Making Manufacturing Work for Women

That the Parliament welcomes Close the Gap’s report, Making Manufacturing Work for Women, which lays out the findings of research carried out by the University of Strathclyde; understands that the report maps women’s participation in the manufacturing labour market in Scotland; further understands that the research aimed to identify whether there are patterns of occupational segregation, conduct a gender analysis of skills and education, identify any gender differences in participation in manufacturing-related modern apprenticeships and identify whether there is gendered pay inequality; notes the findings that women represent only 26% of the manufacturing workforce and are concentrated in occupations that are associated with the lowest pay; further notes that significant gender pay gaps of up to 43.8% were found in certain sub-sectors, such as in the manufacture of textiles; understands that, although women are better represented in Scottish manufacturing than elsewhere in the UK, the median gender pay gap is 5.7% higher and the mean gender pay gap 9.9% higher in Scotland than in the rest of the UK; expresses concern at the finding that 73% of women with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) qualifications do not work in STEM occupations compared with 53% of men, which the researchers believe may be influenced by the lack of flexible and quality part-time work in the sector; understands that, in 2012-13, only 20% of modern apprentices were women, 77% of whom started their apprenticeship in the lower–paid sub-sectors, food and drink operations; notes the recommendations that Close the Gap has made to the Scottish Government, national enterprise and skills bodies as well as employers and trade unions in order to address the occupational segregation in the sector, such as calling on Skills Development Scotland to proactively work with manufacturing employers to target the recruitment of women into non-traditional modern apprenticeships, and further notes the call for the Scottish Government to use public sector procurement, where possible, to leverage better gender equalities practices in the manufacturing sector.