Gendered labour market trends: evidence for Scotland

This working paper explores the gendered dimension of labour market trends in Scotland. Increasing numbers of women have entered the formal labour market but the labour market continues to be characterised by significant gender inequality. There is evidence of persistent patterns of horizontal and vertical occupational segregation by gender, as well as women’s over representation among those working part-time and amongst the ‘underemployed’. Social expectations and stereotypes about male and female roles and responsibilities remain stubbornly resistant to change. The reconciliation of paid work with household reproduction and unpaid care, particularly of children, can help to explain women’s unequal attachment to the formal labour market. The majority of unpaid work in the household, particularly care, falls disproportionately on women in Scotland, as in all other modern economies. Unpaid work remains largely invisible within official statistics although it is of vital importance to the functioning of Scotland’s economy now and in the future.