New survey for disabled women in the Scottish workplace

Are you a disabled woman or a woman with a long-term health condition? We want to hear about your experiences of work in Scotland, to help improve women’s equality. 

Close the Gap has been conducting a research project on disabled women’s experiences of employment in Scotland. Now, we’re launching a survey to gather more data to build a richer picture about disabled women’s working lives.

This survey builds on from our emerging findings, and will be part of wider research, with the aim that the inequalities women with disabilities and long-term health conditions face are better understood, and tackled, by policymakers and employers.

Take the survey here.

Who can take part?

The survey is open to disabled women and women with long-term health conditions who live in Scotland.

What do we want to know?

We want to hear about your experiences in the workplace on range of key areas including:

• recruitment
• access to training and development
• workplace culture
• discrimination
• violence against women

All responses will be anonymous. Findings from the survey will be analysed and used to inform the development of the final research report.

There’s also a chance to enter a prize draw to win a shopping voucher for your involvement. Prizes are 1 x £150 voucher, 2 x £75 vouchers, and 3 x £50 vouchers.

You can take the online survey here.

If you require an accessible Word version of the survey, please email info@closethegap.org.uk

The survey closes on Thursday 13 February 2025.

Violence against women (VAW) in the workplace: A barrier to equality

As 2024 draws to a close, the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign remains at the forefront of vital discussions and efforts to eradicate violence against women and girls (VAWG). This year, the campaign, which runs annually from November 25^th (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10^th (Human Rights Day), also marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Adopted in 1995, this seminal framework has influenced global efforts to promote women’s rights and outlines strategic objectives for addressing economic inequality, political representation, and violence against women (VAW). This campaign presents an opportunity to propel these efforts even further and aligns with Scotland’s Equally Safe strategy, which recognises that VAW is a cause and consequence of gender inequality.

In Scotland, the continued theme, ‘Imagine a Scotland without Gender-Based Violence’, focuses on the role of government and society in changing attitudes and behaviours while challenging the gender inequalities that underpin VAW. This pervasive issue affects every aspect of women’s lives, including their experience in the workplace. For example, one in four women in Scotland experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, with three-quarters of these women targeted at their workplaces. As well, 70% of women in Scotland reported having experienced or witnessed sexual harassment in the workplace and 80% never report to their employer.

Preventing VAW requires decisive and coordinated action to address women’s inequality across all aspects of society, including the workplace, where systemic gender disparities are often most pronounced. Employers must go beyond simply recognising the issue and take concrete steps to create safer, more equitable environments for women. This includes implementing comprehensive policies to prevent sexual harassment, undertaking training to identify and support victim-survivors of VAW, and embedding gender equality into recruitment, pay, and progression practices. By tackling these structural issues, organisations contribute to wider societal change, ensuring that progress in workplace equality drives efforts to eliminate VAW at every level.

The impact of VAW on women’s employment

The link between VAW, gender inequality and women’s labour market inequality are not widely acknowledged. However, VAW has profound implications for women’s labour market participation, driving economic and workplace barriers that erode financial independence and restrict access to meaningful employment opportunities. This can be seen in cases of financial and economic abuse. Financial abuse focuses on controlling a victim-survivor’s money and assets, while economic abuse encompasses broader tactics, such as sabotaging employment opportunities or restricting access to education. 95% of domestic abuse victim-survivors experience economic abuse, and 60% of domestic abuse victim-survivors in the UK are in debt due to economic abuse. Financial dependence and poverty can make it harder for women experiencing violence or abuse to move on and maintain employment.

Sexual harassment also remains a persistent issue for workplaces. A 2019 survey by the Trades Union Congress revealed that 68% of disabled women reported being sexually harassed at work, compared to 52% of women overall. The same survey found that more than half (54%) of disabled women had experienced two or more types of sexually harassing behaviour, and 45% had experienced three or more. Other research found that 63% of women aged 18-24 has experience some form of sexual harassment at work. Victim-survivors have also stated that they fear retaliation, damage to their professional reputation, or even dismissal if they report or speak out. These experiences discourage women from advocating for fair treatment or pursuing leadership roles. Women constitute approximately 49% of Scotland’s labour market. However, their representation in leadership positions remains disproportionately low. According to Engender’s Sex & Power in Scotland 2023, women hold just over a third of key positions of power, with men occupying two-thirds of these roles. This underrepresentation, combined with a lack of proactive measures to address workplace VAW, perpetuates a cycle where women are unable to fully advance in their careers.

Research from the World Health Organization indicates that 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced rape and sexual assault in their lifetime. In Scotland, similar to most forms of VAW, rape and sexual assault is significantly underreported. Only 22% of victim-survivors of rape reported it to the police . Experiences of rape and sexual assault can severely affect the victim-survivor’s life in various ways. Victim-survivors often take time off work to seek help from specialist support agencies, attend doctor’s or counselling appointments or access legal support. Women also report that they struggle to find appropriate support in the workplace due to a lack of understanding of their experience.

It’s also important to recognise that the impact and experience of VAW is not uniform and women are not a homogenous group. Different groups of women experience multiple, intersecting inequalities and discriminations that overlap and combine to create different levels of inequality. Understanding these complex interactions is essential for developing targeted and effective interventions that address the specific needs of women in diverse communities. Policies and programmes must be inclusive and culturally sensitive, recognising the unique barriers faced by women with intersecting identities. Only through an intersectional lens can we create a comprehensive response to VAW that effectively supports every woman.

Equally Safe at Work: Advancing gender equality to prevent VAW

To effectively prevent VAW, it’s essential to address gender inequality within the workplace. Women’s experiences of VAW are deeply intertwined with the structural barriers they face in the labour market, such as inflexible working arrangements, low-paid part-time roles, and inadequate workplace support for victim-survivors. These challenges reinforce gender inequality and perpetuate conditions that increase women’s vulnerability to violence and economic dependency. Addressing these issues requires transformative action from employers, who play a critical role in fostering equitable and supportive working environments.

Equally Safe at Work (ESAW), developed by Close the Gap, is a pioneering accreditation programme designed to support employers in tackling VAW and advancing gender equality in Scotland’s workplaces. As a primary prevention initiative, ESAW supports the implementation of the Equally Safe strategy by guiding organisations in developing policies and practices that address the root causes of VAW. Through the programme, organisations are encouraged to adopt an integrated approach to workplace change, encompassing policy development, awareness raising, and capacity building. This includes implementing VAW policies, embedding gender-sensitive practices across recruitment and flexible working, and addressing negative workplace cultures. ESAW also emphasises the importance of data-driven change, supporting employers to collect and analyse gender-sensitive workforce data to identify and address barriers to gender equality. By providing a comprehensive roadmap, ESAW ensures that participating organisations are not only compliant with best practices but are actively contributing to the prevention of VAW and the advancement of workplace equality.

Findings from ESAW’s 2022–2023 evaluation in local government, NHS, and the third sector demonstrate significant progress among participating employers and an increased understanding of their role as employers in addressing VAW.

“It’s drawn linkage between the world of work and VAW, and causality between them. We have made effort to talk about this in comms to staff. The relevance to managers has become clearer.”

“Every time we review a policy now, we apply a gender lens to it – applying a gender lens to everything. We have selected policies and will build this into our normal policy review process.”

Looking forward

It is critical to recognise that advancing women’s participation in the labour market, while vital, is not a standalone solution to gender inequality or VAW prevention. Structural inequalities within the labour market, including the undervaluation of women’s work and occupational segregation, contribute to and sustain institutional inequity. In Scotland, women continue to dominate low-paid and undervalued sectors such as care, retail, and cleaning. Additionally, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that over 10% of workers in Scotland are trapped in persistent low pay, with 72% of them being women. These figures highlight the structural barriers that prevent many women from achieving economic independence and security. Addressing these disparities is crucial to eradicating VAW while also contributes to broader efforts to reduce poverty and promote gender equality.

Employers must commit to comprehensive changes that address the root causes of inequality in the workplace. This includes implementing gender-sensitive employment policies, promoting flexible working, providing comprehensive support for victim-survivors, and tackling the undervaluation of women’s roles. By doing so, workplaces can play a pivotal role in transforming the conditions that perpetuate gender inequality and VAW, ensuring safer, more equitable opportunities for all women.

For more detailed information on the gender pay gap and additional resources on promoting gender equality, please visit Close the Gap. Additionally, to find out more about our four-tier accreditation programme, and to access extensive support and guidance on addressing sexual harassment and preventing violence against women in the workplace, visit Equally Safe at Work.

17 new employers working towards ensuring women are Equally Safe at Work

Close the Gap is delighted to welcome a new group of 15 employers to our Equally Safe at Work employer accreditation programme. The tiered accreditation programme, which includes a development, bronze, silver, and gold level, supports employers from the public and third sector in Scotland to advance gender equality and prevent violence against women (VAW). Through a structured framework with targeted actions and activities for employers to undertake, the programme provides tools for creating inclusive, supportive and safe workplaces for women working in Scotland.

Joining our development tier

Employers can join the programme either at the development tier or the bronze tier. The development tier serves as the entry point for organisations starting their journey to address the causes of gender inequality at work. It supports employers to better understand VAW as a workplace issue and to recognise their role in supporting victim-survivors in the workplace. This first step in the Equally Safe at Work programme allows employers to identify areas for improvement and focuses on building a strong foundation for change.

We are happy to support the following organisations through this tier:

• The Muirhead Outreach
• The Care Inspectorate
• NHS Education for Scotland
• Lothian Community Transport Services
• AdvoCard
• Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
• NHS Lothian
• Improvement Service
• Aberdeenshire Council
• NHS Highland

Joining our bronze tier

The bronze tier supports employers to further embed a gender- and VAW-sensitive approach to their employment policies and practices. It supports employers to address the barriers that women face in accessing flexible working, in recruitment and progression, and in disclosing or reporting VAW. Many of the criteria of the bronze tier align with the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty, and therefore many public sectors employers will already be working towards similar outcomes.

We are happy to be supporting the following organisations through this tier:

• NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
• City of Edinburgh Council
• Orkney Islands Council
• Dumfries and Galloway Council
• NHS Shetland
• Hanover Scotland
• Glasgow City Council

Programme impact and success

Since the pilot phase with councils in 2019, Equally Safe at Work has proven effective in supporting changes to employment practices and addressing VAW. The evaluation of the programme showed significant advancements; for example, pilot councils implemented policies on flexible working, VAW and Equality and Diversity and introduced initiatives to address the under-representation of women in male-dominated roles. A noteworthy outcome was the introduction of support mechanisms for victim-survivors, including access to special leave and referrals to support services.

Following the pilot’s success, the programme expanded to include more councils and introduced pilots in NHS boards and third sector organisations. This expansion allowed Close the Gap to tailor the framework for diverse sectors and test different learning models. The 2022-2023 evaluation highlights the substantial impact the programme has had on influencing practice within NHS boards and third sector organisations. You can also watch a case study on NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s experience here.

“I would definitely recommend the programme. It’s well run. Goals are tough but achievable. Would recommend it to organisations of all sizes, and even if they can’t complete everything, there is so much useful learning.” – NHS Lead.

Community of Practice

Findings from the evaluation of the programme highlighted the benefits of peer learning for facilitating change. The Equally Safe at Work Community of Practice was assembled to formalise this peer learning and provide employers with the opportunity for cross-sectoral practice sharing and collaboration. It’s designed to bring together employers at various stages of their accreditation journey, as well as those interested in the programme. Through regular gatherings, participants from public and third-sector organisations exchange insights, discuss challenges, and share best practices. The Community of Practice fosters a collective approach to problem-solving, helping employers better understand how to implement gender- and VAW- sensitive policies and practices.

“Being involved both face-to-face and online was definitely useful to speak to someone outside my own discipline and in a broader group. Hearing from others and thinking about what could be adapted for our own use was invaluable.”

Looking Forward

As we continue our work, we are encouraged by the growing interest from employers committed to driving meaningful change for women in the workplace. The current engagement from our new group of employers underscores the significance of the programme and reflects a shared dedication to fostering positive and lasting progress. Through these collaborative efforts, we aim to build environments where women feel safe, supported, and valued. Close the Gap is committed to expanding the reach of Equally Safe at Work and refining our approaches to support more organisations on their journey toward gender equality, workplace safety and preventing VAW.

Join Us

Close the Gap invites organisations to get in touch to learn more about joining the Equally Safe at Work programme. For further details on how to participate, please visit www.EquallySafeatWork.scot

Please mind the (pay) gap - it’s Equal Pay Day

Equal pay day represents the day from which women effectively start working for free for the rest of the year because of the gender pay gap. The national Equal Pay Day campaign calculates its date using the UK mean full-time hourly gender pay gap. This year, it falls on the 20^th of November, two days earlier than last year, as a result of the pay gap widening between 2023 and 2024. This means that this year women have stopped getting paid earlier.

But not all equal pay days fall on the same day – in Scotland, equal pay day falls 21 days later, on the 11^th of December, because of a slightly narrower full-time pay gap.

Why is Scotland’s equal pay day different?

Scotland’s pay gap has historically been narrower than the UK’s. The most recently published data from the ONS, shows the UK mean full-time pay gap currently sits at 11.3%. In Scotland it is 5.5%, up from 3.5% in 2024. Scotland’s full-time pay gap is therefore still just under half that of the UK’s, meaning women working full-time in Scotland get paid for slightly longer, and our equal pay day falls later.

This doesn’t mean women in Scotland are significantly better off or face less pay inequality than other women in the UK. It just means the composition and dynamics of Scotland’s labour market are different from the UK’s.  

For example, the private sector is a bigger employer than the public sector in both Scotland and the UK, meaning its pay gap has a bigger impact on the overall pay gap than the public sector pay gap. The private sector is proportionally bigger in the UK than in Scotland, so its pay gap will have a bigger impact on the UK pay gap than on the Scottish pay gap. The most recent data shows the UK private sector pay gap is 3.1 percentage points wider than Scotland’s (16% compared to 13.1%). This is driven by the disproportionate presence of men in senior roles, in high-paid industries in the City of London, like finance and professional services. Although Scotland also hosts these industries, it’s not to the same extent. Having more of these very high-paying jobs contributes to the higher full-time gender pay gap for the UK, and its earlier equal pay day.

While the public sector pay gap has a smaller impact on the overall pay gap, it’s still an important factor in why Scotland’s gender pay gap is lower than the UK’s. Firstly, its impact on the pay gap is bigger in Scotland that in the UK as a whole, because the public sector makes up a bigger proportion of Scotland’s labour market than the UK’s. Secondly, the different parts of the UK have different approaches to public sector pay.

Women account for the majority of the public sector workforce (66%), so changes to public sector pay have a bigger impact on women’s average pay than on men’s. In 2022/23, the Scottish Government introduced larger-than-average public sector pay increases, particularly for low earners, boosting women’s pay. Meanwhile the UK’s lower public sector pay increases have resulted in slower wage growth elsewhere. While both the UK and Scotland pay gaps have widened this year, the higher public sector pay deal in Scotland mean that the UK’s pay gap grew faster than Scotland’s – hence its earlier equal pay day.

The full-time pay gap leaves out 4 in 10 working women

It’s also important to recognise that the national Equal Pay Day campaign is based on the full-time gender pay gap, which compares the pay of men and women working full-time. This means is doesn’t paint an accurate picture of pay inequality as it excludes the 39% of the female workforce who work part-time, often in the lowest-paying and undervalued sectors like retail, care and admin.

A more accurate date for the UK Equal Pay Day campaign would be 13^th November, based on the combined pay gap figure of 13.1%, which includes both full-time and part-time workers. Scotland’s equivalent equal pay day would be 1^st December, as its combined pay gap is 8.3%.

However, it’s also worth looking at the part-time pay gap alone, as this paints a starker picture. ONS data puts Scotland’s mean part-time pay gap at 23.7%, which means equal pay day would fall on October 5^th for part-time workers - more than two months earlier than when the full-time figure is used. This clearly illustrates the extent of pay inequality for women working part-time, and highlights why the combined pay gap figure is a more accurate measure of the pay gap.

Equal pay day isn’t the same for everyone

As you can see, equal pay day isn’t the same for everyone. It comes earlier for women working part-time, as well as for disabled women and racially-minoritised women. Although there’s a lack of Scottish-specific data, the data we do have shows that disabled women face a wider pay gap than non-disabled women, and are more likely to be underemployed and economically inactive.

Close the Gap’s ongoing research project on disabled women’s labour market experiences has found that discriminatory recruitment processes, a lack of employer knowledge in relation to reasonable adjustments, and challenges securing reasonable adjustments, present significant barriers to disabled women’s ability to enter and stay in work. These barrier see many disabled women in Scotland trapped in part-time jobs below their skill level or on zero-hour contracts. This makes it harder to plan their lives and become financially secure.

What’s next?

Equal Pay Day is an important day to take stock of how much progress we’ve made towards gender equality in the labour market, and how much work we still have to do. It is clear that we still need to see decisive to tackle women’s labour market inequalities.

The UK Government must ensure that, alongside publishing mandatory gender pay gap action plans, employers publish annual progress reports and are held accountable for implementing these. There should also be substantive efforts to address data gaps, particularly in relation to intersectional gender pay gap data.

Scottish Government must also take action to address the causes of the gender pay gap, which should include further investing in a childcare system that is flexible, affordable and accessible. We also need to see specific action to address the undervaluation of women’s work so that the pay in essential roles reflects their true economic and social value. Scottish Government must also reset its economic strategy, ensuring it is gender-sensitive so that women benefit equally from investment in skills and jobs.

Alongside this, employers must take action to identify, understand, and tackle gender inequality in their workplaces. We have a range of tools and resources that can help. SMEs can use our Think Business, Think Equality self-assessment tool to receive tailored recommendations for their business on areas including recruitment and promotion, pay and reward, and workplace culture. Our Close Your Pay Gap tool helps larger employers to meet their gender pay gap reporting obligations, and use their data to create change for women in their organisations. You can also find resources on an anti-racist approach to addressing workplace gender inequality, creating a menopause-aware workplace, and more on our website.