AN EQUAL pay mark, similar to the Living Wage employer accreditation, should be introduced in Scotland to address a widening gap between the earnings of men and women.

The call, which will come as a motion at the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) Women's Conference tomorrow, comes as figures released last week by the Office of National Statistics showed that women in Scotland are being paid on average 15.2 per cent less than men.

Though the UK figure is higher at 17.4 per cent, it has narrowed slightly and is at its lowest since the survey began in 1997, while is Scotland the gap has widened by around one per cent.

The motion is being put forward by the University College Union (UCU), with other unions, including the GMB and the EIS, also raising the gender pay gap as a priority for women ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act in 2020.

The motion recommends to conference that "the Scottish Government consider the creation of an ‘Equal Pay Employer’ scheme, similar to the Living Wage employer scheme, which will provide employers with accreditation and ensure that outsourcing or subcontracting are not used as a means to obscure an organisation’s pay figures".

Ann Gow, UCU Scotland President, said: “On average, a woman academic is earning over £6,000 a year less than a male counterpart. At the current glacial levels of progress it will take at least 40 years to see parity.

"While an equal pay employer’ scheme – similar to that in place for employers paying the living wage – is not the only answer, we believe it would ensure that employers are acknowledged for the action they have taken and would make it easier for women to see at a glance whether they’d be paid the going rate for the job they’re doing. Being accredited would make an employer a more attractive place to work and should raise the bar generally.”

The call was backed by the STUC, which is celebrating the 90th anniversary of its two-day women's conference this year, tellingly themed around Women and Poverty.

Dave Moxham, STUC Deputy General Secretary, said: "Unequal pay is a scar on our labour market which keeps women in poverty. Employers face clear duties to tackle the gender pay gap, but too many are simply failing to live up to their legal obligations.

"We believe that employers should simply be abiding by their statutory responsibilities to eradicate the gender pay gap. However an 'equal pay mark' could be used to insist that employers – including the Scottish Government, who use procurement, outsourcing or subcontracting – must show their commitment to finally eradicating the problem of unequal pay throughout their supply chain."

The Living Wage employer accreditation, under which all staff and contractors are paid a minimum of £8.45 an hour, has been widely considered a huge success in terms of driving up pay over the last three years. Only 20 companies were signed up in April 2014 and the 1000th Scottish company is expected to sign up in coming weeks.

Anna Ritchie Allan, director of Close the Gap, which campaigns on equal pay, called for urgent action and said that research showed the majority of employers had failed to do an equal pay review and were "unduly complacent" because they were unaware their organisation was part of the problem.

"We’d support an employer accreditation scheme that looks at the many inter-related causes of the pay gap, and includes a requirement to do an equal pay review," she said.

“The pay gap is a persistent feature of women’s everyday working lives, contributing to women’s higher levels of poverty, and limiting their opportunities at work, and in life.

“Tinkering around the edges of systemic problem doesn’t create change. There’s never been a cohesive, strategic response to Scotland’s pay gap. We’d like to see a national strategy which recognises policy change is needed not just in the labour market, but also in early years, education and skills, childcare, economic development, and procurement."

Minister for Employability and Training, Jamie Hepburn, said the Scottish Government was committed to closing the gap. "That is why the Scottish Government set up a new fund aimed at reducing employment inequalities, and ensuring women are better represented in senior and decision-making roles, and challenging pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination," he added.

"We are also investing in programmes to help women get back into work after a career break and will continue to work with a range of stakeholders, including the STUC, to drive further progress.”