Employment of women in Scotland remains second highest in Europe

Scotland continues to have the second highest rate of female employment in the EU, according to official data.

With employment of women at 70.6 per cent from April to June 2015, Scotland was second only to Sweden, on 74 per cent, for female employment.

The UK rate a whole ranked eighth with 67.4 per cent.

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The figures released by Eurostat also recorded Scotland as having the second lowest rate of female unemployment, at 4.9 per cent.

Only Germany had lower female unemployment among the 28 EU countries with 4.2 per cent.

Both the employment and the unemployment rates have dropped slightly since the last quarter.

From January to March 2015 the female employment rate was 71.1 per cent and the unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent.

Minister for Youth and Women’s Employment Annabelle Ewing joined representatives from other European countries in Brussels on Monday to discuss how they are tackling gender inequality in the workplace.

Ewing said the figures were something “to be proud of”, but that she would be looking at other countries such as Sweden and Germany to see what further improvements could be made.

“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to hear about the approach taken elsewhere in Europe to attract and retain women in work,” said Ewing.

“We’ve seen success through the promotion of more flexible working programmes alongside projects dealing directly with employers to ensure family or caring responsibilities are not an insurmountable barrier to work.

“We’re constantly reviewing what partnerships are effective in reaching those who face barriers to finding and staying in work and making sure that we are able to share that experience as far as possible.”

She also mentioned the importance of “visible role models” and a range of different training options.

During the one-day visit to Brussels, Ewing also chaired a meeting to discuss how encouraging women to start their own businesses could boost the economy.