Engender blog

GUEST POST: The Cost of Childcare Crisis

Engender has recently hosted student placements from the MSc in Social Research at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Strathclyde Applied Gender Studies and Research Methods course. As part of their research outputs, the students have produced a series of blogs.

In this post, Marianne looks at how the cost of living crisis continues to disproportionately impact women, and how this is compounded by women's unpaid work and childcare responsibilities.

Milk, bread, electricity, petrol and even crème eggs: the cost of living crisis has seen drastic surges in prices of just about every household good. Everyone’s purses are feeling the strain, and heads are turning to the government to aid the struggling population.

Often unacknowledged in these debates, however, is the evidence that women are being disproportionately affected by the cost of living crisis over men. The economic instability of the country is affecting the lowest-paid of the population, of which women make up the majority, with 69% of low-paid and insecure jobs being held by women. Engender released their Women & The Cost of Living report in November 2022 that highlighted that this disproportion is related to the long-standing inequalities that ensure women make up the highest percentage of low-paid jobs, such as those in the care sector and unpaid care and domestic jobs at home. Based on this perhaps unsurprising revelation, Engender made a series of suggestions for the Scottish Parliament in order to tackle these inequalities. 

GUEST POST: Do we need diversity quotas in film?

Engender and the Equal Media and Culture Centre for Scotland have hosted student placements from the MSc in Social Research at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Strathclyde Applied Gender Studies and Research Methods course. As part of their research outputs, the students have produced a series of blogs.

In this post, Alex looks at why there's still work to do to ensure diversity behind the camera in Scotland's film industry.

The Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) is the UK’s third-largest film festival and one of Scotland’s biggest annual cultural events.

The UK Government has recognised its “significant contribution” to Scottish culture and to the careers of new filmmakers through its Audience Award. The festival’s organisers pick the nominees, but the winner is democratically elected by film-goers. Since the nominees are specifically chosen to nurture the careers of first or second-time directors, the award is a great site to foster a more diverse film industry in Scotland.

GUEST POST: Reflections of the Student Placement Experience - An Insight into the Women’s Sector in Scotland

Today we're publishing the next in a series of blogs from recent student placements Engender has hosted from the MSc in Social Research at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Strathclyde Applied Gender Studies and Research Methods course.

In this post, Beth reflects on her experience of undertaking a research placement and the importance of considering urban planning policies through a feminist lens.

During the summer semester of my MSc in Social Research at the University of Edinburgh, I have been fortunate enough to experience completing my dissertation as a placement student with Engender. This placement has been invaluable, and I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on this and maybe inspire others to gain experience of working within the women’s sector.

Call for expert working group on decriminalisation of abortion accepted by Scottish Government

Abortion care in Scotland is in urgent need of modernisation, with the current framework acting as a drag on services and as a barrier to timely access. In June we wrote to the First Minister on abortion rights, alongside 16 other equalities, abortion and health organisations. In the letter, we welcomed the commitments made on the leadership campaign trail and called for creation of an expert working group on decriminalisation of abortion.

We are delighted that this suggestion has been accepted by Scottish Government. We now look forward to sharing how women in Scotland can feed into the review of current structures, and to Humza Yousaf’s commitment on decriminalisation being set out in this year’s Programme for Government. Read the letter and see a list of signatories below.

Dear First Minister,

We hope this letter finds you well and congratulate you on your appointment as First Minister of Scotland.

During your leadership campaign, we welcomed your commitments to protecting and advancing abortion rights. The implementation of nationwide buffer zones, consistent provision of abortion care for all that need it, and removal of abortion from the criminal justice system are vital elements of modern abortion healthcare in Scotland. We also need action to tackle growing capacity gaps across services, to ensure equality of access to person-centred abortion care, and to ensure that NHS staff are working in fully equipped and well-resourced services.

Steady progress has been made regarding abortion in recent years. The NHS Scottish Abortion Care Providers Group has worked closely with Scottish Government to advance commitments set out in the Women’s Health Plan, including early medical abortion at home, telemedical care, and improved provision of mid-term abortions across the country.

We now look forward to further progress under your leadership, and to working with the Scottish Government and Women’s Health Champion towards delivery of your commitments. We are aware that Scottish Government already has regular engagement with the NHS Scottish Abortion Care Providers Group, which will, of course, continue to be invaluable. Building on your commitment to move forward decriminalisation of abortion, we believe that an expert working group would be of assistance to Scottish Government Ministers on this topic, and would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further.