Engender blog
What do women want from local councils?
That’s the question that we, along with campaign group Women5050 want to answer this spring.
The decisions made by local councils have a significant impact on women’s lives, from allocating spending on education and leisure, to deciding how and where public transport runs. And yet it is in local councils that women’s underrepresentation is clearest – with only 24% of local councillors being women. Of the 1,223 local councillors in Scotland, only four are women from BME communities.
We've created activities and resources which can be used by groups across Scotland to explore what powers local councils have, and how women can have influence them. The workshops will be used to crowd-source 10 questions local councillor elected in May to ask themselves about how they are involving women in their work.
SUCCESS: Scottish Government commits to individual payments of Universal Credit
Today Engender have welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment to offer individual, not household, payments of Universal Credit.
The announcement from Jeane Freeman, Minister for Social Security, came as the Scottish Government published their response to the consultation on social security in Scotland. 88% of the respondents to the Government’s consultation called for the splitting of Universal Credit payments, largely based on a desire to prevent power imbalances in relationships.
Our bodies, our choice: the case for a Scottish approach to abortion
Today Engender has released a key report highlighting current issues affecting access to abortion in Scotland, and calling on the Scottish Government to use the opportunity presented by the devolution of abortion law to put women’s equality and rights at its heart. The report, supported by Amnesty Scotland, NUS Scotland, Scottish Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis Scotland, Close the Gap, and Zero Tolerance, calls for abortion to be decriminalised, and for improvements to services, access, and education around abortion.
Shared Statement of Ambition on Social Care launched
Scotland’s social care support system is in crisis. It’s failing disabled people and carers and the way Scotland funds it is not working.
That’s Engender's view, along with coalition of 16 Scottish organisations, representing disabled people and older people, women, care providers and paid and unpaid carers and the voluntary sector, who are calling for urgent action by national and local government and policymakers. Others including academics, trade unions, politicians, local authorities, care providers and professionals also share their concerns on the future of social care funding.
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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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