Fife Council wins Equally Safe at Work accreditation

Fife Council has successfully achieved bronze accreditation on the Equally Safe at Work employer programme.

Close the Gap have recognised the council’s commitment to women’s labour market equality as a sector leader on gender equality in local government.

Close the Gap, Scotland’s expert policy advocacy organisation working on women’s labour market participation, developed Equally Safe at Work as an innovative employer accreditation programme designed to support employers in the public and third sector to prevent violence against women (VAW) and advance gender equality at work.

Over the past 18 months, our HR Team has worked with colleagues within the Fife Violence Against Women Partnership and across Directorates to achieve our excellent accreditation by meeting 32 criteria across six themes.

Councillor David Ross, Leader of Fife Council, said of the achieved accreditation:

“I’m extremely pleased to accept the Equally Safe at Work award on behalf of Fife Council. As acknowledged by Close the Gap there has been significant work over the last 18 months that will contribute to the advancement of gender equality among the Council’s workforce. We will continue to work collaboratively across the Council and with Close the Gap to maintain our accreditation and demonstrate our commitment to gender equality.”

Anna Ritchie Allan, Executive Director of Close the Gap, said:

“We’re delighted to award bronze accreditation to Fie Council which is a sector leader on gender equality at work. Violence Against Women affects all aspects of women’s lives, including the workplace. It can make it difficult for victim-survivors to do their job well, prevents them from progressing, and in some cases forces them out of their job altogether. For employers, this can mean reduced productivity, the cost of managing unplanned absences, and higher staff turnover.

“The Equally Safe at Work programme is a tried and tested way for employers to improve their practice, tackle the gender pay gap and better support victim-survivors in the workplace. Employers that take steps to advance gender equality at work are more innovative, more productive, better able to manage skills gaps, and are more protected from the costly risk of discrimination.”

Fife Council is one of only seven local authority employers to achieve bronze level accreditation.

For more information about the Equally Safe at Work programme, visit www.equallysafeatwork.scot