Comparing the Position of Women and Men in Scotland

COMPARING THE POSITION OF WOMEN AND MEN IN SCOTLAND

A major report reviewing statistical evidence and recent research on gender equality in Scotland has just been published – ‘A Gender Audit of Statistics: comparing the position of women and men in Scotland’ by Esther Breitenbach and Fran Wasoff.

The Gender Audit of Statistics is a key resource to assist public bodies in producing gender equality schemes, in line with the gender equality duty, which came into force in April 2007. It provides:

• A review of trends in gender differences and inequalities across key areas of social and economic life;
• A wide range of statistical tables, with interpretative commentary and analysis;
• Guidance on how to use the data and on sources of data.

The report shows that there has been progress towards greater gender equality in Scotland in recent years. The pace of change towards greater equality remains very slow, and gender inequalities persist in Scottish society. In the main such inequalities disadvantage women compared to men, for example, in access to political power and decision-making positions in public life, and in employment and pay. In general women are also disadvantaged compared to men in terms of access to resources such as private cars and housing. More rarely males are disadvantaged compared to females, for example, in terms of qualifications obtained on leaving school. Women are overwhelmingly the victims of domestic abuse, and men are overwhelmingly the perpetrators, and women are much more likely than men to have concerns about their personal safety.

The audit of gender statistics was commissioned by the Scottish Executive to provide a review of current gender differences and inequalities in Scotland relevant to key areas of economic and social life, and was carried out by Dr Esther Breitenbach and Professor Fran Wasoff of the University of Edinburgh. The research reviewed a wide range of gender-disaggregated statistics for Scotland, and for some topic areas data analysis was specially conducted for the review. Selected recent research was also reviewed. The report contains a wide range of statistical tables indicating the comparative position of women and men in Scotland and indicating changes over time, and provides commentary interpreting these data. The gender audit of statistics adds to the growing body of work in Scotland providing analyses of statistical trends on gender and other equality issues, such as ethnicity and disability, and is the most comprehensive analysis to date of gender disaggregated statistics for Scotland.

The full report is available at:

Please note that the full report is over 300 pages, and contains over 300 tables. Copies of the report can be purchased from Blackwell’s Bookshop, 53 South Bridge, Edinburgh, at £5 a copy. Email:

Research Findings, which provide a short summary of the report, are available at:

For further information about the report contact Dr Esther Breitenbach, University of Edinburgh, at