- In Edinburgh, men are paid 14.2% more than women – well above the Scottish average gender pay gap of 10.2%
- East Dunbartonshire has the biggest gender pay gap in Scotland, with men being paid 26.9% more than women
- Aberdeenshire is Scotland’s second worst area for gender pay gaps, with men enjoying 22.1% more pay than women
Edinburgh’s gender pay gap is well above the Scottish average, new research can reveal.
In Edinburgh, men are paid 14.2% more than women. The Scotland average gender pay gap is 10.2%
Following International Women’s Day, financial experts Forbes Advisor used new ONS data to explore the gender pay gap for full time employees in every local authority in Scotland to discover which areas have the worst gender pay gap of all.
RANKED: Gender pay gaps in Scotland from biggest to smallest
Scotland area | Rank | How much more men earn than women (%) |
East Dunbartonshire | 1 | 26.9 |
Aberdeenshire | 2 | 22.1 |
Inverclyde | 3 | 20.1 |
Renfrewshire | 4 | 18.6 |
Aberdeen City | 5 | 17.9 |
Moray | 6 | 17.1 |
Perth and Kinross | 7 | 16.9 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | 8 | 15.8 |
South Ayrshire | 9 | 15.5 |
Clackmannanshire | 10 | 15.0 |
City of Edinburgh | 11 | 14.2 |
Argyll and Bute | 12 | 13.6 |
East Lothian | 13 | 13.6 |
Dundee City | 14 | 11.6 |
Falkirk | 15 | 11.0 |
Glasgow City | 16 | 10.7 |
North Lanarkshire | 17 | 8.8 |
East Ayrshire | 18 | 7.7 |
Midlothian | 19 | 4.9 |
Fife | 20 | 3.4 |
South Lanarkshire | 21 | 3.3 |
West Lothian | 22 | 3.1 |
Scottish Borders | 23 | 2.3 |
Angus | 24 | 2.2 |
Stirling | 25 | 1.6 |
Highland | 26 | 0.9 |
North Ayrshire | 27 | -4.6 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 28 | -7.0 |
Scotland average | 10.2 |
East Dunbartonshire has the biggest gender pay gap in Scotland. In East Dunbartonshire, men are paid 26.9% more than women – well over double Scotland’s average gender pay gap (10.2%).
Aberdeenshire has the second biggest pay gap in Scotland, with men earning 22.1% more than women – twice the Scottish average gender pay gap of 10.2%. Inverclyde has Scotland’s third biggest pay gap, with men raking in 20% more in wages than women.
Renfrewshire, Aberdeen City and Moray are also some of Scotland’s worst areas for gender pay gaps, with men earning 18.6%, 17.9% and 17.1% more than women respectively.
At the other end of the scale, Dumfries and Galloway and North Ayrshire in Scotland are the only areas in the country where women earn more than men. In Dumfries and Galloway, women earn 7% more than men, and in North Ayrshire, women earn 4.6% more than men.
The Scottish Highlands, Stirling and Angus also have smaller gender pay gaps than the rest of Scotland. In the Scottish Highlands, men earn 0.9% more than women, and in Stirling and Angus, they earn 1.6% and 2.2% more than women respectively.
A spokesperson for Forbes Advisor commented on the findings: “These figures shed light on the concerning gender inequality which still persists in Scotland.
“It’s not enough to tweet about gender equality in the wake of International Women’s Day, we all have a responsibility to ensure that everyone is equally compensated for their labour.
“Not only do men earn 10.2% more than women across Scotland as a whole, but in local authorities such as East Dunbartonshire, men are earning up to 26.9% more than women, which shows that we have a long way to go before achieving fair pay.”