Gender Pay Gap
Lots of coverage in the news media today on the report from the widely respected Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) which highlights the ongoing pay gap between male and female jobs.
The IFS report shows that women in paid work, on average, receive 18% less per hour than their male colleagues.
The gender pay gaps smaller for women before they become mothers, but grows after the birth of a woman's first child to open up a mammoth 33% gap by the time the first child is 12 years of age.
Part of the problem is that women's jobs tend to be concentrated at the bottom end of an employer's pay ladder - in North Lanarkshire Council, for example, the lowest paid jobs are all done mainly by women.
Part of the problem is that women's jobs tend to be concentrated at the bottom end of an employer's pay ladder - in North Lanarkshire Council, for example, the lowest paid jobs are all done mainly by women.
NLC Grade 1 - 98% women
NLC Grade 2 - 90% women
NLC Grade 3 - 77% women
NLC Grade 4 - 77% women
So while some progress has been made in recent years, thanks to Action 4 Equality Scotland rather than the trade unions it has to be said, the reality is that there's still a long way to go.
