Definition
Sex, previously referred to as ‘gender’, refers to either a man or a woman.
Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to directly or indirectly discriminate against or harass someone because of their sex. This includes less favorable treatment of a woman because she is breastfeeding, except in relation to work.
A man cannot claim direct discrimination by taking account of the special treatment afforded to women in connection with pregnancy and childbirth.
The broader picture
Globally, there are still vast inequalities between men and women. Nearly 800 million adults are illiterate, with two thirds of them women. More boys than girls get access to primary education.
Women make up 52% of the global labour force, but own only 1% of the world’s wealth. In Britain, women earn 16% less than men for doing work of equivalent value. In FTSE 100 companies, 4% of the executive directors are women. In the UK Parliament elected in 2010, 22% of the MPs elected were women.
In Scotland, 33% of MSPs in the 2007-2011 Scottish Parliament were women, and women make up 34% of MSPs of the 2011-2016 Scottish Parliament. On Scotland’s local authorities, women make up 22% of Scotland’s 1222 councillors. The council with the highest percentage of female elected members had 32%, whilst the lowest had no women councillors.
One in five women in Scotland experience domestic violence during their lives. On Old Firm match days, there is a 41% increase in incidents of domestic violence reported to the police. 70% of women around the world will experience violence in their lifetime.
Sport
Data from the 2009 Scottish Household Survey is outlined in the table below*. This shows participation in any sport excluding walking in the last four weeks, and then any sport including walking.
Participation in sport in the last four weeks by sex
| |
Any sport (excluding walking) |
Any sport (including walking) |
|
Female |
45% |
69% |
|
Male |
56% |
75% |
|
All |
50% |
72% |
*This analysis was completed by the Scottish Household Survey team for sportscotland.
When walking is included, women participate in sport around 10% less than men. When walking is excluded, women participate almost 20% less than men. The most popular sport for men and women after walking was swimming, followed by football for men and keep fit/aerobics for women.
Girls
In 2010, 65% of children met the physical activity recommendations. As with all previous years, boys were more likely than girls to meet recommended physical activity levels (68% boys compared to 62% of girls). The physical activity levels of boys has declined from 72% in 1998, while the percentage of girls meeting recommendations has increased from 59%.
The number of children meeting recommendations peaked for children 8-10 years (75%) and declined to 51% for 13-15 year olds. This decline is because only 36% of 13-15 year old girls meet recommendations, compared to 65% of boys.
In the UK, the difference between men and women is sport can also be seen in the fact that women’s sport receives less than 1% of total sponsorship expenditure, and male sports are given 50 times more coverage in the media.
sportscotland believes that all people, regardless of sex, should have the opportunity to participate in sport. sportscotland is committed to fulfilling its duty under the Equality Act 2010 to advance equality of opportunity regardless of sex.
Additional resources