3 CASO SCOZIA INGLESE low - Rete Pari Opportunita

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Analysis of good practice examplesTABLE 1Good practice examples• Objectives, beneficiaries and territorialcoverage• Operational aspects• Quantitative and qualitative results• Lessons learned, elements of innovation andtransferability.3.1 Close the gap3.1.1 History of the project and resourcesThe project started from work at the University ofthe Highlands and Islands on the pay gap in theregion. This institution then became the leadpartner of the Equal Development Partnership“Close the Gap” (CtG). Other partners were theScottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), the EqualOpportunities Commission (EOC), the ScottishExecutive, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands andIslands Enterprise and Fair Play (a gender equalitynetwork). The project development phase tookplace in 2001, and the project ran from 2002 to theend of 2005, with funding from the Equal CI. Thedevelopment of the project stemmed from awarenessof how significant the pay gap is throughoutScotland and of how detrimental it is not just towomen but to the economy and the society as awhole. Box 1 synthesises some of the main issuesaround the gender pay gap in Scotland.After this period, the Scottish Executive decidedto continue to support the project by funding costsfor staff and overheads. Additional funding wasalso obtained from Scottish Enterprise and theEOC. The STUC contributes in terms of work.The project can be divided into several distinctphases:• Phase I ran over the period 2001-2005, withfunding from the Equal CI;• Phase II ran over the period from the start of2006 to the end of 2007, with funding fromseveral partners (but not all the partners thatwere in Phase I, rather only the ScottishExecutive, Scottish Enterprise, EOC and STUC);• There might be a Phase III, but this will bedecided only after the forthcoming ScottishParliament elections in May 2007.11
Gender Equality in Local Economic Development in ScotlandBOX 1The gender pay gap in ScotlandBased on 2006 figures, there is in Scotland a 14 percent gap between men’s and women’s full-timehourly rates, and a 35 percent gap when one compares women’s part time hourly rate to men’s fulltime hourly rates. This is one of the causes of women and children’s higher levels of poverty, ofwomen’s poverty after they retire, and it also impacts on household earnings more generally. At theroots of this pay gap are the following main factors:• Discrimination - pay systems often discriminate against women by paying them less forwork that is the same, similar or of the same value as that of male colleagues. The wayreward policies are implemented (e.g. bonuses, performance related awards etc.); theaccess to training opportunities and to high-paid shift or overtime work; the ways in whichjob evaluation schemes are handled are further factors that contribute to pay discrimination.• Job segregation – the clustering of women in jobs perceived as “female occupations” andthat are also lower paid jobs (e.g. nursing, caring, clerical, cleaning, catering, retail)contributes to the lower earnings of women compared to men.• The Glass Ceiling – women are less likely than men to access senior level positions withinorganisations. This is due to stereotypical assumptions about women’s capacities; toorganisational cultures that typically reward male attitudes; and, to the rigidity of workingarrangements especially at senior levels (e.g. long-hours, ‘presenteeism’, attendance tocorporate social functions etc.) that penalise women since they need to balance work andfamily responsibilities.• Caring responsibilities – women often bear the burden of family responsibilities, by lookingafter children, the elderly, the sick and the disabled in the family. The rigidity of currentemployment systems often induces women to opt for part-time work which both in theshort and long term ends up lowering their pay and pension prospects (even if they returnto full-time work).Source: http://www.closethegap.org.uk/3.1.2 Objectives, beneficiaries and territorialcoverageThe project has the key objective of raisingawareness of the pay gap existing in Scotland,to provide support for the steps that can be takento improve the situation, and to promote positiveaction to narrow the pay gap. In both Phases I andII, the project worked with those who have thecapacity to influence the pay gap (i.e. employers,policy-makers, economic development agencies)and with those who are on the recipient side ofthe pay gap (trade unions). For the latter, however,the decision was taken not to work withindividuals, on single cases, as this would gobeyond the scope of the project and make thework unmanageable 44 . CtG has works with threemain types of actors: private companies, tradeunions and the public sector, with a range ofdifferent activities designed to have a positiveimpact on the gender pay gap.44 In addition, the project partners are not lawyers and they would need very detailed legal knowledge to handle case work, which would be likely to be context/sector specificetc.12
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