Engender blog
All of Engender’s latest news. Reports, reviews, books, articles, and information from across Scotland’s women’s sector.
We would love to hear from other feminists around Scotland. Check out our guidelines for more information on how you can blog for us.
Menopause Matters: an assessment of the support needs of Scottish women experiencing menopause transition
Engender is really pleased to be working with University of Edinburgh student Elena Rodriguez on a project exploring women's experiences of the menopause.
Born in San José, Costa Rica, Elena graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Costa Rica in 2016. She has since worked researching access to healthcare for migrant and indigenous populations in Costa Rica, and on knowledge and attitudes towards flu vaccines with health professionals and postpartum women. She's been a feminist since 1990, and in her first blog for Engender, she sets out what the project hopes to do.
Biologically, the menopause is considered a natural part of ageing. Generally defined as the moment a woman stops having periods, it occurs at the average age of 51 years in the UK. However, for some women the process happens earlier - often with no apparent cause, or as a result of surgical or medical procedures, for example some cancer treatments.
Scottish women and the vote
In this blog, Alys Mumford reflects on our podcast miniseries looking at Scottish Women and the Vote.
As with all things relating to the struggle for women’s liberation, the recording of a podcast series about women's suffrage has been in equal parts inspiring and disheartening.
We've celebrated the representation of the people act, while at the same
time recognising the barriers which still exist for so many women in
Scotland today. We've applauded the activities of women foiling the attempts
of the 1911 census collectors (having an all-night party in a café with buns, games and fancy dress – I’m in), while at the same time witnessing arguments online about trans and non-binary inclusion in 2021.
CEDAW: How the UN Women’s Bill of Rights creates possibilities for women and girls in Scotland.
Engender members and other people who stay in touch with our work will know that we have been enabling organisations that care about women’s and girls’ equality to shadow the UN CEDAW process. The International Bill of Rights for Women is a key global human rights instrument for gender equality. The UK Government has just been examined by its dedicated UN CEDAW Committee to see how well the rights it provides for are being realised across the four nations of the UK.
We’ve written about the process, what happened during the examination, and annotated the concluding observations (or recommendations) that the Committee makes to UK Government. Here we’re going to summarise four of our reflections from the experience of working on CEDAW over the past two years.
Guest Post: Media representations of women with mental health issues
Cara is a Glaswegian woman with experience of bipolar. You can follow her on twitter @cmacdowall. Here, she explores how women with mental health issues are depicted in the media.
According to Mind, approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year [1]. So that may lead you to think that the media would be awash with representations of women with mental health conditions. It’s not.
Celebrating Scotland's Gender Pay Gap Action Plan
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Our Executive Director Emma Ritch reflects on the feminist journey to Scotland's first action plan to tackle the pay gap, and welcomes a substantial step towards women’s and girls’ economic justice.
Feminist policy advocacy requires determination, grit, and the willingness to work towards sometimes infinitesimal change in pursuit of a different world for women & girls. When we do see what amounts to a leap forward in a long-term, shared advocacy project it’s vital to pause, appreciate the moment, and recognise the women who collaborated over years to see it happen.
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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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