Engender blog
All of Engender’s latest news. Reports, reviews, books, articles, and information from across Scotland’s women’s sector.
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Doing feminism in Europe
I spent last weekend at the European Women's Lobby general assembly in Brussels.
The Lobby is the largest European umbrella of women's organisations, and its general assembly is an annual gathering of all of the national co-ordinations. Engender represents Scotland within the Lobby.
Some of you who follow European feminism or institutional feminist politics will have seen the Lobby pop up on Twitter, in our Friday Feminist Five mailers, but their work is much less familiar to other feminists in Scotland.
I thought I'd share five things about the Lobby (and Engender's involvement with it) that might be of interest.
1. What the Lobby's role is
The European Women's Lobby is a feminist policy and advocacy organisation that has two main roles. First, it lobbies European institutions, including the Commission and Parliament. Second, it supports feminist organisations in member states to participate in Europe-wide campaigning and lobbying.
2. How the Lobby is structured
EWL members fall into two categories: national co-ordinations and Europe-wide organisations.
The Lobby accepts one national co-ordination for each European member state, and leaves it up to the feminists in that state to create or select an organisation to be that national co-ordination. The UK's constitutional arrangements have posed a bit of a challenge to us in this regard, and I'll explain how we resolved it in just a moment.
Members vote at the general assembly for the EWL's board, and executive committee. All national co-ordinations are represented on the board, which meets physically twice a year. The executive committee meets more regularly.
There is also a secretariat, which is based in Brussels. The current secretary general of EWL is Joanna Maycock.
#Powertothebump - pregnancy and maternity rights for young women
Here at Engender we frequently get calls, tweets and emails from women facing discrimination due to pregnancy and maternity. Many folk think that the campaign for pregnancy and maternity was a fight won long ago, but in fact women still face major problems staying, or re-entering the workforce if they become pregnant. The fact that discrimination is illegal is, unfortunately, not enough to prevent some employers from taking advantage, so it’s really important that women are supported to know, and fight for, their rights.
That’s why we’re really pleased to see the EHRC’s new #PowertotheBump Campaign. Read on to find out more, from Helen Miller Policy Manager at the EHRC :
Sexism in advertising, what can we do?
Caroline, Engender's recently recruited Membership Engagement Assistant, explores the effects of sexism in advertising and looks at how we can challenge gender inequality within the media.
I like to think it is now no secret that marketing communications shape the way in which women view themselves and the way that society views women. Advertising agencies (and the media) dictate our perceptions of beauty; creating unobtainable standards and enabling the fashion and beauty industry to capitalise on our insecurities. Is there anything we can do to stop these damaging portrayals of women?
Guest Post: Tackling ‘Lad Culture’ on campus
Guest blog from Anni Donaldson, the Knowledge Exchange Fellow & Project Lead at the University of Strathclyde's Equally Safe in Higher Education project. You can follow Anni, winner of the first 'The Write to End Violence Against Women Awards', on twitter.
Guest Post: Will 2016 be a high point for women’s representation at Holyrood?
It's polling day today for the Scottish Parliament election. Juliet Swann, Associate Consultant at McNeill & Stone, predicts what this will mean for women's representation.
Will 2016 be a high point for women’s representation at Holyrood?
The Scottish Parliament won plaudits in 1999 for electing 48 women out of the 129 MSPs, (37.2%). Since then however that percentage has fallen, indicating that the stance Labour took to balance the winnable seats between men and women in that first election was neither replicated by the other parties nor was there a consistent application of the principle of gender balance in the subsequent elections and selection processes.
Of late this complacency has been challenged. The election of Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland’s first woman First Minister, and her making a strong commitment to gender equality from the outset, as well as two other women leading the opposition parties, and both SNP and Labour appointing a 50:50 cabinet has caused women’s representation to become a talking point.
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Engender Briefing: Pension Credit Entitlement Changes
From 15 May 2019, new changes will be introduced which will require couples where one partner has reached state pension age and one has not (‘mixed age couples’) to claim universal credit (UC) instead of Pension Credit.
Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Condemnation of Misogyny, Racism, Harassment and Sexism
Engender welcomes this Scottish Parliament Debate on Condemnation of Misogyny, Racism, Harassment and Sexism and the opportunity to raise awareness of the ways in which women in Scotland’s inequality contributes to gender-based violence.
Gender Matters in Social Security: Individual Payments of Universal Credit
A paper calling on the Scottish Government to automatically split payments of Universal Credit between couples, once this power is devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
Gender Matters Manifesto: Twenty for 2016
This manifesto sets out measures that, with political will, can be taken over the next parliamentary term in pursuit of these goals.
Scottish NGO Briefing for UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
Joint briefing paper for the UN Rapporteur on Violence Against Women.
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