This project will investigate the gender pay gap in Scotland vs UK over five years, specifically focusing on SMEs compared to large companies. The investigation hopes to analyse whether SMEs have been more successful in closing the gender pay gap compared to large companies, both in Scotland and Scotland compared to the rest of the UK. The target audience for this project is small business owners and jobseekers. It may also be a resource for Scottish Government.

The Office for National Statistics (2022) defines the gender pay gap as “differences in pay between women and men by age, region, full-time and part-time, and occupation”. The measurement of the gender pay gap is calculated as “the difference between average hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of men and women as a proportion of men’s average hourly earnings (excluding overtime). It is a measure across all jobs in the UK, not of the difference in pay between men and women for doing the same job” Office for National Statistics (2022).

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent 55.9% of private sector employment in Scotland, account for 99.4% of all private sector businesses and produce 40.2% of private sector turnover in Scotland as of March 2022 (Scottish Government, 2022). SMEs are defined as “any organisation that has fewer than 250 employees and a turnover of less than €50 million or a balance sheet total less than €43 million” (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, 2022).