Age

Staff aged between 16 and 29 or 60 and over are under-represented in the Scottish Government workforce when compared to Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64, while staff aged between 30 and 49 are over-represented. The proportion of new staff joining from each age group under 50 is greater than the proportion of existing staff leaving from these groups. This trend reverses for staff aged over 50. Looking at recruitment, a similar picture is seen with a higher proportion of applicants coming from the 16 to 29 and 30 to 39 age groups than in Scotland’s population comparators, and a lower proportion of applicants coming from the 50 to 59 or 60 and over age groups.

The experiences of staff and applicants vary by age, though many of these are likely influenced by other factors heavily linked to age, such as pay grade. The average number of days off taken for sickness per person increases with increasing age group, while the likelihood that a staff member was promoted decreases with increasing age group. The youngest and oldest staff are more likely to receive a lower performance marking. Staff aged between 30 and 39 are slightly more likely than other staff to be on a temporary promotion while staff aged 60 or over are slightly less likely. Looking again at recruitment, applicants progress through the recruitment process at broadly similar levels, though applicants aged 16 to 29 are slightly less likely to pass the sifting process than other applicants.

When surveyed about engagement, inclusion, experiences of discrimination and experiences of bullying & harassment, staff responses are broadly similar across age groups. In 2023, the youngest staff felt more engaged and included than other staff and experienced lower levels of bullying & harassment. No other significant trends emerged from the data.

Sex & gender

Female staff are over-represented in the Scottish Government workforce when compared to Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64. This is broadly similar across pay bands. However, a much greater proportion of part-time staff are female than of full-time staff. Female staff are also over-represented among new staff joining the Scottish Government, though fewer than half of applicants to Scottish Government jobs are female.

The experiences of female staff and applicants vary, with both positive and negative stories. Female staff take more days off for sickness per person than male staff and are paid less on average. However, female minority applicants are more likely to pass the sifting process or be offered a job after an interview than male applicants and female staff are more likely to receive a higher performance marking than male staff. Levels of promotion and temporary promotion are broadly similar between female and male staff.

When surveyed, female and male staff report similar levels of engagement and inclusion in 2023. However, male staff experienced lower levels of discrimination and bullying & harassment than female staff, while staff selecting a gender other than female or male experienced higher levels of discrimination and felt much less engaged and included than other staff.

Trans status

Trans staff make up a similar proportion of the Scottish Government workforce as in Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64, though numbers are too low to explore whether this is true at all pay grades. Applicants for Scottish Government jobs are more likely to be trans than in Scotland’s population.

The experiences of trans staff and applicants vary, with some both positive and negative stories. Trans staff take more days off for sickness per person than staff with no trans status or history. However, there are no noticeable changes in the proportion of applicants that are trans as applicants progress through the recruitment process.

When surveyed, more negative experiences for trans staff can be seen. In 2023, trans staff felt less engaged and included and experienced higher levels of bullying & harassment than cisgender staff.

Data on turnover and promotions by trans status has not been included in this publication due to low numbers.

Disability

Disabled staff make up a similar proportion of the Scottish Government workforce as in Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64, though they are less well-represented at higher grades. Disabled staff make up similar proportions of new staff joining and existing staff leaving the organisation. However, applicants for Scottish Government jobs are much less likely to be disabled than in either of Scotland’s population comparators.

The experiences of disabled staff and applicants are generally worse than staff or applicants that are not disabled. Disabled staff take more days off for sickness per person than staff that are not disabled, are more likely to receive a lower performance marking, and are paid less on average. While disabled applicants are more likely to pass the sifting process than applicants that are not disabled, they are less likely to be offered a job after an interview. Levels of promotion and temporary promotion are broadly similar between disabled and non-disabled staff.

When surveyed, these negative experiences for disabled staff can also be seen. In 2023, disabled staff felt much less engaged and included and experienced much higher levels of discrimination and bullying & harassment than non-disabled staff.

Ethnic group

Ethnic minority staff are under-represented in the Scottish Government workforce when compared to Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64. However, this is changing over time, as ethnic minority staff are over-represented among new staff joining and under-represented among existing staff leaving the organisation. Looking at recruitment, there is a high proportion of ethnic minority applicants, though this drops off at later stages of the recruitment journey.

The experiences of ethnic minority staff and applicants are generally worse than or similar to white staff and applicants. Ethnic minority staff take more days off for sickness per person than white staff, are more likely to receive a lower performance marking, and are paid less on average. Ethnic minority applicants are less likely to pass the sifting process or be offered a job after an interview than white applicants. However, levels of promotion and temporary promotion are broadly similar between ethnic minority and white staff.

When surveyed, further differences can be seen between ethnic minority groups. In 2023, Asian and Black staff (including Asian British and Black British) felt more engaged and included than white staff, while staff from Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups felt less included and experienced higher levels of discrimination and bullying & harassment than white staff.

Religion

As in Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64, most staff in the Scottish Government are non-religious. This is also the case for new staff joining the Scottish Government and applicants that accept a job offer during the recruitment process.

Minority religions (defined here as any non-Christian religion) are under-represented in the Scottish Government workforce, though this may increase over time as new staff are more likely to be from a minority religious group than existing staff.

The experiences of staff from minority religions are generally worse than or similar to non-religious and Christian staff. Staff from minority religions take more days off for sickness per person than either non-religious or Christian staff and are more likely to receive a lower performance marking. Both Christian and minority religious applicants are less likely to pass the sifting process or be offered a job after an interview than non-religious applicants. Levels of promotion and temporary promotion are broadly similar between different religious groups, with non-religious staff being slightly more likely to be promoted in 2024.

When surveyed, more detailed differences can be seen between religious groups. In 2023, Christian and Hindu staff felt more engaged and included than other staff, while Muslim staff and staff from religious groups specified as ‘other’ experienced higher levels of discrimination and bullying & harassment than other staff, despite feeling more engaged than the average respondent

Sexual orientation

LGB+ staff are over-represented in the Scottish Government workforce when compared to Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64. This is especially true among staff working at lower pay bands. This high representation is likely to continue, due to the high representation of LGB+ staff among new staff joining the Scottish Government and the high representation of LGB+ applicants to work for the Scottish Government.

The experiences of LGB+ staff and applicants vary, with both positive and negative stories. LGB+ staff take more days off for sickness per person than heterosexual staff. However, LGB+ staff are more likely to have been promoted in the last year than heterosexual staff, have similar rates of temporary promotion to heterosexual staff and achieve a similar split of performance markings to heterosexual staff. LGB+ applicants also progress through the stages of recruitment at similar levels to heterosexual applicants.

When surveyed, further differences can be seen between sexual orientations. In 2023, gay and lesbian staff felt as engaged and included as heterosexual staff and experienced similar levels of bullying & harassment, while bisexual staff felt less included and experienced higher levels of discrimination and bullying & harassment than heterosexual staff.

Socio-economic background

Staff from higher socio-economic backgrounds make up a majority of C band staff in the Scottish Government workforce and are less well represented among lower pay grades. Staff in lower pay grades are less likely to disclose their socio-economic backgrounds. This representation is not likely to change dramatically in the near future, as new staff joining the Scottish Government are broadly similar to the existing staff. However, staff from intermediate backgrounds are slightly more likely to have been promoted in 2024 than other staff.

The experiences of staff and applicants vary by socio-economic background, with both positive and negative stories for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Staff whose parents never worked take more days off for sickness per person than staff from higher socio-economic backgrounds. However, staff have similar rates of temporary promotion regardless of socio-economic background and applicants also progress through the stages of recruitment at similar levels in each socio-economic background grouping.

When surveyed on inclusion, few differences can be seen between staff by socio-economic background. In 2023, staff from high, intermediate or routine socio-economic backgrounds reported similar levels of engagement and inclusion and experienced similar levels of discrimination and bullying & harassment. However, staff whose parents never worked experienced higher levels of bullying & harassment, though their other scores were broadly similar to other staff.

Contents of the report

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
  • 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
  • Average pay by sex, disability status or ethnic group

• Workforce culture: these sections contain results from the Civil Service People Survey 2023. They are the following scores for each demographic group:

  • Employee engagement score
  • Inclusion and fair treatment score
  • Proportion of respondents experiencing bullying and/or harassment
  • Proportion of respondents experiencing discrimination

Significance

Some charts below feature arrows (↑, ↓) or colours to indicate when results are statistically significant, which is defined further in the notes page. Testing for statistical significance here does not factor in other variables such as pay grade that can affect results. Results can be marked as statistically significant even when that demographic characteristic is not the contributing factor to the difference. For example, younger staff are more likely to be promoted in a given year than older staff, but rates of promotion are impacted more by pay grade which is closely linked to age.

Comparators

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the diversity of its staff, with the percentage breakdown within Scotland’s working age population as a target, defined as the population aged between 16 and 64. The diversity of the economically active population is often a useful comparison as well, as some groups are less represented among the economically active population than the population aged between 16 and 64. For example, a significant proportion of Scotland’s population aged between 16 and 29 are in full-time education and are not considered economically active.

Occupational segregation

“Occupational segregation” in this report refers to a breakdown across pay bands and between full-time and part-time workers. Occupational segregation also occurs across job families, but our data on which job family staff belong to is not yet robust enough to report on.

More detailed notes on declaration rates, our data sources, significance and comparators can be found in the notes page of this publication.