Research and Analysis

Gender Edit of Scotland's Programme for Government 2021-2022

This gender edit of A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22 compiles all references to women, gender and issues with implications for gender equality which appear in the document.
The programme for government sets out the Scottish Government’s legislative and policy priorities for the coming parliamentary year. This year’s programme focuses on the continuing Covid-19 pandemic and recovery, a national mission to eradicate child poverty across Scottish Government priorities and the climate crisis.

Date of publication: September 2021.

Engender and Close the Gap Joint Briefing on the impact of COVID-19 on women's wellbeing, mental health and financial security

This briefing looks at the impacts of COVID-19 on women’s wellbeing, mental health, and financial security in Scotland by analysing survey data gathered from 509 adults in Scotland and a booster sample of 401 Black and minority ethnic (BME) adults. The survey data reinforces pre-existing evidence that women have been particularly affected by rising financial precarity and anxiety as a result of the ongoing crisis. The data also highlights that young women and disabled women are being particularly impacted by the social, economic and labour market implications of the pandemic. As a result, these findings underscore the importance of a gendered economic recovery.

Date of publication: May 2021.

A Gender Edit of Party Manifesto 2021

Ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections on the 6th May 2021, political parties have published commitments in manifestos covering a broad range of devolved policy areas. This gender edit contains a list of commitments made that explicitly reference women’s equality, or which are directly associated with Engender’s asks in our Vision for a Feminist Recovery Manifesto.

While many other areas or commitments will be of great interest to women such as policies around rent, primary health care or climate change measures, for example, unless the party themselves has noted a specific commitment to advance women’s equality or rights we have not included them in this particular summary. Nor have we included commitments for which power and responsibility rests with Westminster or, in the main, those that take the form of broad statements expressing positive attitudes towards equality without a substantive commitment.

This gender edit covers each of the five parties elected in 2016. A supplementary document summarising the commitments of the other 20 parties running for election in 2021 can be found here: https://www.engender.org.uk/content/publications/A-Supplementary-Gender-Edit-of-Party-Manifestos-2021.pdf

Date of Publication: April 2021

A supplementary gender edit of parties running in 2021

Engender has published a Gender Edit of the Manifestos published by each of the 5 parties elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2016, each of which is running in at least every region. This can be found here: https://www.engender.org.uk/content/publications/A-Gender-Edit-of-Party-Manifestos-2021.pdf

This document is a supplementary gender edit of the manifestos (where published) of the 20 other parties running at the Scottish Parliament election in 2021. Given the number of parties running, we have summarised each party’s commitments as they relate to women and gender equality and Engender’s Manifesto themes in an alphabetical list below. We have however not included every commitment that could be thematically related where the party itself has not made some reference to women or gendered considerations.

Date of publication: April 2021

Vision for a Feminist Recovery: Engender Manifesto for the Scottish Parliament Election 2021

This is Engender's Vision for Feminist Recovery manifesto for the 2021 Scottish Parliament Election, including our 8 key asks for a more equal Scotland. Covid-19 pandemic have, and continue to have, significant impacts for women’s wellbeing. Lockdown and an as-yet-unknown scale of economic recession have disrupted women’s support networks, such as childcare, and made their livelihoods more precarious. This crisis will inevitably extend its reach across the next parliament. Reaching our 2030 vision for a gender equal Scotland is not impossible, despite Covid-19. Deliberate and urgent action is required now. We call on Scotland’s political parties to stop women’s equality being set back and support these ambitions to realise a more equal Scotland within this decade.

Date of publication: April 2021.

Engender and Close the Gap Joint briefing on the impact of COVID-19 on women with childcare responsibilities in Scotland

This briefing looks at the implications of the COVID-19 crisis on women with childcare responsibilities in Scotland specifically by analysing survey data gathered from 721 parents in Scotland. The survey data reinforces pre-existing evidence that women’s employment has been disproportionately impacted by additional caring responsibilities over the course of the crisis, and women have been particularly affected by rising financial precarity and anxiety as a result of the social and economic consequences of the crisis. The data also highlights that Black and minority ethnic (BME) women and disabled women have been particularly impacted by the social, economic, and labour market implications of the pandemic.

Date of publication: March 2021.

Gender edit of the Scottish Government Budget for 2021-2022

This gender edit of the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2021-2022 compiles the references to women and gender, as well as some specific areas of priority with particular implications for women and girls into one list, such as ‘Equalities’. In outlining the Budget, Cabinet Secretary for Finance Kate Forbes suggested that “The exceptional circumstances require an exceptional response” and highlighted the impacts of Covid-19 and Brexit as key concerns.

The Cabinet Secretary outlined three priorities for the Budget:

• Creating jobs and supporting and investing in a sustainable recovery;
• Responding to the health pandemic; and
• Tackling inequalities.

This gender edit examines The Scottish Government’s Budget for 2021-22 in sequence, with all emphasis added by Engender.

Date of publication: January 2021

What Works for Women: improving gender mainstreaming in Scotland

Gender mainstreaming is a strategic approach to tackling systemic gender inequality. It was the central recommendation within the UN’s ‘Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action’ in 1995,1 in response to the limitations of policy approaches that are specifically aimed at women. Gender mainstreaming stems from the understanding that gender inequality is socially constructed, and that the sexism inherent to our institutional structures and decision-making must be actively targeted. It aims to ensure that issues around women’s equality are incorporated into the design and delivery of all public sector activity, such that consideration of gender is routinely used to shape policy and practice throughout government and public bodies.

This paper reviews the history of legal mainstreaming duties in Scotland, implementation of its principal mainstreaming policy - the public sector equality duty - and international best practice in gender mainstreaming. It subsequently draws conclusions regarding reform of PSED and recommends new action on mainstreaming by Scottish Government.

Date of publication: November 2020

Gender Edit of Scotland's Programme For Government 2020-2021

This gender edit of The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government compiles all references to women, gender and issues with implications for gender equality which appear in the document.

This year’s Programme for Government comes amid the Scottish Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and ahead of the Scottish Elections in 2021. Considerable focus is given to protecting jobs and adjustments or investments in the health and social care system. The Government announced four new Bills to be introduced and the continuation of Bills already introduced ahead of the dissolution for the election next year.

Date published: September 2020.

Women & Unpaid Work: the impact of Covid-19 on women's caring roles

Women’s equality cannot be realised while women still have do so much more childcare, care for older and disabled people, and housework than men. Covid-19 has exposed the extent to which women shoulder the majority of this unpaid work, and are assumed to be available to pick up the slack during a crisis. Doing unpaid work pushes women into poverty, with women four times more likely than men to give up employment because of multiple caring roles. It also stops women studying, doing community work, and even using local services. The ongoing impact on Covid-19 will also hit women hardest, with social care services withdrawn, delays to school reopening, and reductions in services by charities. Yet despite its overwhelming importance to women’s lives, unpaid care work rarely features in legislative or policy discussions.

This report highlights the impact of Covid-19 on women's caring roles, and makes recommendation for how Scottish Government can measure, value, and reduce women's unpaid work.

Date of publication: July 2020

Gender & Economic Recovery

The economic downturn precipitated by Covid-19 is different from that caused by previous shocks. It is likely to have a particularly harsh impact on hospitality, retail, and care sectors that are female dominated and dominated by Black and minority ethnic workers. At the same time, services that enable women, and especially disabled women’s, labour market participation, including nurseries, schools, and social care, will need to operate differently to avoid exacerbating the pandemic.

If Scotland’s traditional ways of thinking about the economy won’t work then we need to adopt some new approaches. The following principles develop Scotland’s existing commitment to inclusive growth. They are a set of ideas, challenges, and calls that are rooted in evidence. They describe features of an economy that works for women as well as men. They put care and solidarity at its heart. They will create better jobs, better
decision-making, and a more adequate standard of living for us all.

This joint paper from Engender and Close the Gap sets out nine key principles for an economic recovery which will work for women.

Date of publication: June 2020

Gender and Inclusive Growth: making inclusive growth work for women in Scotland

Over recent years, Inclusive Growth is a term that has become more prominent in the policy, development and academic arenas as the uneven distribution of the benefits of growth becomes more and more apparent. Increasing economic inequality within countries has led to new approaches to macroeconomic policy that recognise the benefits of ensuring that countries not only grow the size of their economy but ensure
that inequality is addressed. Economic inequality between men and women is an example of where the benefits of economic growth have not traditionally been shared equally among groups in society.

Gender inequality has long been recognised as a drag on economic growth and closing the employment gap between men and women has
been a key goal of successive development agendas. As feminist economists have long since argued, traditional measures of growth have ignored unpaid work which often takes place within the household and is disproportionately done by women, which reinforces gender unequal access to economic resources and prosperity. As it is currently conceived, Inclusive Growth agendas are not adequately gendered and run the risk of exacerbating gender inequality in the distribution of economic growth.

This joint paper from Engender and Close the Gap has been authored by Emily Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Date of publication: June 2020

Covid-19: Gathering and using data to ensure that the response integrates women’s equality and rights

Covid-19 demands an emergency response. Evidence tells us that in working at pace, governments, agencies, and other public bodies can overlook critical differences between men’s and women’s lives. In the Ebola, Zika, and SARS pandemics, this led to significantly worse outcomes for women and girls. In order to rapidly develop public policy and legislation that works for women, it is imperative that public bodies and agencies, including Scottish Government, analyse and use evidence that captures women’s experiences.

During Engender’s 27-year history, we have worked to advocate for better quality gender-sensitive sex-disaggregated data. We were formed with the purpose of ensuring that the detail of women’s lives was visible, counted, and understood in policymaking processes. In this short briefing we set out the key features of gender-sensitive sex-disaggregated data and what we think this should mean for the data gathered and analysed by Scottish Government and other public bodies at this critical time.

Women and COVID-19

The COVID-19 global pandemic represents an unprecedented situation and the responses and aftereffects will have long-term consequences for everybody in Scotland, notably for women and women’s equality. These include risks to the ongoing work Scotland is doing to realise a more equal Scotland for women and men. It is vital that these programmes and the progress they will realise are not lost. Equally, women’s needs and realities need to be well-integrated in the urgent responses to this crisis.

The evidence from previous pandemics tells us that gender equality measures and action plans are vital components of an effective response. Women’s inequality around the world exacerbates their vulnerability to not only catching the virus, but the social and economic burdens of our collective response. When the safety nets put in place by the state are stretched to breaking point, it is women that are hit the hardest, and this health crisis is highlighting gaps in UK social and economic policy in an unprecedented way. This briefing explores some of the ways in which the differences between men’s and women’s lives play in to COVID-19, and describes critical issues that Scottish Government and parliamentarians should include in their thinking about crisis response, and medium-run mitigation programmes and spend.

The information in this briefing refers to the situation up to 26th March 2020. We are still in the early days of this crisis and the thinking continues to develop at pace, with new Scottish specific and UK-wide measures announced daily. Engender will continue to monitor events and look to supplement this briefing as necessary.

Date of publication: 26 March 2020

ON THE BASIS OF SEX: Protection against discrimination on the grounds of sex and gender reassignment under the Equality Act 2010

This paper was written by Professor Nicole Busby, Professor of Equality, Human Rights and Justice, University of Glasgow.

Is was commissioned by Engender for the purposes of setting out the legal provisions relevant to the protection against discrimination available to individuals on the grounds of sex and gender reassignment under the Equality Act 2010 (‘the Act’).

Nothing in this paper should be interpreted as legal advice. Only courts can interpret the law.

Date of publication: March 2020

A WOMAN'S PLACE: GENDER, HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS IN SCOTLAND

Women are largely invisible in housing and homelessness policy across the UK. The extent and nature of women’s homelessness is not well understood, and next to nothing is known about the experiences of women who live with multiple forms of inequality. This ‘hidden homelessness’ means that policy interventions and mainstream services do not cater to women’s needs, particularly for those facing multiple economic and social discrimination, including black and minority ethnic (BME) women, disabled women, and older and younger women.

This report sets out the international context on the right to housing, summarises key issues for women’s equality across housing and homelessness, and explores the extent to which the legislative and policy landscapes in Scotland are gendered. We conclude with findings and recommendations to mainstream gender within housing and homelessness policy frameworks in Scotland.

This report is designed to sit alongside a complementary literature review which draws out themes on women’s homelessness, access to affordable housing, and the differential needs of groups of women who are particularly at risk of housing insecurity.

Date of publication: March 2020

GENDER, HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Housing and homelessness are policy areas in need of an explicitly gendered perspective. Women’s experiences of housing, including their pathways into and out of homelessness, are different from men’s, but are poorly studied and understood.

This paper seeks to analyse available literature on gender and housing and provide a brief overview of the interconnected factors related to women’s housing issues, with a particular focus on women’s homelessness, access to affordable housing and the differential needs of groups of women who are particularly at risk of housing insecurity. It also seeks to identify areas where more research or development work is required to develop a feminist policy approach to housing and homelessness. The paper is designed to sit alongside a complementary report 'A Woman’s Place: Gender, Housing and Homelessness in Scotland', which explores the housing and homelessness policy landscape in Scotland and the extent to which Scottish policies and discourse are gendered.

Date of publication: March 2020

Gender edit of the Scottish Government Budget 2020-2021

This gender edit of the Scottish Government’s Budget 2020-2021 compiles all references to women, gender and issues with implications for gender equality which appear in the document.

The Budget was introduced by Public Finance Minister, Kate Forbes MSP, who noted that the Budget for 2020-2021 would follow a “bespoke” Budget process, agreed with the Finance Committee due to the delayed UK Budget to 11 March. The Minister stated that the budget represented the best estimate of minimum level of funding that will be available to the Scottish Government using provisional forecasts.

Date of Publication: Feb 2020

Sex and Power 2020

Sex and Power 2020 sets out the extent of men's over-representation in positions of power in Scotland.

Date of publication: January 2020

Gender Edit of General Election 2019 Manifestos

This document is a ‘gender edit’ of the manifestos published by political parties in the run up to the snap General Election on 12th December; it pulls out relevant commitments from the manifestos of each of the six largest political parties standing in the General Election in Scotland. The edit includes direct references to ‘women’, ‘sex’, ‘gender’ and ‘equality’, as well as manifesto commitments covering a wide range of policy areas and services of interest to women and which are highly relevant to women’s daily lives. This summary does not offer analysis or critique of policies and commitments.

Date of publication: December 2019.

GE2019 - What's in it for women?

As we approach the UK General Election on the 12th of December 2019, Engender is concerned that significant uncertainties with respect to women’s futures remain. Despite the fact that this election has been nicknamed “the Brexit election” we have not heard any proposals or commitments from any party which centre women within their vision for the future. This is highly concerning given that EU-membership has been instrumental in progressing women’s equality in the UK, driving the expansion of gender mainstreaming into UK and Scottish policy, and ensuring minimum legal protections for women’s rights and equality, particularly in the workplace.

We have identified 7 key areas which are vital for women's equality, and which should feature in manifesto commitments and candidate debates at this election.

Date of Publication: November 2019

Making women safer in Scotland: the case for a standalone misogyny offence

This report calls for misogyny to be considered as a criminal offence in Scotland in order to challenge the epidemic of harassment and abuse facing women and girls. It sets out why a 'gender hostility' aggravation has been shown to be ineffective in international examples, and demonstrates how it may undermine other work being undertaken to tackle violence against women. The report urges the Scottish Government to create participatory process to develop and standalone criminal offence of misogyny. This would takes into account the reality of women’s lives in Scotland, and draw on international expertise.

Date of publication: November 26 2019

Gender Edit of Scotland's Programme for Government 2019-2020

This gender edit of The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government compiles all references to women, gender and issues with implications for gender equality which appear in the document.

The Programme for Government represents the Scottish Government’s legislative programme for the upcoming year, and includes a list of forthcoming Bills and other significant associated policy commitments the Government plans to introduce. It should be noted that the Scottish Government has said it hopes to minimise impact on the Programme for Government, but that that the current constitutional and economic situation facing the UK may impact the legislative and policy agenda in some way.

Published: September 2019

Scotland & the European Elections: What's in it for women?

This document contains a summary of commitments made in Scottish party manifestos for the 2019 European Elections that are relevant to Engender's work in advancing and enabling women's equality.

Date of publication: May 2019.

Engender Gender Edit of the Scottish Government Budget 2019-2020

This document is a ‘gender edit’ guide to the Scottish Government Budget 2019-2020. It provides excerpts which refer directly to women and gender, but also captures sections on equalities and social justice where women and girls in Scotland would be directly impacted.

Date of publication: January 2019.

Our bodies our rights - Identifying and removing barriers to disabled women's reproductive rights in Scotland

Since 2013, Engender has been working with disabled women and disabled people’s organisations on a project to discuss the key issues facing women and girls in Scotland, and to enable a deeper and richer conversation about reproductive rights.

This report summarises what women have told us about their experiences of reproductive, sexual and parental rights, and makes recommendations to the Scottish Government and other bodies. Throughout the report you will see quotes from women who took part in project activities.

Date of publication: November 2018.

Our Bodies, Our Rights Easy Read Report

This is an Easy Read version of our Disabled Women: Our Bodies, Our Rights Report.

Since 2013, Engender has been working with disabled women and disabled people’s organisations on a project to discuss the key issues facing women and girls in Scotland, and to enable a deeper and richer conversation about reproductive rights.

This report summarises what women have told us about their experiences of reproductive, sexual and parental rights, and makes recommendations to the Scottish Government and other bodies.

Date of publication: November 2018.

Our Bodies, Our Rights: Research Report

Disabled women’s lives and lived experiences have received limited policy attention in the UK, limited visibility, and limited inclusion in mainstream feminisms and feminist projects. Despite increasing movement towards intersectionality and intersectional agendas, disabled people have remained hidden in myriad ways.

As the accompanying policy report ‘Our Bodies, Our Rights: Identifying and removing barriers to disabled women’s reproductive rights in Scotland’ details, there is a lack of robust research examining the lived experiences of reproduction and reproductive rights of disabled women in Scotland.

Date of publication: November 2018.

Engender Gender Edit of the Scottish Government Programme for Government 2018-19

This document is a ‘gender edit’ guide to the Scottish Government Programme for Government 2018-19. It provides excerpts which refer directly to women and gender, but also captures sections on equalities and social justice where women and girls in Scotland would be directly impacted.

Date of publication: September 2018.

CEDAW: How can women's rights be better realised in Scotland?

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women (CEDAW) is a UN Convention which was signed by the United Kingdom in 1981, and ratified in 1986. UN conventions are signed by member states only, and therefore Scotland is not a signatory to CEDAW, although many of the women's rights protected by CEDAW fall under legislation which is devolved to Scotland.

Engender comissioned Professor Nicole Busby and Professor Muriel Robison to compile this report to answer the following questions:

- Could CEDAW be incorporated into Scots Law? What would the impact of this be?

- What other legal mechanisms or duties could Scotland create to enable better realisation of CEDAW?

Date of publication: June 2018

Frequently Asked Questions: Women’s Equality and the Gender Recognition Act

Engender, along with Scottish Women's Aid, Rape Crisis Scotland, Zero Tolerance, Equate Scotland, Close the Gap and the Women 5050 Campaign, have produced a document with frequently asked questions about women's equality and the Gender Recognition Act.

Date of publication: January 2018.

A Gender Edit of the Scottish Government Draft Budget 2018-19

This document is a ‘gender edit’ guide to the Scottish Government Draft Budget 2018-19. It provides excerpts which refer directly to women and gender, but also captures sections on equalities and social justice where women and girls in Scotland would be directly impacted.

Date of publication: January 2018.

Access to Abortion: Situating Scotland in the Western World

This paper describes the different legal and regulatory contexts for abortion healthcare in Scotland and in other European and western nations.

Date of publication: September 2017.

Gender Matters in Disability Easy Read Briefing

Women’s issues are often overlooked by the disability movement. Disability issues are not at the centre of the women’s movement. How then, do disabled women get their issues raised?

Engender and Inclusion Scotland have been working together and with other partners to identify the particular issues of concern to disabled women in Scotland and how these could be addressed.

Date of publication: September 2017.

Gender Matters in Disability Briefing

Women’s issues are often overlooked by the disability movement. Disability issues are not at the centre of the women’s movement. How then, do disabled women get their issues raised?

Engender and Inclusion Scotland have been working together and with other partners to identify the particular issues of concern to disabled women in Scotland and how these could be addressed.

Date of publication: September 2017.

Gender Matters Roadmap

This roadmap sets out a series of measures that, with political will, can be taken by Scottish government and other bodies in pursuit of these goals. With these measures, we hope that Scotland can make significant progress towards women’s equality by 2030.

This feminist roadmap has been developed in collaboration with our members, the women’s sector and wider stakeholders. It builds on participatory engagement that includes our gender matters conference 2015 and development of our gender matters manifesto ahead of the Holyrood elections 2016. Many thanks are due to all the women who contributed their ideas, effort and time to the process.

Date of publication: September 2016

Sex and Power in Scotland 2017

This report sets out the extent of men’s over-representation in positions of authority and influence in Scotland. In 2017, women still have unequal access to power, decision-making and participation throughout all areas of public life, with men holding 73% of the 3029 positions of power and authority identified.

Date of publication: March 2017.

A Gender Summary of Party Manifestos in the UK General Election 2017

This document contains a summary of commitments made in party manifestos for the 2017 General Election that are relevant to Engender's work in advancing and enabling women's equality.

Date of publication: June 2017.

UK General Election 2017: Priorities for Women’s Rights and Equality

This document details three key asks from Engender for the 2017 General Elections. We are asking all political parties and candidates in across the UK to include the commitments, which will protect and advance women’s equality and rights, in their manifestos.

Date of publication: April 2017.

A Gender Edit of the Scottish Government Draft Budget 2017-18

This document is a ‘gender edit’ guide to the Scottish Government Draft Budget 2016-17. It includes all extracts that refer directly to women and gender, and selected sections on equalities and social justice more broadly, where there are clear implications for women and girls in Scotland.

Date of publication: January 2017.

Our Bodies, Our Choice: The Case for a Scottish Approach to Abortion

The devolution of abortion law as part of the Scotland Act 2016 also provides Scotland with the opportunity to develop a Scottish approach to women’s reproductive rights, incorporating improved, modernised and standardised service provision underpinned by a progressive devolved legal framework. Such a change to the legal framing of abortion should reflect international best practice and be developed following engagement with women, practitioners, and human rights and gender advocates in Scotland.

This report, supported by Scottish Women's Aid, Rape Crisis Scotland, Zero Tolerance, Close the Gap, NUS Scotland and Amnesty International Scotland sets out the current situation around abortion in Scotland, and makes a number of recommendations to the Scottish Government.

Date of publication: December 2016.

A Gender Edit of A Plan for Scotland: The Government's Programme for Scotland 2016-17

This document is a ‘gender edit’ guide to the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2016-17. It includes all extracts that refer directly to women and gender, and selected text on issues where there are clear implications for women and girls in Scotland, such as social security and unpaid care. The Programme for Government confirms the Scottish Government’s legislative programme for the opening year of the parliamentary term and it is worth noting that many of the policy and funding commitments set out are not new announcements.

Date of publication: September 2016.

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.

Supported by: Carers Scotland, Close the Gap, Scottish Refugee Council, Scottish Women's Aid, Inclusion Scotland, The Poverty Alliance, BEMIS, the Scottish Trades Union Congress, the Irish Heritage Foundation, Rape Crisis Scotland, the Sottish Women's Budget Group, Zero Tolerance, the Young Women's Movement in Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, the Wheatley Group, Barnardo's Scotland, Oxfam Scotland, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, One Parent Families Scotland.

Date of publication: March 2016.

Engender Briefing: The EU Referendum and Gender Equality

This briefing paper sets out the current gender equality law to which EU member states are bound under the terms of their membership, the impact that this legislation has had on UK policy, and current EU programmes, policies and funding priorities that promote gender equality. Women’s rights and equality have largely been missing from the EU referendum debate, and we hope that this information will be useful to those who are weighing their vote.

Date of publication: June 2016.

Securing Women's Futures: Summary of Recommendations

A summary of recommendations from 'Securing Women's Futures: Using Scotland's New Social Security Powers to Close the Gender Equality Gap'.

Date of publication: June 2016.

Securing Women's Futures: Using Scotland's New Social Security Powers to Close the Gender Equality Gap

This joint report from Engender, Close the Gap, Scottish Women's Aid, the Scottish Refugee Council and Carer Scotland summarises why and how women are affected by social security policy and sets out ways in which new powers can be engaged to increase women’s equality in Scotland. Our recommendations are presented in terms of systemic gender inequalities that dictate the impact of social security policy on women – paid work, unpaid work, domestic abuse and multiple discrimination. We also highlight experiences of women with whom we work. It is this documenting of daily realities and of growing anger, fear and stress that remains the basis of our call to action on women’s social security.

Date of publication: June 2016.

A Gender Edit of Major Party Manifestos for Holyrood 2016

A gender edit of all of the five main party manifestos, which pulls out commitments on issues relating to women's equality.

Date of publication: April 2016.

A Gender Edit of Supplementary Party Manifestos for Holyrood 2016

A gender edit of the Women's Equality Party, RISE, and UKIP manifestos for the 2016 Holyrood elections.

Date of publication: April 2016.

Unblocking the Pipeline: Gender and Employability in Scotland

This paper represents Engender’s first thoughts on the challenge of gendering employability. It sets out the gendered context in which employability policy and programmes must operate. It briefly describes the ways in which women’s experiences of the labour market, of education and skills, and of social security are different. It then raises some specific issues about how employability work in Scotland is developing, before finally making some recommendations on how this could be better gendered.

Date of publication: March 2016.

A Gender Edit of the UK Government Budget 2016

This document is a ‘gender edit’ guide to the UK Government’s Budget 2016. It includes all extracts that refer directly to women or gender, and selected policy announcements that have direct implications for women and girls in Scotland. Previously announced decisions, for instance exemption from the benefits cap for certain carers, or cuts to social security established in the Summer Budget and Autumn Statement 2015, are not included.

We point to explicitly gendered issues, rather than providing a gender analysis of the wider content or intersectional analysis of implications for disabled women and other groups. The UK Women’s Budget Group will publish a full gender assessment of this budget on 7 April.

Date of publication: March 2016.

Equal Voice, Equal Power: The Case for Gender Quotas in Scotland

Women have unequal access to power, decision-making and participation throughout all areas of public life in Scotland. In order to participate fully in society and to exercise equal citizenship, women must be able to contribute across the spectrum of civic life. Evidence from around the world shows that increased representation for women in politics has a positive impact on both gender equality issues and social policy more broadly. Gender balance in parliament, local government and around decision-making tables influences both the focus and outcomes of discussions.

This report sets out the case for gender quotas in Scotland; looking at international examples, analysing the current gender balancing mechanisms at play in Scotland, debunking some commonly held myths about quotas, and making recommendations to the Scottish Government and political parties.

Date of publication: March 2016.

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. The 2016 Scottish Parliament elections present an opportunity for political parties to show leadership on gender equality and take the bold action that is needed to truly address intractable problems like endemic violence against women, our unjust and unsustainable economy, social insecurity for women and multiple discrimination.

This manifesto is the result of consultation with women and equalities organisations across Scotland.

Date of publication: October 2015.

A Gender Edit of the Scottish Government Draft Budget 2016-17

This document is a ‘gender edit’ guide to the Scottish Government Draft Budget 2016-17. It includes all extracts that refer directly to women and gender, and selected sections on equalities and social justice more broadly, where there are clear implications for women and girls in Scotland. These include all references that directly relate to the calls we make in our Gender Matters manifesto for Holyrood 2016.

Date of publication: December 2015.

A Gender Edit of the Autumn Statement 2015

This is a gender edit of the Autumn Statement 2015, which pulls out all of the most gendered commitments.

Date of publication: November 2015.

A Gender Edit of the Scottish Programme for Government 2015-16

A 'gender edit' guide to the Scottish Government's Programme for Government 2015-16.

Date of publication: September 2015.

A Gender Edit of the Summer Budget 2015

This is a gender edit of the Summer Budget 2015, which pulls out all of the most gendered commitments.

Date of publication: July 2015.

The 'S' Word: Women's Experience of Intra-Christian Sectarianism in Scotland

For the last two years, Engender has been involved in an ambitious project to speak to women across Scotland about intra-Christian sectarianism, and its effect on their lives. This report summarises what women have told us about their experiences, and discusses ways that taking a gendered approach may change the way that anti-sectarianism initiatives are delivered in Scotland.

Date of publication: May 2015.

The 'S' Word: Toolkit

For the last two years, Engender has been involved in an ambitious project to speak to women across Scotland about intra-Christian sectarianism, and its effect on their lives. This toolkit summarises what women have told us about their experiences, and guides funders, public bodies, and third sector organisations working on anti-sectarian initiatives to include women, girls, and gender in that work.

Date of publication: May 2015.

The 'S' Word: Screening Notes

For the last two years, Engender has been involved in an ambitious project to speak to women across Scotland about intra-Christian sectarianism, and its effect on their lives. Part of this work included the making of a participatory film, led by three young women. These are the screening notes for that film.

Date of publication: May 2015.

A Widening Gap: Women and Welfare Reform

Since 2010, £26 billion worth of cuts have been made to benefits, tax credits, pay and pensions. 85% of this has been taken from women’s incomes.

This is a joint report from Engender, Scottish Refugee Council, Scottish Women’s Aid, Close the Gap, and Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations looking at the devastating impact of welfare report on women in Scotland.

Date of publication: April 2015.

A Gender Summary of the Major Parties' 2015 General Election Manifesto Commitments

Our summary focuses on those issues that are of most relevance to Engender’s work to advance and enable women’s equality. These include anti-discrimination law, social security, income and women’s labour market participation, care and childcare, women’s political representation and representation on boards, immigration and asylum, access to justice, LGBT, disability, and race equality measures, human rights, and peace and security.

Date of publication: April 2015.

What's Next? Women's Equality in Scotland 20 Years After the Beijing Platform for Action

It is twenty years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was negotiated at the fourth world conference on women convened by the United Nations in China. Governments committed to a global framework for women’s empowerment and a diverse agenda to advance gender equality. The UK is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and is obliged to report against the twelve ‘critical areas of concern’ identified in the Platform. 1 Equality and human rights also engage devolved issues and the Scottish Government is therefore accountable for aspects of the UK’s international commitments on gender equality and women’s rights.

Since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, successive administrations have worked to tackle the entrenched inequalities that persist in Scotland, as they do elsewhere in the world. We welcome the recent commitments that have been made by Scottish Government to move this agenda forward, and the renewed focus on some of the most intractable gender gaps.

This briefing paper sets out the current context in Scotland across ten areas of the Platform. It outlines recent progress, particular gaps and challenges, and courses of action that the Scottish Government must pursue to deliver on its ambitions. The recommendations that we set out relate to policies and initiatives that are either well-established or already under development by Scottish Government, rather than the new measures that will also be necessary to achieve gender equality in Scotland. The Scottish Government’s existing commitments must be implemented as a matter of priority, or else Scotland will continue to fall short of realising women’s human rights.

Date of publication: April 2015.

Scottish Labour Party Leadership Q&A with Engender November 2014

Candidates for the leader and deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party answer questions on gender equality.

Date of publication: November 2014

A Gender Edit of the Draft Scottish Budget 2015-16

A gender edit of the draft Scottish budget 2015-16. This document pulls out all of the mentions of women and gender, and descriptions of spending on programmes that are particularly relevant to women.

Date of publication: October 2014

Scotland's Futures: Women and the Referendum

This briefing is part of a series that sets out how power and responsibility to tackle critical gender equality issues are divided between Holyrood and Westminster.

Date of publication: August 2014.

Scotland's Futures: Women, Politics and Power

This briefing is part of a series that sets out how power and responsibility to tackle critical gender equality issues are divided between Holyrood and Westminster. It is part of Engender’s contribution to the independence referendum debate.

Date of publication: August 2014

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Increasing Opportunities for Women Debate 2014

A briefing paper for MSPs in advance of the Scottish Government debate on increasing opportunities for women in the Scottish Parliament on 20 August 2014.

Date of publication: August 2014.

Scotland's Futures: Violence Against Women

This briefing is part of a series that sets out how power and responsibility to tackle critical gender equality issues are divided between Holyrood and Westminster. It is part of Engender’s contribution to the independence referendum debate.

Date of publication: August 2014.

Scotland's Futures: Women and Care

This briefing is part of a series that sets out how power and responsibility to tackle critical gender equality issues are divided between Holyrood and Westminster. It is part of Engender’s contribution to the independence referendum debate.

Date of publication: August 2014.

Scotland's Futures: Women and Poverty

This briefing is part of a series that sets out how power and responsibility to tackle critical gender equality issues are divided between Holyrood and Westminster. It is part of Engender’s contribution to the independence referendum debate.

Date of publication: July 2014.

An Abuse of Power: African Women’s Experience of the Asylum Process in Scotland

Engender worked with Umoja Inc, a network of African single mothers seeking asylum in Scotland, to explore some of the gendered barriers in the asylum process. Critical to these is a failure by UKBA and other Scottish and UK agencies to understand the patriarchies within the women's countries of origin.

Date of publication: July 2014.

Scotland’s Futures: Women and the Labour Market

This briefing is part of a series that sets out how power and responsibility to tackle critical gender equality issues are divided between Holyrood and Westminster. It is part of Engender’s contribution to the independence referendum debate.

Date of publication: July 2014.

Common Weal: Eradicating Gender Inequality and Violence Against Women

This paper on gender inequality and violence against women was written by Lesley Orr, Emma Ritch, Marsha Scott, and Nel Whiting in May 2014. An edited version appears as part of the text of the Common Weal book. An expanded version will be published as a Common Weal paper later in the year.

Date of publication: May 2014.

Women and Sectarianism in Scotland: Beyond Football

In December 2012 Engender was funded to carry out a series of small workshops with women's organisations in Scotland. Working with existing partners, we held a number of short sessions to explore women's perspectives on intra-Christian sectarianism in Scotland. Women told us that their experience of sectarianism is different from men's. Our initial findings challenge some of the narratives around sectarianism in Scotland.

Date of publication: March 2014.

Gender and 'Welfare Reform': A Joint Position Paper

This joint position paper on gender and ‘welfare reform’ draws together the multiple ways in which women are penalised by cuts to the benefits and tax credits system, and describes the gender inequality that accounts for these impacts. It also makes a set of recommendations to Scottish Government as it shapes its ‘mitigation’ response to the UK’s ‘welfare reform’ agenda. We produced it in collaboration with Close the Gap, Scottish Refugee Council, Scottish Women’s Aid, Scottish Women’s Convention and Zero Tolerance.

Date of publication: April 2014

Gender Equality and Scotland's Futures

This policy report is Engender's contribution to the Scottish independence debate. It takes stock of the current context in Scotland across a spectrum of gender issues and outlines where power and responsibility for gender equality currently rest.

Date of publication: March 2014.

A Gender Edit of Scottish Labour's 'Red Paper'

This document is a ‘gender edit’ guide to the Scottish Labour party’s ‘red paper’ which sets out its case for a ‘no vote’ in the referendum. It extracts passages that refer directly to gender and women, or where there are clear implications for women and girls in Scotland.

Date of publication: March 2014

Scottish NGO Briefing for UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women

Joint briefing paper for the UN Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. Produced by Engender, Scottish Women's Aid, Rape Crisis Scotland, Scottish Refugee Council, and Human Rights Consortium Scotland for the UN Rapporteur's UK Country Mission in 2014.

Date of publication: March 2014.

A Gender Edit of Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland

This document is a ‘gender edit’ of the Scottish Government's white paper, which sets out its case for a ‘yes vote’ in the referendum.

Date of publication: November 2013.

Preparing to Care: Woman to Woman – A Guide to Becoming a Carer

This guide was prepared by women from the Inverness area who found themselves caring for their partners. They came together as a group to take part in Engender's 'Equality Counting' project funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Date of publication: September 2012.

Multiple Jeopardy? The Impacts of the UK Government’s Proposed Welfare Reforms on Women in Scotland Background Paper

This policy paper outlines the multiple ways in which women are set to be adversely impacted by the UK Government's 'welfare reform' agenda.

Date of publication: January 2012.

Multiple Jeopardy? The Impacts of the UK Government’s Proposed Welfare Reforms on Women in Scotland Briefing Paper

This briefing paper outlines the multiple ways in which women are set to be adversely impacted by the UK Government's 'welfare reform' agenda.

Date of publication: January 2012.

Women in Scotland: Facts and Stats 2012 Calendar

Women in Scotland calendar 2012: monthly facts and stats on women's inequality.

Date of publication: January 2012.

Quotas in the Scottish Parliament: Festival of Politics Briefing Paper

This briefing paper lays out Engender's position on parliamentary quotas. It was produced for the Festival of Politics, 2011.

Date of publication: July 2011.

Equality Counting: Case Studies and Learning Brief

This briefing paper outlines learning from Engender's 'Equality Counting' project funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Date of publication: July 2011.

Women Thinking Equality Series: Inequality of Access to NHS Services by Trans Women

This report is part of Engender's 'Women thinking equality' series on intersecting equalities issues. It outlines findings of participatory action research on the inequality of access to NHS services by trans women.

Date of publication: 2011.

Politics in Your Pocket Resource

A pocket guide to gender inequality across political life in Scotland.

Date of publication: 2010.

Women Thinking Equality Series: Age

This briefing paper on gender and age presents findings from Engender's 'Women Thinking Equality' project.

Date of publication: 2009.

Women Thinking Equality Series: Disability

This briefing paper on gender and disability presents findings from Engender's 'Women Thinking Equality' project.

Date of publication: 2009.

Women Thinking Equality Series: Economics

This briefing paper on gender and income presents findings from Engender's 'Women Thinking Equality' project.

Date of publication: 2009.

Women Thinking Equality Series: Race

This briefing paper on gender and race presents findings from Engender's 'Women Thinking Equality' project.

Date of publication: 2009.

Women Thinking Equality Series: Religion

This briefing paper on gender and religion presents findings from Engender's 'Women Thinking Equality' project.

Date of publication: 2009

Women Thinking Equality Series: Sexual Orientation

This briefing paper on gender and sexual orientation presents findings from Engender's 'Women Thinking Equality' project.

Date of publication: 2009

Women Thinking Equality: Summing Up

This paper represents the culmination of all our thinking over the life of the Women Thinking Equality project.

Date of publication: June 2009.

Women Thinking Equality Series: Transgender

This briefing paper on gender and transgender presents findings from Engender's 'Women Thinking Equality' project.

Date of publication: 2009.

Gender Audit Series: Care & Caring

A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit of Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S. Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.

Gender Audit Series: Crime & Justice

A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit of Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S. Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.

Gender Audit Series: Education & Training

A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit of Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S. Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.

Gender Audit Series: Health

A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit of Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S. Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.

Gender Audit Series: Housing

A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit of Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S. Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.

Gender Audit Series: Income and Wealth

A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit of Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S.Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.

Gender Audit Series: Participation in Political & Public Life

A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit of Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S. Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.

Gender Audit Series: Population, Households & Families

A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit of
Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S. Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.

Gender Audit Series: The Labour Market

A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit
of Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S. Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.

Gender Audit Series: Transport

A summary and discussion of the implications of data from the Gender Audit of
Statistics [Breitenbach,E. and Wasoff, F. Scottish Executive Social Research 2007] relating to care and caring prepared by S. Macpherson, Engender Associate and E. Thomson.

Cause & Consequence: Violence Against Women Statement

A leaflet outlining Engender's position on violence against women.

Date of publication: 2008.