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Social Focus on Women and Men 2002

chapter three: Income and Wealth

The main sources of income in most households comes from earnings, savings and benefits. Within households, the average weekly individual income for men is significantly higher than for women.

In addition, the average weekly earnings for men are substantially higher than for women. Whilst some of this will be due to the higher proportion of women in part time employment, there is still a large difference in the average weekly earnings of men and women in full-time employment.

This chapter provides a short overview of these issues.

Household Income

In Scotland, the average gross individual weekly income, based on data from the Cabinet Office, for men (£317) is significantly higher than for women (£172) (Table 3.1). This is slightly lower than for Great Britain (£344 for men and £178 for women).

Table 3.1: Average Gross Individual Income for All Adults by Gender and Household Type, Scotland, 1999/00
£ per week (1999/00 prices)

Source: The Women's Unit, Cabinet Office
Notes: Figures cannot be supplied for men with family type 'single with children' due to the small sample size. Gross income is income before deduction of National Insurance contributions and income tax.

Couples with dependant children have the largest difference in gross average individual income, with the weekly average income for women at 36 per cent of men. This is possibly due to many women in such families either not working or in part-time work because of responsibilities for looking after children. The gender gap for average weekly income is least in single adults without children and single pensioners, where the average weekly individual income for women is 84 per cent and 78 per cent of men's income respectively (Table 3.1).

Looking at the distribution of individual income indicates that 49 per cent of women are in the bottom of the 2 quintiles compared with 30 per cent of men. In addition, 3 in 10 men are in the highest gross income quintile, compared with only 1 in 10 women (Chart 3.2).

Chart 3.2: Percentage Distribution of Gross Individual Income quintiles for All Adults, Scotland, 1999/00

Overall, the average earned income for all men are is almost twice as high as for all women (figures include people not in work full and part time workers).

This difference in earned income varies by age band. The largest differences in average earned income for men and women are seen in the older age bands.

There are a number of factors such as the lack of opportunities and access for women for higher paid employment in the past which are reflected in this income differential for women in the older age groups. The recent trend towards more women working has affected the younger age groups more than the older groups (Chart 3.3).

Chart 3.3: Average female earned income as a percentage of male earned income by age band, Scotland, 1999/00

The proportion of average individual income, which comes from earnings and self-employment, is much higher for men (78 per cent) than for women (64 per cent). However benefit income forms a greater proportion of women's income (24 per cent) compared with men (10 per cent). A substantial part of this is probably due to child related benefits which are more often received by the mother than the father (Table 3.4).

Table 3.4: Distribution of Gross Individual Income by Source for All Women & All Men, Scotland 1999/00
Percentage

Source: The Women's Unit, Cabinet Office
Notes:
1 Occupational Pensions include Annuities
2 Dependant benefits include Child Benefit, Family Credit and Income Support
3 Mainly Personal Benefits include Incapacity Benefit, Job Seekers Allowance and State Retirement Pension
4 Individual Benefits include Attendance Allowance, Maternity Allowance and Widow's Pension
5 Other income includes income from babysitting, income as a mail order agent, any income from an absent spouse and any royalties receive.

Earnings

Some of the large difference in average earnings will be due to the fact that there are substantially more women in part-time employment than men. Thirty six per cent of women who work usually work less than 30 hours a week compared to 8 per cent of men (Family Resources Survey 1999/2000, Department for Work and Pensions).

However figures from the New Earnings Survey, 2000 (Office for National Statistics) indicate that, in Scotland, average gross weekly earnings for part time female employees (£129) is slightly higher than part-time male employees (£124).

The same source also shows that gross average weekly earnings for male full-time employees (£423) is substantially higher than for full-time female employees (£316).

Looking at female earnings by occupation as a percentage of male earnings shows that in all areas males earn more than women. However there is least difference in clerical/secretarial occupations and professional occupations.
The widest difference is in craft/related and sales occupations and other occupations. (Table 3.5).

Table 3.5: Average Gross Weekly Earnings of full-time employees by occupational group, Scotland, April 2000

Source: New Earnings Survey, Office for National Statistics
Note: These figures are due to be revised early in 2002

Benefits

In Scotland, most claimants of the Jobseeker's Allowance are men (78 per cent), whilst Income Support and Attendance Allowance claimants are more likely to be women (65 per cent and 71 2per cent respectively). This could be because a large proportion of Income Support claimants are either lone parents or aged over 60 (groups which are more likely to be women).

Sixty per cent of Incapacity Benefit claimants are men, whilst the majority of Severe Disablement Allowance claimants are women (58 per cent). However it may be that some women do not meet the contribution conditions required for Incapacity Benefit and so receive Severe Disability Allowance
(a non-contributory benefit) instead (Chart 3.6).

Chart 3.6: Claimants of Key Benefits by Gender, Scotland, May 2001
Percentage

Pensions and Savings

The Family Resources Survey, 1999/2000 shows that the percentage of men (47 per cent) contributing to either a personal or employers pension scheme is higher than the percentage of women (38 per cent).

Approximately equivalent percentages of men and women hold some type of savings account (85 per cent and 86 per cent respectively (Table 3.7).

Table 3.7: Percentage of Adults by Gender and Type of Saving, 1999/2000
Percentage

Source: Family Resources Survey, Department for Work and Pensions

References and further reading

Scottish Economic Statistics 2001, Scottish Executive,
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/ses2001/ses-00.asp

New Earnings Survey, Office for National Statistics
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=5749&More=N

Survey of Family Resources
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ssd/surveys/survey-family-resources.asp
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=3793&More=N

The Women's Unit, Cabinet Office
http://www.womens-unit.gov.uk/

Contacts

Contact points for further information relating to Chapter 3, Income and Wealth:

Scottish Executive

Chapter Author
Bianca Heggie
0131 244 0566
bianca.heggie@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Office of the Chief Economic Advisor
Julie Goodall
0131 244 3004
julie.goodall@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Labour Market Statistics
Elaine Drennan
0141 242 5461
elaine.drennan@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Office for National Statistics

General public enquires
0207 533 5888
info@statistics.gov.uk

Department for Work and Pensions

Analytical Services Department
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/

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