Tuesday 5 November 2024
 9.7°C   S Light Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Council / SIC gender pay gap ‘of concern’

The SIC's North Ness headquarters.

MEN working at Shetland Islands Council (SIC) are on average paid nearly eight per cent more than women, according to new figures.

However, the gender pay gap reduced by more than three per cent from when the council’s last equality data was published in 2015/16.

The gap comes despite figures for 2018 showing that around 66 per cent of the council’s staff was female.

A high proportion of the council’s higher paid jobs are found in the ports and harbour team at Sella Ness, for example, such as marine pilots.

The SIC admitted that the gender pay gap of 7.99 per cent was “of concern and requires further investigations”.

The data also revealed that the SIC’s staff headcount as of 31 March 2018 was about 400 less than it was on the same date two years earlier.

The number of part-time females within the workforce as of the end of March 2018 was greatly more than males, with 2,261 compared to 420.

The number of full-time female workers was 639 compared to 738 men.

There has also been an increase in the number of employees aged 16- 35 and over 55 since 2016/17, with most workers aged between 46 and 55.

Less than one per cent of council employees said they were of a minority ethnic group, and with around eight per cent not answering, 90.54 per cent of staff said they were of a white background.

Executive manager for human resources Denise Bell said: “We are continuing to close the gender pay gap and address workplace inequalities within the council.

“The gender pay gap is an indicator of the systemic inequality that women experience in society and we support any action which tackles the causes of women’s inequality at work.

“We encourage all our employees to challenge inequalities and make a positive contribution to creating an inclusive workplace culture.”

The SIC is due to release its next equality report in 2021.

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.