Occupational segregation contributes to the gender pay gap, restricts women's employment opportunities and prevents them from achieving their fullest potential in the labour market.

We know that the causes are complex and include issues relating to gender stereotyping during education and career formation, inflexible work practices, and the under-valuing of roles and occupations associated with ‘women’s work’.

To translate these factors into a financial ‘bottom line’ is a challenge but one we are beginning to address, building on the work carried out by the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) with the advice of the late Professor Ailsa MacKay, on the economic impact of transforming Scotland’s childcare in an independent Scotland.

The CEA will follow up that work with an analysis of further steps Scotland can take to maximise economic opportunities for women.

We have also funded The Fraser of Allander Institute, via our key partners Close the Gap, to look at the economic benefits, measured in gross value added to Scotland of removing barriers to women’s participation and progress in the labour market.

This will include estimating the loss of economic activity caused by barriers to women’s participation and progress in some sectors, detailed in the Scottish Government’s economic strategy.

When the Scottish Government and the STUC held the Women’s Employment Summit in September 2012, discussion covered a wide range of areas. Since that time, a ministerial strategic group on women and work has met regularly to consider actions underway and what more can be done at all levels to enable women to fulfil their potential in the labour market. While we know many issue still remain, progress is being made in a number of areas, including occupational segregation.

With over 69% of women in paid work today, in Scotland women are represented in every sector in the labour market and at every level. Women’s contribution to the economy through unpaid work must also be recognised. However, steps to tackle occupational segregation are a priority for the Strategic Group on Women and Work, which I chair and we are closely monitoring the actions on this which are being co-ordinated through a cross directorate group on occupational segregation.

The Scottish Government, through Skills Development Scotland (SDS), ensures that there is fair and open access to all our national training programmes, including modern apprenticeships. Training interventions are designed to help us address skills gaps across the economy in response to employer demand and learner preferences.

The Modern Apprenticeship (MA) programme is a fully employed programme in Scotland and as a result recruitment decisions are in the hands of participating employers. There is therefore an important role for employers in terms of adapting their behaviour to attract and retain a balanced workforce. We agreed with the Equal Opportunities Committee recommendation that SDS should campaign to raise awareness of the MA programme with disadvantaged groups, and Scottish apprenticeship week in May 2014 will have equalities as a major focus.

The biggest impact in addressing the occupational choices of individuals comes through the provision of good careers advice, making young people aware of opportunities in any given sector and allowing them to undertake the appropriate qualifications and training to move into these opportunities.

Achieving a balanced workforce which reflects Scottish society as a whole is a challenge for the labour market as a whole and is not specific to government supported training programmes. We appreciate, however, that we need to do more to ensure young people understand the nature and opportunities available across the labour market, and that employers recognise the economic and social value of a balanced workforce.

The recent interim report from the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce makes a number of recommendations relating to government supported training programmes, and I am currently considering these recommendations, with the final report due in early summer. An important stage in the second half of the Wood Commission will be a focus on equality issues, looking to make meaningful recommendations to improve employment outcomes in relation to gender, disability and ethnicity.

We will use the findings from this work to develop a way forward for government supported training programmes which will better meet our aims and ambitions for Scotland.

The Public Appointments Centre of Expertise are currently considering options on raising awareness of diversity issues by delivering training to selection panel members on unconscious bias. This is part of the on-going continuous improvement work currently underway as part of the programme of activity being developed by the Scottish Government, in conjunction with the Public Boards and Corporate Diversity Programme Board and stakeholders.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20607 on 30 April 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20607 on 30 April 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government is committed to understanding the experience of applicants for public appointments, and to using different application and selection methods to enhance the diversity of our public bodies.

We have fully supported and worked in collaboration with the Commission for Ethical Standards in Public life in Scotland on the content of the questionnaire about applicants experience in 2012 and 2013. This research has been published and can be found on the: Commission for Ethical Standards and Public Life in Scotland website.

The Scottish Government’s Public Appointments Centre of Expertise have used the applicant research to inform actions on our continuous improvement agenda. This includes a project on improving the applicant tracking system, making it simpler for applicants to apply online, improving the quality and availability of feedback offered to applicants and the use of social media to publicise appointments.

We will also use the research to understand more fully how applicants view different application and selection methods. No other formal evaluation has been carried out in addition to the 2012 and 2013 surveys. However the 2013 survey has shown significant improvements from 2012 in the views of applicants about almost all aspects of the process. This includes improvements in applicant experience of the application and selection processes. Applicants have also reported that they feel feedback and the overall experience has improved. There is still work to be done and we will use the research to inform our future improvement work.

The initial costs of the DVD production including 1,000 copies was £2,705 in June 2009. Since then a further two reprints have been ordered of 200 copies each time costing £994.92. The total costs for DVDs production and reprint to date is £3,699.92. We have distributed approximately 1300 copies of the DVD to date through various awareness events organised by Scottish Government or through events we have been invited to attend.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20607 on 30 April 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20617 on 30 April 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at;

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20607 on 30 April 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.