do not have a trans history lost an average of 8.3 working days to sickness absences.
AWDL is a measure of absence levels that allows for comparison between different groups. A higher AWDL indicates a higher rate of days absent relative to the number of staff in that group and their working pattern.
Figure 3c: Average working days lost in 2025, by trans status
Workforce culture
Workforce culture data used in this publication come from the Civil Service People Survey and cover core Scottish Government (SG Core) staff only. These data can be found on the SG Core page.