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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Gender Matters in Media and Culture
For many people, popular culture and the media is the first indication that maybe, just maybe, we don’t have women’s equality yet. The women we see on screen and in print are often stereotyped or tokenistic, or we don’t see them at all. And of course the situation is worse for older women, women of colour, disabled women, lesbian and trans women. One thing women across Scotland have told Engender is that the media, both in print and on screen, can play a huge role in perpetuating women’s inequality.
Time to drive gender equality home with robust legislation
This blog first appeared in The National
It is now three months until the Scottish Parliament elections. Elections which, we hope, will see manifesto pledges made for women’s equality, and a record number of women MSPs elected. Engender will be working up until the election to call for parties to commit to our “20 for 2016” – 20 asks which we think could see real progress towards women’s equality in Scotland. We’ll be supporting groups across the country to hold “Gender Matters” hustings events, and we’ll be writing in The National about a different ask each week.
We need a #GenderEqualityBill because...
Today people are using social media to tell us why they need a Gender Equality Bill.
A Gender Equality Bill would enshrine a high-level strategy to tackle gender inequality in law, to hasten the pace of change. The specific content of the bill would be developed in collaboration with women and women's organisations, but could, for instance, commit to deliver against the Istanbul Convention, establish a Women's Commissioner for Scotland, or set targets for delivery of key public services that are vital for women's equality, such as childcare and social care. There's a more detailed briefing about the Gender Equality Bill here.
Roosh V, and how we respond to hatred towards women
This has been a good week for self-promoting controversialists who boast about the rapes they have perpetrated. It’s been an exciting week for the million plus followers of their grooming how-to sites, who have found themselves the focus of the global and Scottish media. It’s been less of a good week for the women with experience of the rape, sexual harassment, and everyday sexism that flow from their toxic notions of women’s place in the world.
Celebrating the past year and welcoming the new
It’s been a great year for Engender, with fantastic events, projects, and research work happening throughout 2015. We’ve supported our amazing #FeministFest bloggers, held inspiring conferences with sister organisations, and chatted to folk around Scotland about why gender matters. We’ve seen increased public interest and political will for women’s equality, recognition of the importance of gender mainstreaming, and our work on women and welfare reform has ensured that decision makers know that women bear the brunt of cuts. You can see details of these things and more in our annual report, along with some pictures from the past year (see if you can spot yourself!)
Downloads
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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