Lanark and Hamilton East MP Angela Crawley has today backed a new campaign to tackle the gender gap in employment in rural areas.

The campaign follows fresh statistics from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) showing the gender gap is more pronounced across rural areas in Scotland than in the nation as a whole.

The figures released showed a difference of 8.7 per cent in rural areas, compared to 6.2 per cent nationwide.

Commenting, Angela said:

“The gender-pay gap is one of the biggest issues affecting women at the moment and, as these figures reveal, women in rural areas are particularly affected.

“Employers across rural Scotland have a duty to promote gender balance in leadership roles in the across all sectors.

“With a bigger gap between the level of men and women in work in rural areas than in urban areas, the gender pay gap is an issue that is of particular concern across my constituency.

“That’s why I’m backing the campaign urging rural bosses to address this issue of growing concern.”