Equally Safe at Work

To support our commitment to ensuring our workplace promotes gender inclusion, Public Health Scotland has received the development accreditation for the Equally Safe at Work programme.

The innovative employer accreditation programme is designed to support employers in the public and third sector to prevent violence against women and advance gender equality at work. With over 70 % of women having experienced or witnessed sexual harassment in the workplace in Scotland, and with one in four women having experienced domestic abuse, this is a vital step in ensuring women feel safe to thrive in their workplace.

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

“We’re delighted to award development accreditation to Public Health Scotland 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.”

Paul Johnston, Chief Executive, Public Health Scotland, said:

“We are really pleased to have been among the four pilot NHS Boards taking part in the Equally Safe at Work programme. Participating in the programme enabled us to implement gender-sensitive employment policies and practices and support efforts to prevent violence against women. We are looking forward to continuing this work and listening to, and working with, our staff to ensure Public Health Scotland is recognised as a gender and violence against women-sensitive workplace.

“As the worldwide 16 Days of Activism campaign to raise awareness of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) approaches we are committed to continuing our work with partners to end violence against women and girls”.

Read more about taking a public health approach to ending violence against women and girls.

Find out more about the Equally Safe at Work | Supporting employers to advance gender equality and prevent violence against women.