Mind the gap: Aberdeen has UK's largest gender pay divide

Aberdeen has the worst gender pay gap in the UK, with average male earnings a staggering £24,000 higher than those for women, according to new research.

A study by job search technology firm Adzuna found that men in the Granite City earned an average of £53,002 compared to average female earnings of £28,836, based on analysis of 220,000 jobhunters’ CVs.

The 45.6 per cent pay gap has also widened since 2019, which Adzuna said suggested the pandemic has severely affected local opportunities for women, while Glasgow’s pay gap has worsened to 27 per cent from 15 per cent since 2019.

However, Edinburgh now has the third-smallest gender pay gap in the UK, down to 15 per cent now from 29 per cent three years ago. Adzuna said the improvement had been helped by the city’s jobs market being dominated by sectors more resilient to the global pandemic, including health and finance.

Furthermore, the UK-wide gender pay gap has increased to 26 per cent from 24 per cent pre-pandemic in 2019, it also noted.

Paul Lewis, chief customer officer at Adzuna, said the gender pay gap in Scotland is “widening to a canyon”, adding: “There can be no excuse for these divides. Gender pay gaps nearing 50 per cent in the most sexist cities are indefensible and steps need to be taken to even out equality in these areas, fast.

"That means taking a hard look at the hurdles facing women in the workplace and making efforts to remove [obstacles], be that through providing support to those juggling caring responsibilities, offering more flexible working options, or improving the recruitment and retention of women.”

Research has shown that the average earnings of female workers in Aberdeen and Glasgow are considerably lower than those of their male peers. Picture: PA.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven’t already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription: www.scotsman.com/subscriptions