Unpaid care and the gender pay gap: Literature review of recent evidence

2. Background

2.1 Gender Pay Gap in Scotland

In Scotland, the gender pay gap (GPG) between male and female median gross hourly earnings in full-time positions has been declining over the recent decades. In 2023^[2] the gender pay gap in Scotland for full-time employees is 1.7% indicating relatively higher median gross hourly earnings for men compared to women^[5].

In contrast, the gender pay gap for part-time workers is negative (-10.0%), suggesting relatively higher median gross hourly earnings for women. However, when all employees are considered the GPG is 8.7% ^[5].

This positive pay gap (i.e., higher median gross hourly earnings for men compared to women) for all employees is suggested to reflect a higher number of women being employed in part-time jobs, which are typically associated with lower hourly median pay ^[6,7].

Gender Pay Gap for Median Gross Hourly Earnings (excluding overtime) by Employment Type (%), Scotland and UK, 2023

Source: Scottish Government Analysis of Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), ONS

Understanding the factors which contribute to the gender pay gap, and ultimately closing the gap, can potentially deliver significant economic benefits. Specifically, the European Parliament ^[8] estimate that reducing the gender pay gap by 1% would serve to increase the European Union’s GDP by 0.1%.

2.2 Determinants of the GPG

The Office for National Statistics (2018) identifies working pattern, occupation, age (years of work experience and on the job training), and job tenure as the main determinants of the gender pay gap ^[3].

Unpaid childcare and unpaid care can impact each of these determinants, with carers often having to find jobs that enable them to balance employment with their caring responsibilities. This can often mean reducing working hours, seeking flexible working environments, being excluded from opportunities to progress in their career, or dropping out of the labour market entirely for prolonged spells.

Working pattern drives the gender pay gap in the short term due to the differences in hourly pay between full-time and part-time positions ^[5].

There is evidence that working reduced hours can also lead to differences in the earnings between men and women over time, due to the differences in accumulation of full-time work experience and on the job training ^[4].

2.3 Definitions

For the purposes of this review the following definitions have been used:

• Unpaid childcare giver - parents caring for their own children at home themselves. Informal care givers such as grandparents, other relatives, and friends, who may in certain circumstances be the primary care giver, are typically not considered in the literature and are therefore not included here.
• Unpaid carer - anyone who looks after a friend, family member or neighbour due to either: old age; physical or mental illness; disability; or an addiction. ‘Looking after’ can mean helping with things like shopping, domestic tasks, emotional assistance and personal care. This does not include paid care workers or those who are volunteering ^[9].
• Young carer - individual under the age of 18, or 18 and still at school, who provides care for someone else ^[10].
• Gender pay gap (GPG) - the difference between the median hourly earnings (excluding overtime) for men and women as a proportion of the median hourly earnings (excluding overtime) for men ^[3].

Throughout this review “choices” or “decisions” are used to refer to a change in carer employment circumstances following the onset of caring responsibilities. In some situations, this may reflect the carer’s preferences. However, this review acknowledges that in other situations the unpaid childcare giver or carer may have no choice but to change their employment circumstances to accommodate their caring responsibilities.