Gender equality can help employers to weather the Covid-19 storm

Women’s employment has been hit hard by Covid-19 and it is highly likely that there may be a loss of female talent in the workplace if employers don’t act to support their female staff. This could drive up costs, including recruitment, training and the loss of experienced staff.

We've developed new guidance for large companies, alongside guidance for SME employers, on supporting women in the workforce during Covid-19. The Close Your Pay Gap guidance for large employers can be downloaded here. Our Think Business, Think Equality guidance for SMEs can be downloaded here.

Both contain practical and easy-to-implement actions that employers can take to ensure their employment practices and return to work plans are gender-proofed. Line managers have a huge role to play in supporting employees and this guidance will help them to understand and respond to the specific experiences of women workers during the pandemic.

A recovery that works for women works for employers

Supporting women at work doesn’t just benefit women - it benefits employers too. The business benefits of gender equality are well-evidenced, driving improved business performance and economic growth. In the run up to the April 2021 gender pay gap reporting deadline companies may not realise the potential for Covid-19 to widen their pay gap. Our new guidance provides good practice actions that employers can take now to help prevent this happening and even close their pay gap in the process.

Supporting women workers will also help support the resilience, recovery and regrowth of companies and businesses across Scotland. This benefits all of us.