Diversity and Inclusion of the Scottish Government Workforce

20 Mar 2025 11:33 AM

An Official Statistics Publication for Scotland.

The latest Scottish Government Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Information statistics have been published today by Scotland’s Chief Statistician. These statistics are based on data available as at 31 December 2024 and cover the diversity of Scottish Government permanent staff in core directorates, some agencies and some non-ministerial departments and the experiences of different demographic groups.

Data from People Survey 2024 for the Scottish Government workforce broken down by demographic characteristics cannot be published until demographic results for the wider UK Civil Service are published by the Cabinet Office. For that reason, this publication includes results from People Survey 2023 as the latest data available for public release.

The statistics show that:

• At the end of December 2024, the diversity of the Scottish Government workforce varied in comparison to Scotland’s population aged between 16 and 64:
  • Female staff make up 57.3% of the Scottish Government workforce, compared to 51.1% of Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64.
  • The Scottish Government workforce aged between 16 and 29 years old make up 13.8% of the workforce, compared to 26.7% of Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64; staff aged 60 years old or older make up 7.5% of the workforce, compared to 10.9% of Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64.
  • Disabled staff make up 19.9% of the Scottish Government workforce, compared to 20.0% of Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64.
  • Ethnic minority staff make up 5.0% of the Scottish Government workforce, compared to 7.7% of Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64.
  • Staff belonging to a minority (non-Christian) religion make up 3.9% of the Scottish Government workforce, compared to 10.0% of Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64.
  • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or any other sexual orientation not including straight/heterosexual staff make up 10.0% of the Scottish Government workforce, compared to 5.2% of the Scottish population aged 16 to 64.
  • Trans staff and staff with a trans history make up 0.6% of the Scottish Government workforce, compared to 0.5% of Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64.
  • Staff whose parents never worked make up 2.8% of the Sottish Government workforce. No population comparator exists for this group.
• According to the People Survey 2023 (the annual UK Civil Service employee engagement survey), the Scottish Government workforce results on Inclusion and Fair Treatment varied by demographic and diversity group:
  • Female and male staff feel included and that they are treated fairly to the same degree (84.7% vs 85.7%).
  • The proportion of staff feeling included and treated fairly ranges from 88.6% of staff aged between 16 and 24 to 82.8% of staff aged 65 or over.
  • Disabled staff are less likely to feel included and treated fairly (76.5%) than non-disabled staff (87.1%).
  • Ethnic minority staff and white staff feel included and treated fairly to the same extent (84.4% vs 85.2%).
  • Christian staff feel included and treated fairly to the same degree as non-religious staff (85.4% vs 85.0%).
  • Straight / heterosexual staff are more likely to feel included and treated more fairly (85.4%) than staff with any other sexual orientation (81.8%).
  • Transgender staff are less likely to feel included and treated fairly (71.9%) than cisgender staff (85.1%).
  • Staff whose parents never worked are less likely to feel included treated fairly (80.3%) than staff from a high socio-economic background (85.4%).

Background

The figures released today were produced in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

The full statistics are available at:

https://data.gov.scot/workforce-diversity-2024/

The statistics presented in this report come from data from a number of internal sources. Under each demographic characteristic, the report is split into three sections (where data is available):

Workforce composition: these sections contain statistics on the changing workforce in the Scottish Government using management information. They are demographic characteristic breakdowns of: Occupational segregation of staff on 31 December 2024; Applications in 2024 at each stage of the recruitment process; and Staff joining and leaving the organisation in 2024.

Staff experiences: these sections contain statistics on additional management information measures for each demographic group. They are: Levels of absence by demographic group; Proportion of each demographic group achieving each performance marking; Proportion of promotion of each demographic group in 2024; Proportion of each demographic group on a temporary promotion; and Average pay by sex, disability status or ethnic group.

Workforce culture: these sections contain results from the Civil Service People Survey 2023 and are the following scores for each demographic group: Employee engagement score; Inclusion and fair treatment score; Proportion of respondents experiencing bullying and/or harassment; and Proportion of respondents experiencing discrimination.

Official statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff. More information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland can be accessed at: www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/About