This compares to Office of National Statistics figures showing women's employment at 63.2 per cent in 1990 and 44.7 per cent in 1960. The difference between female and male employment rates in Scotland is also smaller than anywhere else in the UK at just 7.1 percentage points. This is yet more proof of the success of Government policies, such as the Working Families Tax Credit and the National Minimum Wage, which ensure that going to work does pay. The New Deal has also made significant progress in boosting employment, with the New Deal for Lone Parents helping 6,750 lone parents across Scotland to find work since it started in 1998. Government policies such as increased rights for part-time workers and our campaign to encourage employers to adopt flexible working practises also help to ensure that more women than ever before are able to move into work.
Women are an integral part of the work-force and are vital to Scotland's economy.
We are determined to do all that we can to give every woman the opportunity join the work-force and benefit from Scotland's increasing prosperity. National Statistics today published an article on 'Trends in Female Employment' in Labour Market Trends. The article examines key trends in female employment using employment results from the spring 2000 Labour Force Survey. It also makes comparisons with previous spring quarters over three years and ten years. The full report is published in Labour Market Trends, Volume 109 No2.