Question reference: S6W-01646
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 20 July 2021
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Current status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 12 August 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of appointments to public boards by (a) gender, (b) age, (c) socio-economic status, (d) disability status and (e) ethnicity; what its response is to reports that women appointed to public boards are paid less than their male counterparts, and what steps it will take to address any gender pay gap on public boards.
Answer
Statistics providing a breakdown of those appointed to regulated public body Boards as requested can be found within the Ethical Standards Commissioner Report on Public Appointments 2019 – 20. [ ESC Annual Report on Public Appointments 2019-20.pdf]
Currently 51.7% of all regulated public appointments are held by women. Of these 39% of Chair roles are held by women, an increase from 29.4% in 2019.
The daily fee for a Board Chair attracts a higher rate of remuneration in recognition of the additional responsibilities placed upon them. The Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 sets a ‘gender representation objective’ for listed public authorities that 50% of its non-executive members are women. The Scottish Government is committed to improving gender equality on public boards and the 2018 Act also requires public boards take steps to encourage women to apply for board vacancies including Board Chair roles. The Scottish Government are also taking steps towards closing the gender pay gap through the Gender Pay Gap Action Plan.