GENDER INEQUALITY remains entrenched in Scotland despite decades of equal opportunities legislation, new initiatives and social change, a major new report has found.

Most notably, the pay gap between women and men is still "significant", with women earning 12% less than men in full-time jobs. Meanwhile, caring for children and older relatives is placing a significant financial and social strain on women in Scotland.

The study, Comparing The Position Of Women And Men In Scotland, was commissioned by the Scottish Executive. It pulls together statistical reports to give a complete picture of gender inequality across the country.

Political participation, education, crime and health are other key areas examined in the study.

The report, authored by Professor Fran Wasoff and Dr Esther Breitenbach of the University of Edinburgh, found that as well as earning less, women "are significantly disadvantaged compared to men, and are more vulnerable to poverty". They found that gender still means discrimination for women in the workplace.

Breitenbach said that, although there are natural "differences" between men and women, "inequalities still clearly exist".

"Even although in areas like education girls are now outperforming boys, that doesn't translate into economic success. In the labour market in particular, women are more likely to be disadvantaged," she said.

The report also calls for women - who make up "the vast majority of care workers" and are poorly paid, if paid at all - to be given more recognition for the informal work they carry out looking after relatives.

Demographic changes - such as people taking longer to find a partner, more relationship breakdowns, and people having fewer children - have led to an "unequal" division of labour when it comes to caring in particular, with some lone parent households looking after young children and older relatives simultaneously.

Breitenbach said: "Women are still doing most of the caring, for children and for older relatives. Paid carers are overwhelmingly women and, certainly within local authorities, they have only recently seen their pay equalised, which took a long time in coming into force."

Looking at other areas of Scottish life, the study finds that "women are overwhelmingly the victims of crimes such as domestic abuse and rape". And despite an increase in the number of women holding senior positions within many areas of decision-making and senior management, "women remain seriously under-represented, such as in the judiciary, senior civil service and local government".

And although the report notes that girls now outperform boys at school and take up more university places, "subject choice is still markedly gendered" and that government training schemes continue to "reflect gender stereotypes of occupations". The report says this has led to a labour market divided by gender, where far more women than men work part-time in lower-paid jobs, "affecting the average levels of earnings of women compared to men".

And although the gender pay gap is decreasing, the report makes clear that "part-time women workers are being particularly disadvantaged compared to full-time workers of both sexes".

On housing, the report said poor transport links in deprived areas compound problems for women looking for part-time work to fit in with child care, adding that "gendered patterns of access to housing and transport tend then to reinforce disadvantage for particular groups of women".

The report concludes: "In general, the data indicates that, despite some convergence in the position of women and men, such changes are slow, and that in some areas significant gender inequalities persist."

A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said no comment could be given on the report's findings because of the election period.

The report comes as the biggest change in gender equality legislation in 30 years comes into force - the Gender Equality Duty, part of the new Equality Act, became law earlier this month. This requires public authorities to promote gender equality and eliminate sex discrimination. The Sunday Herald revealed earlier this year that local authorities have already paid £117 million in settling equal pay deals with their staff, a figure that is expected to rise.

Last week, campaign group Engender launched a guide aimed at encouraging greater participation by women in the political process and promoting the interests of women.

Engender's executive director, Niki Kandirikirira, said that "deep cultural change" is needed to achieve real equality in Scottish society.

"There is an assumption that women are now equal, but we only have to look at the statistics contained in the audit to see that this simply isn't the case.

"Society's acceptance of male entitlement needs to be challenged if we are going to dismantle the sexism that disempowers both women and men."

She added that an anticipated fall in the number of female MSPs after this week's election is "worrying".

"Research shows that increasing women's representation makes a difference in terms of the issues addressed," she said.