Scotland's careers strategy - moving forward: equality impact assessment

Key Findings

Gender

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data published on the 25 October 2018 show that :

• The gender pay gap for full-time employees in Scotland has decreased from 6.6% in 2017 to 5.7% in 2018 and in the UK it has decreased from 9.1% to 8.6%.
• The gender pay gap for all employees in Scotland has decreased from 16.0% in 2017 to 15.0% in 2018 and in the UK it has decreased from 18.4% to 17.9%.
• The gender pay gap for full-time employees (5.7%) is the lowest gender pay gap on record for Scotland and lower than the UK pay gap of 8.6%.

As highlighted within the Gender Pay Gap Action Plan, STEM Strategy and Tackling Child Poverty Action Plans good quality accessible careers advice can help to shape the subject choices and career decisions made by young girls which can have an impact on the gender pay gap.

The Scottish Parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee Report – Removing Barriers – Race, Ethnicity and Employment

The issues uncovered in the report made it clear that any development of future policy had to consider a range of circumstances. The report suggests that any response to the employment situation of people from ethnic minorities should incorporate a range of considerations and avoid stereotyping.

Many of the barriers faced by women from ethnic minorities in the labour market are similar to those which were identified in the Scottish Parliaments earlier inquiry into Women and Work. These barriers included the need to undertake caring responsibilities, a lack of affordable childcare, a lack of flexible working opportunities, and a tendency for women to be clustered in low-paid, insecure jobs.

The inquiry heard that ethnic minority girls generally outperform boys academically at school and are well represented in higher and further education 60 Despite this, women from non-white ethnic minority groups are less likely to be in employment with figures from 2012 showing that 47% were in employment compared with 68% of white women

Close the Gap explained that there is a concentration of women from ethnic minorities in low-paid professions and that they are often significantly underrepresented in senior roles. However, the situation facing women can vary greatly between ethnic groups.

Black and Minority Ethnic women are also significantly underrepresented in skilled trades' occupations, ranging from 1 per cent participation for African black women to 4 per cent for Asian women.

However, Black and Minority Ethnic women are better represented than white women in professional occupations:

• 29 per cent of mixed or multiple ethnic group women,
• 26 per cent of Asian women
• 26 per cent of Caribbean black women, and 31 percent of other ethnic groups are in professional occupations, compared with 19 per cent of white women (Close the Gap Written submission)

Older People in Employment in Scotland (2017)

Older People in Employment Scotland reports that choices over later working life were highly constrained for those on lower incomes, those in low-skilled jobs and those with significant caring responsibilities. These circumstances most often interact to disadvantage older women in particular. There was also a potential mismatch between the attitudes and expectations of older people and those of employers.

Findings suggest that there is a current window of opportunity to raise awareness of later-life working options among older people and employers to help promote opportunities, policies and practices around extended working life. Several participants indicated that they had already experienced ageism in the labour market, and felt that their skills and experience were undervalued.

Many more were worried that they might be discriminated against on grounds of age if they left their current employer to look for a new job. Such concerns could potentially act as a barrier to job mobility in later working life. Worries surrounding job security emerged as a significant barrier to extending working life, particularly for those employees working within third sector organisations. Many of these participants, who were predominantly women, thought that it was more likely that they would be made redundant than reach retirement age in their current employment. This was strongly related to uncertainty of continued funding for their organisations.

The Careers Strategy aims to ensure that all individuals in Scotland have access to support, employability and skills development that focuses on the needs of the individual and that those providing a careers service must have due regard to the provisions of the Equality Act 2010, and the relevant guidance produced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. There will be a focus on strengthening collaborative partnerships and working more closely with target groups to co-create more CIAG designed to meet the needs of young people and adults. There will also be a sharing of knowledge and expertise in professional development and quality assurance to help improve the service for users, overcoming inequalities and improving labour market outcomes

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) (2017) Equipping Scotland for the Future: Key Challenges for the Scottish Skills System

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) Equipping Scotland for the Future and Jobs and Skills in Scotland highlights the importance of increasing the skills of people with no or low level qualifications to delivering inclusive growth; and, the need for the skills system in Scotland to support career progression from low to higher-skilled jobs. Changes in population demographics, advancing automation and funding are among 10 key challenges identified for Scotland's skills system. The research makes 6 recommendations that Scotland's skills system should implement to meet these challenges:

1) embedding an outcome approach and setting a clear national purpose of the skills system
2) regional integration of the skills system
3) clarifying roles of learning routes within the skills system
4) learners and employers co-designing a responsive skills system
5) improving flexibility of learning
6) increasing transferability of learning

The Careers Strategy seeks to support the skills system to meet these challenges.