Council / Pay gap between men and women at SIC reduces further
THE AVERAGE pay gap between men and women at Shetland Islands Council fell to 3.6 per cent at the end of 2023.
The sex pay gap, which is the difference between the average earnings of men and women, has gradually reduced over recent years.
It was 8.44 per cent in favour of men in 2018 before dropping to just under six per cent in 2020.
A report presented to elected members on the SIC’s policy and resources committee on Monday said the gap has fallen further, to 3.62 per cent as of 31 December 2023.
Between 2020 and 2023 the median pay gap – described as the difference between the “middle male and the middle female” – reduced from 11.09 per cent to zero per cent.
However the report added: “The review of direct care roles which took place in 2023 has had an impact given the large numbers and the significant female dominance in this part of the workforce.”
It aded that for comparison the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that the median gender pay gap in 2023 for Scotland was 8.7 per cent, while in the Scottish public sector it was 3.7 per cent.
When rounded up the overall ratio for women and men across the SIC’s jobs remains 72 per cent to 28 per cent respectively.
The report added that occupational categories of business support, care, catering/cleaning, learning and teaching remain female dominated while marine and trades/operational continue to be male dominated.
In terms of the ‘leadership’ category 51.94 per cent of the workforce were women in 2023, and 48.06 per cent men.
Meanwhile the report also said the percentage of employees who are recorded with a disability increased slightly between 2019/2020 and 2023 to 5.58 per cent.
It added: “In 2023 the mean pay gap (the average) is 4.55% in favour of those who do not have a disability while the median (middle) pay gap is 3.13%.
“For comparison the most recently available disability pay gap information in Scotland reported by the ONS in 2021 was 18.5%.”
In 2023 just under two percent of the SIC’s workforce reported that they were in the ‘ethic minority’ group.
The report said the mean pay gap was 11.86 per cent in favour of those who are in the ‘white’ group while the median gap was 11.72 per cent in favour of the ‘white’ group, which is above the national average.
However the report said for data on disability and ethnical there was a significant proportion of people where information is not held, weakening the “statistical robustness”.
As a public authority, the SIC must publish a statement on equal pay every four years.
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