WOMEN are paid more fairly in Luxembourg, Poland, Belgium and Slovenia than they are in Scotland, according to a new report.

The Women in Work survey for PwC found that the gender pay gap in Scotland currently stands at 15 per cent, despite improving opportunities for women in the workplace, and found that closing the gap between male and female earnings would make Scotland £6.5 billion a year better off.

The report said the UK’s performance in the annual index had improved as a result of higher female employment rates and a narrowing of the gender pay gap. However the UK still ranks 13th out of 33 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Countries.

The figures follow a recent Scottish Parliament report which also found that women in Scotland fare slightly better than the average UK pay gap of 17 per cent. That report suggested it could take 50 years to close the gap, whereas the PwC Women in Work report is slightly more optimistic, claiming parity could be achieved in just four decades. PwC said that if the gap was closed, female earnings would increase by 18% - an extra £5,300 per head per year in Scotland.

The professional services firm’s Women in Work research measures levels of female economic empowerment across 33 countries.UK regional variations were calculated using the difference between the median gross weekly pay for men and women as a percentage of the median gross weekly pay for men. Northern Ireland was found to have the lowest pay gap at 6%, while the West Midlands has highest gap at 27%.

Job differences between men and women, both across industries and job roles, are one of the biggest factors contributing to the gap in earnings. The research shows women are still more likely to work in sectors and occupations that are relatively poorly paid.

Matthew Cooper, of PwC in Scotland, said: “While it is encouraging to see that the gender pay gap in Scotland at 15% is lower than the UK average of 17%, there remains work to do with specific challenges in some of Scotland’s key industries such as financial services and oil and gas where the gender pay gap remains higher.

“The increased focus on pay gap reporting gives employers the opportunity to set out the actions they are taking to address the pay gap as well as their wider strategy on diversity and inclusion.”

He said it was up to Scottish employers to take on responsibility for fairer pay in the workplace. “Taking accountability and delivering changes is what is needed from Scottish employers to continue the process toward removing gender pay inequality.”

The research comes as Holyrood’s Economy, Fair Work and Jobs Committee launched its own inquiry into the impact of equal pay. The committee will examine whether addressing the gender pay gap could positively affect Scotland’s business performance.

A Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Spice) report for the committee last week found the widest caps were in finance and insurance, where women earn 29.9 per cent less on average than the men they work with. Meanwhile senior managerial and director level jobs also see a wide gap between the median pay of men and women.

Scottish Labour economy spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “It’s disappointing that the gap between what men and women in Scotland get paid remains so wide. We may have a female First Minister in Scotland but that doesn’t appear to be making much difference to women getting paid less than men.

“SNP ministers need to come forward with a clear plan for closing the gender pay gap.”