The pandemic has widened the gender pay divide across Scottish cities, with Aberdeen having the worst gender pay divide in the UK at 46%.
Job search engine Adzuna analysed more than 220,000 CVs of recent jobseekers during March to reveal the average earning potential of men and women in different locations. Each CV was parsed using semantic text-mining technology to extract full work history, years of work experience and key skills. Location data and keyword analysis then highlighted trends by city.
While men typically earn more than women across the UK, Aberdeen is the city with the widest gender pay gap, with men earning an average of £53,002 - compared to average female earnings of £28,836 - a difference of more than £24,000.
This compares to a pay gap in the city of 36% in 2019, suggesting the pandemic has affected local opportunities for women.
Glasgow has also seen a growing gender pay divide, with men in the city earning £34,354 on average, compared to women’s average earnings of £24,204. The gender pay gap in the city is 26.6% and has increased significantly since the pandemic, up from just 15.1% in 2019
Bucking the trend, Edinburgh has the third smallest gender pay gap in the UK at just 15.4%, equivalent to a gap of £5,782. The capital also saw its pay gap decrease from 29.2% between 2019 and 2021.
This has been helped by the city’s jobs market being dominated by sectors more resilient to the pandemic, including health (accounting for 15% of employment in the city), business and administration (11%), and financial services (10%).
Scottish cities – by Gender pay gap
Scottish cities - Gender pay gap change
Paul Lewis, chief customer officer at Adzuna, commented: “The gender pay gap in Scotland is widening to a canyon, with Aberdeen and Glasgow both falling behind on pay parity since the pandemic - Scotland’s working women should instead head to Edinburgh for fairer pay.”
The current gender pay gap across the UK sits at 25.9%, with average male earnings of £42,817 compared to average female earnings of just £31,711.
However, this represents a wider gap than before the pandemic. In 2019, average male earnings were £39,752 and average female earnings were £30,343, giving a pay gap of 23.7%.
This may be due to many sectors that typically employ more women, for example hospitality, retail and travel, having been more affected by the pandemic. It may also be the result of women taking on more of the burden of additional caring needs, childcare and otherwise.
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