Scotland is leading the way in terms of female unemployment with the country having one of the lowest unemployment rates for females in Europe. In the final three months of 2014, Scotland’s female unemployment rate was almost 1.5% lower than the EU average.
Between October and December 2014, Scottish unemployment for females stood at 4% according to figures from Eurostat. This was significantly lower than the 5.3% average for the UK and many other European countries. Scotland also had the second highest female employment rate at 71.3%, with Sweden being the only country with a higher rate of 72.6%.
Minister for youth and women's employment Annabelle Ewing said: "We have recently seen record levels of female employment in Scotland and the gap between male and female employment is also near a record low.
"In addition, we are leading the way with our commitment to 50:50 boards, supporting flexible working patterns to accommodate working parents and carers and other innovative support programmes such as support for women in enterprise, promotion of careers for women in STEM subjects.
"Gender balance isn't just the right thing to do; it makes smart business sense."
She added: "We need however to remove the gender gap entirely, encourage more women into senior positions and to set out in businesses of their own, as well as helping those actively seeking a job in to employment.
"We need to champion female role models in every aspect of business, open every possible pathway into work and debunk the myth that there are jobs specifically for boys or girls."
Gender Inequality
Despite the positive news regarding female employment in Scotland, many experts have warned that there is still gender discrimination in Scotland and across the UK. According to a recent study, more than 25% of women in the UK suffer from some sort of gender discrimination in the workplace. 26% of more than 1,500 women polled believed that they had been discriminated against with 19% believing that they had missed out on a promotion due to their gender or taking maternity leave.
The survey, which was released prior to International Women’s Day in 2014, was conducted by Business Environment and found that 27% of female bosses admitting they would be reluctant to hire a woman of childbearing age. Worryingly, 25% of all employers also stated that they would consider not hiring a woman if she already had children.
David Saul, co-founder and managing director at Business Environment said: “I am saddened that despite huge progress made in the last decades, such a high proportion of women in the workplace still find they come up against the same old problems, especially in relation to family life and maternity leave.”
Austerity Affecting Women's Employment Rights?
A number of leading charities have stated that although the female employment is slowly rising, the austerity measures and cuts enforced by the government are contributing to a rise in gender discrimination and contributing to the pay gap seen in the UK. Despite improvements made across the UK, many watchdogs and charities have spoken out about females being unable to break through the glass ceiling and obtain equal pay in the UK workplace. In 2014, Britain fell eight places to 26th place on the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index, lower than almost all its European neighbours.
A Fair Deal for Women, an umbrella group of 11 women’s rights charities, including Women’s Aid, the Fawcett Society and the Women’s Resource Centre have warned that austerity measures such as cuts in the public services, freezing or lowering child tax credit, a five-year lock on tax rises and a cut to social security will affect women more than men.
Speaking of the falling in the Gender Gap Index a spokeswoman said: “Without swift action to address women’s inequality in all areas, we could see the UK falling even lower.
“Perhaps it is women’s woefully low representation in the top positions in our society that means they have become the load bearers of austerity.”
Government Action “Aiding Equality.”
Despite the claims a UK government spokesperson said: “Social justice is at the heart of this Queen’s Speech, and it will allow the government to continue its work in eradicating gender inequality.
“There are more women in work than ever before, and the gender pay gap has fallen to its lowest level on record.
“Doubling the amount of free childcare available to working parents will help more women back into work while four million couples will benefit from a £1,000 transferable tax allowance from 2015, with stay-at-home mothers and women who work part-time being the main beneficiaries.”
Gender Discrimination Solicitors in Glasgow
If you require legal advice regarding any employment issue or discrimination case our team of employment lawyers can help. Whether you believe that your business needs to proactively address potential discrimination issues or if an employee has raised a complaint, we can offer you the best advice and representation tailored to your needs. To discuss any problems you may have, contact our team today using our online contact form or call us on 0141 530 9164.
