Consultation Responses and Parliamentary Briefings

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Empowering Young People’s Voices in Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls

Dec 5, 2024: This is a briefing sent to MSPs ahead of the Scottish Government debate on ‘Empowering Young People’s Voices in Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls’ as a chance to highlight our work on primary prevention. Girls and women across Scotland continue to experience violence at endemic levels. The 16 Days campaign is a reminder that gender-based violence must not be an inevitable part of growing up in Scotland. A Scotland free from violence and abuse is possible. The only way to achieve this is to fund prevention work that stops this violence before it gets the chance to occur by tackling the root cause: gender inequality. We ask MSPs to call on the Scottish Government to invest in primary prevention of VAWG.

Date of publication: December 2024.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: The Women’s Health Plan 2021- 2024 – Progress and Next Steps

Nov 12, 2024: This is a briefing sent to MSPs ahead of the Scottish Government debate on the Women's Health Plan 2021-2024 Progress and Next Steps. The Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan 2021-24 is an important first step toward improving women’s health and well-being in Scotland. Engender welcomes the opportunity to reflect on the progress made so far and looks forward to learning more about the Scottish Government’s next steps in this vital work.

We urge MSPs from across the chamber to build on the work delivered by the Women’s Health Plan 2021-24 and to ensure longer-term action is taken to actively tackle the ways in which women are being disadvantaged within health systems.

Date of publication: November 2024.

Engender briefing on the public sector equality duty

Oct 23, 2024: We are calling on the Scottish Government to revisit proposals on PSED reform, to expand
the duties so that outcomes for people with protected characteristics are improved.

The public sector equality duty is currently not fit for purpose in bringing equality concerns
to the heart of public sector work. Nor are public bodies adequately supported to improve
outcomes for people with protected characteristics and to fulfil their obligations under the
law. Alongside sector colleagues we have advocated for reform for many years.

Engender briefing on the public sector equality duty

Oct 23, 2024: We are calling on the Scottish Government to revisit proposals on PSED reform, to expand
the duties so that outcomes for people with protected characteristics are improved.

The public sector equality duty is currently not fit for purpose in bringing equality concerns
to the heart of public sector work. Nor are public bodies adequately supported to improve
outcomes for people with protected characteristics and to fulfil their obligations under the
law. Alongside sector colleagues we have advocated for reform for many years.

Engender and Equal Media & Culture Centre for Scotland response to the Scottish Parliament Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee call for views on its Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2025-26

Aug 15, 2024: This response to the Scottish Parliament Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee's call for views as part of its pre-budget scrutiny highlights persistent barriers to diverse women's employment and progression in the creative and cultural arts, including: insecure funding; casualisation; caring responsibilities; barriers to career progression; culture in workplaces; and intersecting forms of discrimination.

Date of publication: August 2024

Engender submission of evidence to the Finance and Public Administration Committee inquiry on proposed National Outcomes

Jul 10, 2024:

Engender Parliamentary Briefing Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill Stage 1 Debate

Jul 4, 2024: This is a briefing sent to MSPs ahead of the Stage 1 debate on the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill. Engender supports the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill’s intentions to increase the participation of marginalised groups in Scotland’s democratic processes. However, the Bill should be strengthened at Stage 2 to maximise its impact on the representation and participation of women (and others who experience barriers to participation) in elections.

Date of publication: June 2024

Engender Supplementary Evidence to the Scottish Parliament Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee on the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill

Jun 6, 2024: It is vital that our democratic bodies represent the full breadth of Scottish society and that decision-making reflects the diverse needs and experiences of Scotland’s communities. We were grateful for the opportunity to provide written evidence on the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill at Stage 1. In addition to the points raised in our submission and in our response to the Scottish Government’s March 2023 Consultation, we wish to bring this further evidence to the Committee’s attention for consideration at Stage 1.

Date of publication: June 2024.

Engender Response to the Scottish Parliament Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee and Social Justice and Social Security Committee Call for Views on the Housing (Scotland) Bill

May 28, 2024: Scotland is currently experiencing a housing emergency and a worsening homelessness crisis. The combined impacts of austerity, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis mean many people cannot meet rising housing costs. These issues are disproportionately impacting women, who are already more likely to live in poverty and be unable to meet rising housing costs as they typically have lower average incomes than men. We need the Housing (Scotland) Bill to address the longer-term, underlying issues of increasingly unaffordable rents in the private sector and sustainably strengthen tenants’ rights across private and social renting. This can only be achieved by understanding the gendered differences in experiences of housing security and homelessness.

Date of publication: May 2024.

Engender Response to the Scottish Parliament Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee Call for Views on the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill

Mar 13, 2024: It is vital that our democratic bodies represent the full breadth of Scottish society and that decision-making reflects the diverse needs and experiences of Scotland’s communities. We want to work with the Committee to ensure the Bill is as strong as possible in furthering women and other marginalised group’s political participation and representation. However, we would like to raise our concerns about the limited nature of some specific provisions in the Bill and ask the Committee to consider further action that can be taken to progress equal representation in Scottish
politics.

Date of publication: March 2024

Engender Parliamentary Briefing International Women’s Day 2024 - #InspireInclusion

Mar 7, 2024: Ahead of this year’s Scottish Government International Women’s Day debate, we ask all MSPs to #InspireInclusion by highlighting the action still required to achieve equal representation for women and all marginalised people in public, cultural and political life. In the majority of spaces where decisions are made, men remain dominant while women are excluded, and as a result, sexism is perpetuated across public life.

Engender submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee call for evidence on the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill

Jan 10, 2024: Engender has worked on access to abortion care since 2016 and the devolution of this policy area to the Scottish Parliament. During that time, we have identified issues relating to abortion law, access and care that serve to undermine women’s experiences of abortion and impede the full realisation of women’s human rights in Scotland. As such, we recognise the increasing need for this legislation and are strong in our overall support for the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill. We want to ensure that the Bill provides women and healthcare workers with the strongest possible protections, whilst remaining human rights compliant.

Date of publication: January 2024.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence

Nov 28, 2023: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Scottish Government debate marking the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence in 2023. We welcome this debate as an opportunity for all MSPs to call for a primary prevention approach in all Scottish policymaking. A Scotland free from violence and abuse is possible. However, more strategic action and sustainable investment are urgently required to realise this.

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on A Human Rights Bill for Scotland

Oct 11, 2023: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on a Human Rights Bill for Scotland. We have long called for the incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). While recognising the complex legal context, we are calling on the Scottish Government to incorporate CEDAW to the fullest possible extent, whilst being transparent in its decision-making regarding constitutional limitations. It will be critical for further detailed and meaningful consultation to be undertaken on many of the implications of this Bill and we would urge the Scottish Government to see this specific consultation as the beginning, rather than the end or entirety of its consultation process.

Date of publication: October 2023

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: The Two-child Limit

Oct 6, 2023: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Scottish Government debate on reversal of the UK Government's Two-Child Benefit Limit. We fully support calls to scrap the two-child limit at the UK level, which harms women and children across Scotland, directly pushing many into deeper poverty. In Scotland, we support calls for the Scottish Government to invest in mitigating the UK Government’s policy on grounds of equality and human rights.

Date of publication: October 2023.

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on reforming the criminal law to address misogyny

Jul 26, 2023: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation on reforming the criminal law to address misogyny. Misogynistic behaviour, harassment and abuse continue to significantly constrain the choices and freedom of women and girls while violating their human rights. These types of behaviour, along with all other forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG), continue to occur at endemic levels in Scotland.

Date of publication: July 2023.

Engender response to the Scottish Government’s Call for Evidence on the NPF National Outcomes

Jun 15, 2023: We welcome the opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s call for evidence on the National Performance Framework National Outcomes (NPF). As the NPF is used to guide the policy aims and spending decisions of national government and local authorities, it is vital that improvements are made to ensure it reflects the daily realities of women’s and girls’ lives.

Date of publication: June 2023.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Debate on the Gender Sensitive Audit of the Scottish Parliament

Jun 15, 2023: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Scottish Parliament's debate on the Gender Sensitive Audit of the Scottish Parliament on 15th June 2023. The Scottish Parliament’s Gender-Sensitive Audit helps ensure Scotland’s alignment with international best practice for building a gender-equal society. It is crucial that this Audit results in tangible, measurable change. Taking intersectional gender equality into account in all aspects of its work means Parliament can lay the foundation for increased gender equality in wider society through gender-sensitive policy and service design.

Date of publication: June 2023.

Engender and EMCC Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on the International Culture Strategy

May 15, 2023: Engender and the Equal Media and Culture Centre for Scotland support the rationale to increase opportunities for the Scottish culture and creative sectors to collaborate internationally and make cultural connections. It is critical in developing a new International Culture Strategy to consider those groups who have historically experienced exclusion, including women and within this marginalised groups of women from Scotland’s rich creative and cultural sectors.

Date of publication: May 2023.

Close the Gap and Engender joint submission to the Scottish Government consultation on Building Community Wealth in Scotland

May 12, 2023: Close the Gap and Engender have developed a joint response to this consultation on Building Community Wealth in Scotland. Our organisations are clear that if new Community Wealth Building duties, guidance, and engagement are to be successful in achieving intended outcomes, gender and equalities approaches must be mainstreamed from the outset of their development.

Date of publication: May 2023.

Engender submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament Social Justice and Social Security Committee’s Inquiry into ‘Addressing child poverty through parental employment’

Apr 7, 2023: Engender welcomes this opportunity to submit evidence to the Scottish Parliament's Social Justice and Social Security Committee in response to their inquiry on ‘addressing child poverty through parental employment.’ Our submission focuses on the gendered impact of poverty and asks the Committee to recognise that most parents locked out of employment are women, with further barriers for minoritized and marginalised women. We stressed that without acknowledging this, the root causes of child poverty cannot be understood, and effective policy solutions created.

Date of publication: April 2023.

Engender response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Electoral Reform

Mar 15, 2023: Engender weclomes this opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government consultation on electoral reform. Everyone should have the right to participate in elections fairly and freely. We’re clear that this also means that at the same time as expanding rights, we need to increase support and protection for those most likely to experience barriers to participation – including women, Black and minoritized people, disabled people and LGBTI people – to allow a diversity of voices to be included in decision-making and ensure the health of our democracy for all.

Date of publication: March 2023.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing International Women’s Day 2023 - #EmbraceEquity

Mar 7, 2023: Engender welcomes this year’s International Women’s Day debate on the theme #EmbraceEquity and supports the Parliament’s focus on building equity for women across Scotland. This International Women’s Day, we call on all MSPs to act for women’s equity by supporting equal representation for women and marginalised groups in politics.

Date of publication: March 2023.

Engender briefing on decriminalisation of abortion for the Scottish Parliament Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Feb 22, 2023: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Scottish Parliament Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee consideration of a new petition to amend the law to fully decriminalise abortion in Scotland on 22nd February 2023. Women’s reproductive rights include the freedom and ability to decide if and when to have children and the right to high standards of sexual and reproductive health. However, women in Scotland currently have no legal right to end a pregnancy. That decision ultimately sits with doctors, two of whom must authorise a woman’s request for an abortion. We urge the Committee to seek further and fuller evidence regarding decriminalisation of abortion following its initial consideration of this petition.

Date of publication: February 2023.

Joint response to the Scottish Parliament Finance and Public Administration Committee Inquiry into Effective Scottish Government decision-making

Feb 10, 2023: Engender, Scottish Women’s Aid and Close the Gap welcome the chance to respond to the Committee’s inquiry into effective Scottish Government decision-making. All three of our organisations have extensive experience working alongside Ministers and civil servants in Scottish Government to create better policy for women’s equality across a broad range of issues. From our experience, we know that entrenched structural inequalities in our public institutions and biases in our decision-making architecture act as a major remaining barrier to equality. All policy and decision making by the Scottish Government and Parliament provide opportunities for us to either adequately address inequality, act in a neutral way, or further compound and entrench inequality. If we do not identify and root out these structural barriers and biases, then at best, the strength of our decision making is compromised, and at worst, we risk doing more harm than good.

Date of publication: February 2023.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Finance and Public Administration Committee Debate on the Scottish Budget 2023-24

Jan 26, 2023: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Finance and Public Administration Committee Debate on the Scottish Budget 2023-24. The cost of living crisis is disproportionately affecting women, enabling violence against women and girls and entrenching gender inequality. We continue to be concerned about the lack of attention the Scottish Budget process pays to structural gender inequality, and women’s and men’s differing lived experience.

Date of publication: January 2023.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Stage 3 Debate: Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill

Dec 19, 2022: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Stage 3 debate on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill seeks to change the process by which an individual can obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). Engender strongly believes that the paths to equality for trans people and women are interconnected and dependent on shared efforts to dismantle patriarchal systems of oppression. It is only by working together, that we can build a society where we all experience equality and full enjoyment of our human rights.

Date of publication: December 2022.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Recognising the Vital Role Men Must Play in Challenging and Eradicating Violence against Women and Girls

Nov 30, 2022: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Scottish Government debate marking the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence in 2022 on the theme of 'Recognising the Vital Role Men Must Play in Challenging and Eradicating Violence Against Women and Girls'. Without mainstreaming women’s needs across policymaking and budgeting in an intersectional way, we run the risk of entrenching gender inequality even more deeply and enabling VAWG in Scotland. Engender is calling on all MSPs to recognise their responsibility for stopping violence and discrimination against women across all settings. By embedding a primary prevention approach in public policy, we can achieve a Scotland where all individuals are equally safe and respected.

Date of publication: November 2022.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Stage 1 Debate: Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill

Oct 26, 2022: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Stage 1 debate on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill seeks to change the process by which an individual can obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). Engender strongly believes that the paths to equality for trans people and women are interconnected and dependent on shared efforts to dismantle patriarchal systems of oppression. It is only by working together, that we can build a society where we all experience equality and full enjoyment of our human rights.

Date of publication: October 2022.

Engender response to the Scottish Government’s Equality Evidence Strategy 2023 to 2025 consultation

Jan 12, 2023: Engender welcome this opportunity to respond to this consultation on Scottish Government’s Equality Evidence Strategy 2023-25. The use of equality evidence needs to be understood as foundational and critical to ensuring equitable and evidence-based decision-making. It is relevant across all policymaking and has the potential to help create transformational improvements in equality outcomes, minimise bias in policymaking and subsequent harms caused to equality groups, as well as systemic change in how our society operates with benefits across communities.

Date of publication: October 2022.

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on a new Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy

Oct 4, 2022: Women and men experience mental health in vastly different ways. Women and girls are diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders in greater numbers, and experience difference in diagnosis and treatment, and access to health and support services. Our response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Mental Health highlights the structural, and highly gendered, nature of mental health. The onus to achieve positive mental wellbeing should not be put on women and other minoritised and low-income groups. Our response also highlights a number of other issues which must be taken into account to ensure that Scotland’s response to the growing mental health crisis doesn’t further entrench women’s inequality, including good data, improving access to services (including specialist services), funding and procurement, and policy change.

Date of publication: October 2022.

Engender response to the Scottish Government Equality, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee call for views on the impact of human rights budgeting

Sep 29, 2022: Engender welcomes this opportunity to comment on the committee’s pre-budget scrutiny and its focus on human rights budgeting. Within this, it is crucial that the committee interrogate the ways in which the Budget cumulatively impacts on the human rights of women and men as part of a cross-portfolio approach throughout the Scottish Parliament. There is no area of policy whereby women and men do not have different experiences or differential access to power, resources, and safety. Budgets are not neutral. They often reenforce these inequalities, but in fact present an opportunity to account for and address them according to political and public policy goals

At times of crisis equality and human rights budgeting are more vital than ever, to ensure that policy and spending responses are targeted here needed the most. This must include an intersectional gender analysis. The impact of the pandemic is ongoing for women, girls and gender equality in Scotland. Now this will be compounded and deepened by the cost of living crisis, causing catastrophic harm to women, particularly those who live with multiple discrimination and inequality.

Date of publication: September 2022

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Cost of Living Crisis

Sep 13, 2022: This is a briefing for MSPs on the cost of living crisis ahead of the Scottish Government Emergency Budget Review. The escalating cost of living crisis will result in untold harm in Scotland, particularly for women, other oppressed groups and those living with multiple inequalities including Black and minority ethnic women and disabled women. It will deepen gender inequality at a time when women continue to experience the egregious fallout of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Date of publication: September 2022.

Engender submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament Finance and Public Administration Committee call for views on its pre-budget scrutiny 2023-24

Aug 26, 2022: Engender welcomes this opportunity to comment on the Committee’s pre-budget scrutiny and, in particular, its focus on the impact of the cost of living. Current spiralling inflation is highly gendered, and it is imperative that the Committee interrogate the ways in which the Budget cumulatively impacts on women and men as part of a cross-portfolio approach throughout the Scottish Parliament.

Date of publication: August 2022.

Engender response to the consultation on the Proposed Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill

Aug 12, 2022: Engender wholeheartedly welcomes the proposed Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill and the opportunity to respond to this consultation. Harassment of women seeking healthcare represents an egregious interference with women’s basic human rights. Engender unequivocally supports women’s autonomy over our bodies and our lives; access to abortion is fundamental to women’s rights and gender equality. Access to safe abortion healthcare is essential for the realisation of women’s economic and social rights.

Date of publication: August 2022.

Engender briefing on women’s health inequalities for Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Jul 8, 2022: Women and girls face significant barriers to good mental and physical health in Scotland. Health issues that disproportionately affect women, or affect women differently to men, have historically lacked funding and professional focus, meaning that women’s health needs are not equally prioritised and understood across health services and more broadly. Intersecting equality issues have a major bearing on health outcomes for women in Scotland, and gender is the most significant factor that interacts with income inequality to compound health problems. For example: highly gendered health outcomes exist within certain minority ethnic communities; the physical and mental health of transgender women is put at risk by lack of knowledge amongst healthcare professionals; disabled women are significantly more likely to have unmet healthcare needs than both non-disabled people and disabled men; and women in the most deprived areas of Scotland experience good health for 25 years less than women in the most affluent parts of the country.

This briefing paper focuses on gendered health inequalities - issues that affect health outcomes for women due to systemic gender inequality.

Date of publication: June 2022.

Engender response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the operation of the Public Sector Equality Duty in Scotland

Sep 13, 2022: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation on the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in Scotland. For many years we have advocated for substantial reform of the Scottish Specific Duties (SSDs) to ensure that PSED is fit for purpose in bringing equality considerations to the heart of public sector work, and that public bodies are supported in fulfilling their obligations. In light of the re-entrenchment of women’s inequality that has been brought by Covid-19, particularly for women who experience multiple discrimination, this need for vastly improved equality mainstreaming is even more pressing.

We share concerns with many other equalities organisations that the current proposals are not ambitious enough to create the meaningful change that is badly needed. The duties currently in place have not resulted in notable progress for people with protected characteristics and therefore require fundamental revision. The various stages of the review to date have been somewhat superficial and lack the comprehensive analysis of these limitations that we have called for alongside sector colleagues. Stakeholders within the equality sector have extensive expertise to offer, but the engagement process so far has not been designed in a way that makes best use of our expertise. Given an appropriate process that enabled fulsome and thoughtful sharing of expertise, equalities organisations could support Scottish Government to create a set of duties which are both more effective and more enforceable than the current regulations.

In this submission we therefore urge Scottish Government to develop a revised set of duties in co-production with equality stakeholders; to strengthen proposals with a focus on outcomes for people with protected characteristics rather than simplifying the regime for compliance purposes; and to ensure that adequate time is now taken to undertake urgently needed research.

Date of Publication: April 2022

Engender response to the Scottish Government’s Scottish Carer’s Assistance consultation

Jun 8, 2022: We welcome the opportunity to respond to this consultation on Scottish Carer’s Assistance.

In March 2022, Engender ran two engagement events with women who are unpaid carers and circulated a survey based on this consultation. Our response is informed by the views of the women who participated, alongside years of work engaging with and highlighting unpaid care as a key issue of women’s inequality. Between 60% and 70% of unpaid care is delivered by women in Scotland,1 care that is worth approximately £10.8 billion to the economy per annum. Beyond this headline figure, the shape of women’s caring roles also differs significantly from those of men. Women are twice as likely as men to give up work to carry out unpaid care, and are much more likely to juggle caring with (often low-paid) employment, to hold multiple caring roles, and to provide care for more than 35 hours per week. The Covid-19 pandemic has also had a significant impact on carers; during the first lockdown for example, 78% of carers reported having to provide more care since the start of the pandemic.

Our key messages in this consultation response are that:
• Robust and iterative equality impact assessment of the proposals are needed, including from an intersectional gender perspective.
• Existing levels of support are inadequate, and the new ‘additional person’ entitlement is proposed at an unacceptably low level.
• Proposals to expand eligibility for Scottish Carer’s Assistance in the longer-term are welcome, but should be viewed as a starting point for further expansion in future.
• Policy coherence with work in development on the National Care Service and Minimum Income Guarantee is vital.

Date of publication: June 2022

Public Sector Equality Duty: Equality Stakeholders' Submission on Common Concerns

Apr 11, 2022: Organisations in Scotland’s equality sector welcomed the Scottish Government’s intention to reform the Scottish Specific Public Sector Equality Duties. Many have been engaging with the Scottish Government on the Review for several years. Reform has the potential to create meaningful change for people with protected characteristics, and our organisations are therefore keen to ensure the Review process is as effective as possible.

We have serious concerns about the direction of the current consultation on the review of the effectiveness of the Public Sector Equality Duty in Scotland. We are keen to work with the Scottish Government in ensuring that any revised duties are as robust as necessary and will lead to real improvements in the lives of people with protected characteristics.

As such, we call on the Scottish Government to adopt a fully-fledged collaborative process, working with equality stakeholders in drafting the revised regulations.

Date of Publication: April 2022

Engender Response to Committee inquiry into the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill

May 27, 2022: Our views in support of the proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act remain unaltered. We have previously provided detailed feedback through consultation responses to the Scottish Government in 2020 and in coalition with several of our partners in the women’s rights sector in
2018.

We are responding to this consultation primarily due to the links that have been made in public debate, media and elsewhere, between reform of the application process for a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRCs) and women’s equality and rights. We will endeavour to address the Committee’s stated areas of interest in this response. However, beyond the potential intersection of GRCs and the realisation of women's equality and rights, we only have limited comments to make as many of the Bill's provisions and Committee's consultation interests relate to areas of law and policy that do not fall within our remit.

Date of Publication: May 2022

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: International Women’s Day 2022 - #BreakTheBias

Mar 8, 2022: Engender welcomes this opportunity to mark International Women’s Day 2022 with this briefing and the Parliament’s debate. This year’s theme - #BreakTheBias – aims to highlight conscious and unconscious discrimination against women in all walks of life. Preventing and eradicating violence requires serious action to secure women’s social, economic and cultural equality and the rights of women and girls. UN Women has estimated that the impact of Covid-19 for women’s equality could mean the loss of 25 years’ worth of progress, and Scotland is not immune. Measures to respond to the pandemic have disproportionately affected women’s access to paid work - especially younger women and women of colour - and the volume of care that women provide.

Breaking the structural bias that leaves women poorer, further from power and opportunities and more vulnerable to violence, abuse and harm demands urgent attention and action.

Date of publication: March 2022.

Engender Submission of Evidence to the Scottish Parliament Social Justice and Social Security Committee Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWAG) and Domestic Violence Thematic Session

Mar 2, 2022: Engender welcomes this opportunity to participate in a thematic discussion on violence against women and girls and domestic abuse and ahead of the meeting have outlined here our current work in this area for the Committee. Engender does not provide violence against women services but works across a number of relevant policy domains.

Date of publication: March 2022.

Engender Response to Scottish Government Data Improvement Proposal

Jan 21, 2022: At present women are underrepresented at all levels of politics. The current lack of robust, detailed and intersectional data on who our representatives are is a major barrier to progress in terms of gender parity in our political institutions at both local and national levels. Without this information it is very difficult to fully understand the cause of (and possible solutions to) the chronic underrepresentation of women - as well as other minoritized groups, including Black and minority ethnic people, LGBTI+ people and disabled people.

It is well established that increased diversity in politics has a positive impact on all aspects of public life. Diverse representation increases participation and engagement in the democratic process, and the inclusion of diverse voices enriches and enhances policy outcomes for us all. We therefore welcome the Scottish Government’s plan to collect data on the protected characteristics of candidates standing for election, in the hopes that the introduction of a framework for collecting this data will be a crucial step in addressing the persistent inequalities which exist within political representation in Scotland.

Date of publication: January 2022

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Human Rights Day 2021

Dec 9, 2021: Engender warmly welcome this opportunity to mark Human Rights Day 2021 in the Scottish Parliament. Human Rights Day also marks the end of the 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women, signalling that violence against women is a human rights violation.

As part of our work on women’s human rights, Engender has advocated for the incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), often known as the Women’s Bill of Rights.

Date of publication: December 2021.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2021

Nov 24, 2021: Engender welcomes this debate to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2021 and the start of 16 Days of Activism. This is the 30th year of the international campaign recognising the global epidemic of violence against women, with 1 in 3 women worldwide subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner, non-partner or both, and the full continuum of violence perpetrated against women, including sexual harassment, violence in digital contexts, harmful practices, and sexual exploitation.

Date of publication: November 2021.

Engender response to the Scottish Parliament Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee’s Call for Views on understanding barriers to participation in politics

Nov 18, 2021: Women are underrepresented at all levels of political decision-making, and this is most extreme at the local level where only 29% of councillors in Scotland are women. Vital decisions in many areas disproportionately impacting women’s lives are made by councils - for instance women are more likely to be employed in social care or education, and more likely to be users of public transport - however their voices are largely absent from these conversations.

Diverse representation improves democratic engagement, increases participation in elections, and enriches policy decision-making. In order to create better outcomes, it is vital that women are able to fully participate in local politics.

Date of publication: November 2021.

Response to Scottish Government's Consultation on a National Care Service for Scotland

Nov 10, 2021: The provision of care, both paid and unpaid, is closely interlinked with systemic and harmful gender roles that constrain women’s lives. Yet this consultation document on proposals for a new National Care Service, which runs to 137 pages, is entirely gender blind. Women are the majority of social care service users, the majority of unpaid carers, and the vast majority of the social care workforce in Scotland. Women’s access to paid work, leisure time and power remains heavily constrained by the provision of care and gendered expectations around its value and delivery. Social care is vital infrastructure that supports people in Scotland to enjoy their right to participate fully in all branches of society and can prevent isolation, poor health and wellbeing, and poverty – all of which are gendered issues. Care itself is undervalued culturally and financially precisely because it is associated with women. In turn, this cultural undervaluation and the lack of investment attached to social care support perpetuates limited understanding of the role that it plays in the social and economic wellbeing of society.

Date of publication: November 2021

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Abortion Clinic Buffer Zones

Nov 4, 2021: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Member's Business Debate on Abortion Clinic Buffer Zones. Engender calls for a robust strategy to respond to protests as harassment and abuse towards women, including implementation of buffer zones around clinics, as part of the Scottish Government’s stated ambitions on abortion rights and access to forms of quality healthcare predominantly utilised by women.

Date of publication: November 2021.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Improving Support and Ending the Stigma of the Menopause

Nov 2, 2021: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Member's Business Session on Improving Support and Ending the Stigma of the Menopause. Despite recent progress there remains a chronic stigma, imbued with sexism and ageism, and a lack of knowledge and public awareness around the menopause which prevents health professionals and society from adequately supporting menopausal women. There is a need for comprehensive healthcare training and services, while more workplace policies could be a simple action to improve conditions for menopausal women in Scotland.

Date of publication: November 2021.

Engender Response to the Call for Views on the Aims and Principles of the Scottish COVID-19 Public Inquiry

Oct 8, 2021: Engender welcomes this opportunity to comment on the Aims and Principles paper that will shape Terms of Reference for Scotland’s Inquiry into Covid-19. Over the past eighteen months we have undertaken extensive work on the impact of the pandemic and of public policy responses on different groups of women and on structural gender inequality. We have seen a widely recognised rollback on women’s rights and equality in terms of health, care, financial security, employment, violence against women and housing. Within this, specific issues and even deeper impacts have manifested for Black and minoritised women, young women, disabled women, unpaid carers, mothers, pregnant women, LGBTI women, and women with insecure immigration status, amongst other groups who experience intersecting forms of oppression and discrimination. The extent of these gendered impacts and the long-term implications for women and girls are as yet unknown.

Date of publication: October 2021.

Engender submission of evidence to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee call for views on its Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2022/23

Oct 7, 2021: Engender is grateful for the opportunity to provide evidence to the Committee in support of its pre-budget scrutiny for 2022 – 2023. Our submission focuses on the transformative potential of gender budgeting in the realisation of women’s equality and the need for gender to be strategically analysed across subject committees including, but not only, the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.

Date of publication: October 2021.

Engender submission of evidence to the Misogyny and Criminal Justice in Scotland Working Group

Oct 1, 2021: Engender is grateful for this opportunity to submit our views to the Misogyny and Criminal Justice in Scotland Working Group. These comments represent a summary of our existing work on hate crime and challenging misogyny, all of which is publicly available.

Engender, alongside other national women’s organisations, has practical concerns about including gender-based violence against women in the model of hate crime. The Scottish hate crime model protects women who experience crimes motivated by hatred towards them because of their membership of a minority group, including lesbian and bisexual women, disabled women, trans women, and Black and minoritised women. Violence against women is a human rights violation and a cause and consequence of women’s inequality. It occurs at endemic levels in both public and private settings. Misogynistic behaviour, harassment and abuse is a constraint on choice and freedom at significant scale, which demands a credible and appropriate criminal justice response. Simply put, women cannot live a good life while harassment rooted in sexism and misogyny is allowed to inflect our daily reality. Yet gender and ‘hate crime’ is substantially under-theorised and there are limited examples to learn from, including overcoming barriers to effective utilisation of the law to respond.

Date of publication: September 2021

Engender submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee call for views on its Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2022/23

Sep 27, 2021: Engender welcomes this opportunity to comment on the Committee’s pre-budget scrutiny. It is imperative that the Committee interrogate the ways in which the Budget cumulatively impacts on women and men as part of a cross-portfolio approach throughout the Scottish Parliament. There is no area of policy whereby women and men do not have different experiences or differential access to power, resources, and safety. Budgets are not neutral, but present an opportunity to re-enforce these inequalities or to account for them according to political and public policy goals.

Date of publication: September 2021.

Submission to the Advisory Council: Development of the National Strategy on Economic Transformation August 2021

Aug 24, 2021: This joint submission from Engender and Close the Gap provides evidence to the Advisory Council ahead of the development of the National Strategy for Economic Transformation. The ongoing Covid-19 crisis has resulted in a rapid, and unprecedented shift in the economic landscape in Scotland. One of the implications of this has been to further highlight and exacerbate women’s continued social, economic, labour market and political inequality. It has also underscored the impact of social security changes and cuts to public services to women’s inequality. UN Women estimates that the pandemic risks setting women’s equality back 25 years. There is therefore an urgent need to integrate gender perspectives and women’s needs into response measures and wider economic policymaking, a focus that has been noticeably absent from pandemic-related measures.

This submission outlines some general thoughts on gender and economic policymaking, including a critique of current approaches to economic development and inclusive growth. We then provide detail on specific considerations for the National Strategy, including the gender pay gap, unpaid care and automation.

Date of publication: August 2021

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on Local Place Plan Regulations

Jun 25, 2021: Engender welcomes this opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on Local Place Plan Regulations. While women often play a central role in local community organising, they continue to be underrepresented in formal decision-making around planning and development, and consideration of women’s distinct needs remains almost entirely absent from Scottish Planning frameworks. While we recognise that Local Place Plans (LPPS) aim to support community-led and collaborative approaches to management and development of local places, we are concerned that the proposals perpetuate this exclusion and offer no plan to ensure the inclusion of women.

In this submission we have not focused on the content, registration and form of a Local Place Plan, believing this to be beyond the scope of our expertise. Instead, we have drawn attention to some critical considerations regarding women’s representation in community planning processes and the extent to which gender considerations can be ensured. We have also commented on the ‘partial equality impact assessment’. We strongly urge the Scottish Government to include a duty and framework for proactive consultation with communities of interest, including women, within the regulations for LPPs.

Date of publication: June 2021

Engender submission to the Scottish Government on equality and socio-economic impacts of EU Exit (‘Brexit’)

May 20, 2021: This is Engender's submission to the Scottish Government on equality and socio-economic impacts of EU Exit (‘Brexit’). This submission looks at economic consequences, protections for migrant women, employment and equality protections, replacement funds, and criminal justice, and offers a series of recommendations covering funding for women's organisations and violence against women services, incorporation of women's rights, devolution of equality law, enhanced gender mainstreaming, and mitigation of No Recourse to Public Funds.

Date of publication: May 2021.

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on Abortion notifications and data

May 18, 2021: Engender unequivocally supports women’s autonomy over their bodies and lives and considers abortion access fundamental to women’s rights and reproductive justice. Women in Scotland must have a legal right to choices around family planning, as outlined by the Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which is supported by intersectional and gender-sensitive abortion services, adequate and culturally sensitive information, and support.

Engender supports the proposals to move data collection and notification of abortion to digital practices and to separate the formal notification to the CMO and data collection. In our view, this will reduce the administrative burden on providers of abortion care and on the CMO’s office and enable PHS to develop the most robust data collection possible. While we believe that personal information data collection is a vital component of service delivery analysis and improvement, provision of data should not be compelled or used to police or prevent women’s access to vital healthcare and the provision of this data should be anonymised, secure and freely given for outlined purposes.

Date of publication: May 2021

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on Adult Disability Payment

Apr 7, 2021: Engender welcomes this opportunity to comment on the Scottish Government’s draft regulations for the new Adult Disability Payment (ADP). We have been engaged on work around gender and social security since the 2010 programme of “welfare reform” and over that period we have sought to highlight the ways in which women and women’s equality, safety, access to resources and human rights are all affected by the design and delivery of social security.

Date of publication: April 2021.

Women's Sector Joint Letter on Proposed Stage 2 Amendments to the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill

Mar 12, 2021: Engender, Scottish Women's Aid, Rape Crisis and Zero Tolerance have written to the Convener of the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee on proposed Stage 2 Amendments to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill following oral evidence at Stage 1 from Engender and Scottish Women’s Aid.

Date of publication: March 2021.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing Hate Crime and Public Order Bill Stage 3

Mar 12, 2021: Engender welcomes this opportunity to highlight our ongoing research and engagement with the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill ahead of the Stage 3 debate. Our central concern relating to the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill is that it does not recognise the realities of women’s experience of egregious misogynistic harassment, offers ineffective response to violence against women, and does not work to challenge structural oppression. The hate crime framework offers a harmfully ineffective response to gender-based violence against women.

Date of publication: March 2021.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Scottish Government Debate: International Women’s Day 2021: #ChooseToChallenge

Mar 3, 2021: Engender welcomes this opportunity to mark International Women’s Day 2021 with this briefing and the Parliament’s debate, which this year coincides with a year since the introduction of public health restrictions in the wake of Covid-19. This year’s theme ‘#ChooseToChallenge”, urges people to call out and challenge gender bias and inequality. Women’s inequality with men demands structural and targeted responses with the aim of disrupting women’s subordination and exclusion in policy, practice, and everyday life. This means understanding the reality of women’s lives, the specific barriers to equality women face, and how multiple forms of discrimination intersect with one another. There is a need to go further and faster to challenge sexism and inequality, unpaid and invisible labour, gender-based violence and harassment, and the undervaluation of women’s work.

Date of publication: March 2021.

Incorporating CEDAW into Scots Law - joint briefing from Engender, Scottish Women's Aid, Rape Crisis Scotland, Zero Tolerance, and Close the Gap

Feb 24, 2021: Scotland is currently developing a new and ambitious approach to human rights protection. Following a report by the First Minister’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership the Scottish Government has established a National Taskforce on Human Rights Leadership to develop recommendations for a new Scottish human rights statutory framework which is due to report in spring 2021.

The women’s sector in Scotland has long advocated for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to be given direct effect in Scots Law. We are clear that increased accountability and recourse to challenge when rights have been denied is a fundamental element of achieving women’s equality.

In this briefing we outline the reasons that CEDAW incorporation is not only necessary and achievable within the process Scotland has embarked on and respond to some suggestions that women’s rights should wait for a subsequent package of rights to be considered.

Date of publication: February 2021

Engender response to “Sex and Gender in Data: Collection and publication”; guidance from the Chief Statistician to Scottish Public Bodies

Feb 24, 2021: We welcome the opportunity to respond to this consultation by the Office of the Chief Statistician. A year ago, we submitted “Sex/gender: Gathering and using data to advance women’s equality and rights in Scotland” to the evidence-gathering phase of this work. In it, we outlined the urgent need for public bodies to collect, analyse, and use data to advance women’s equality and rights.

This need for better gender-sensitive sex-disaggregated data has only been further highlighted by Covid-19. In the early phases of the pandemic, which foreshadowed profoundly negative effects for women’s health, careers, and volume of unpaid care, Engender published our own calls to Scottish Government officials on using data about men’s and women’s distinct experiences in shaping its response to Covid-19.

We reiterate these calls here, and comment directly on the guidance from the Chief Statistician.

Date of publication: February 2021

Engender submission of evidence to the Justice Committee’s short timescale call for views on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill – Freedom of Expression Amendments

Feb 22, 2021: In this response to the short timescale call for views on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill - Freedom of Expression.

In this submission we reiterate our view here that:
• A perceived threat of criminality may stifle necessary political and social debate;
• Marginalised groups and causes are more vulnerable to interference and less capable of inspiring actual hatred to a majority or state-backed power;
• Exceptions should be narrowly constituted and not used to further or excuse oppression, and therefore the scales must be weighted in favour of the oppressed.

Engender's Policy and Parliamentary Manager Eilidh Dickson gave evidence to the Justice Committee on this issue on Feb 22 2021.

Date of publication: 22 Feb 2021

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Impact of COVID-19 on Women in the Economy

Feb 10, 2021: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Member's Business Session on the Impact of Covid-19 on Women in the Economy of 11th February. Engender estimates that the impact of lost productivity because of mothers’ additional childcare while schools are closed amounts to a loss £15 million a day in Scotland. There is an urgent need to reassess the approach to gender within recovery and for Scotland to properly understand and respond to the impact of the pandemic on women’s economic and other rights as we enter the next phase of the pandemic and begin to fully focus on recovery.

Date of publication: February 2021.

Engender response to Mark Griffin MSP’s consultation on a Proposed Scottish Employment Injuries Advisory Council Bill

Feb 5, 2021: Engender welcomes this opportunity to respond to Mark Griffin MSP’s consultation on Proposals for a Scottish Employment Injuries Advisory Council Bill. We have kept our comments to four broad themes – the changing nature of workplace risk, the need for and characteristics of a Scottish Employment Injuries Advisory Council (SEIAC), gender and health, and the additional concern that Covid-19 places on women’s health and the nature of work.

Date of publication: February 2021.

Engender response to the Scottish Parliament Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee consultation on Code of Conduct changes to give effect to the recommendations of the Joint Working Group on Sexual Harassment and Sexist Behaviour

Feb 1, 2021: Engender is pleased to respond to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee consultation on Code of Conduct changes to give effect to the recommendations of the Joint Working Group on Sexual Harassment and Sexist Behaviour. We continue to support Parliament taking any step open to it to ensure that robust accountability and support systems are in place to prevent sexual harassment, support women who report sexist and sexual harassment, and enable widespread and lasting culture change to realise women’s right to participate fully in political and public life on equal terms with men.

Date of publication: February 2021.

Engender submission of evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry on Welfare policy in Scotland

Feb 1, 2021: This is Engender's submission of evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry on Welfare Policy in Scotland. The design of the social security and ‘welfare’ system is one of the key drivers of inequality in the UK and it remains a critical lever available to ensure women have access to an adequate standard of living, equal access to choices and opportunities, and safety and security. Women are more likely to rely on social security for all or part of their income than men due to a greater risk of poverty, gendered experiences of the labour market which push them into poorer paid and insecure employment, the impact of men’s violence, and deeply-ingrained norms around the provision of care and childcare.

Date of publication: February 2021.

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on future arrangements for early medical abortion at home

Dec 18, 2020: Engender unequivocally supports women’s autonomy over their bodies and lives, and considers abortion access fundamental to women’s rights and gender equality. Access to safe abortion is essential for women’s economic and social rights, to women’s autonomy, employment, education and access to resources, and therefore to women’s equality. In a gender-equal Scotland, all women must have a legal right to choices around family planning, which is supported by intersectional and gender-sensitive abortion services, adequate and culturally sensitive information and support and must be able to access care without intimidation, coercion, harassment or stigmatisation.

This consultation response makes the case for the continuation of telemedical appointments for Early Medical Abortion at Home.

Date of publication: December 2020

Engender response to the Scottish Parliament Local Government and Communities Committee on the Fair Rents (Scotland) Bill

Dec 17, 2020: Engender welcomes this opportunity to respond to the Scottish Parliament Local Government and Communities Committee consultation on the Fair Rents (Scotland) Bill. We welcome the Bill and support its general principles; recognising that it represents a first step to make rent more affordable for women in the Scottish private rented sector. However, it is our view that the Bill could go further and address the widening gaps between women’s incomes and the amount women spend on rent.

Date of publication: December 2020.

Engender response to the Scottish Government Consultation on the Digital Strategy for Scotland

Dec 17, 2020: Women face myriad barriers to digital access, including possessing fewer digital skills and less digital confidence than men and being more likely to have insufficient resources to afford digital equipment. Where women and girls do have digital access, experiences of online misogynistic harassment and abuse severely impact freedom to make full and equal use of online spaces.

Engender therefore welcomes this opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government Consultation on the Digital Strategy for Scotland. Our view is that digital inclusion can and should encompass action to address the gendered barriers and inequalities that exist for internet non-users and users alike. A strategy that mainstreams these gendered issues will contribute to the advancement of women’s equality and rights

Date of publication: December 2020.

Engender Briefing to the Women’s Health Plan: What Do Women Experiencing the Menopause in Scotland Need?

Dec 16, 2020: In 2020, the Women’s Health Plan was established with a remit of raising awareness around women’s health; improving access to healthcare for women across the life course and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for girls and women, including gender-based inequalities both for sex-specific conditions and in women’s general health. Menopause is one of the intitial priorities for this work.
Engender has produced this briefing to provide the Women’s Health Plan with evidence from our survey of nearly 400 women as part of a research project looking at women’s needs during the menopause and exisiting public policy. We also outline our additional analysis of the research findings and make recommendations for further policy development.

Date of publication: December 2020.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Stage One Debate Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill

Dec 15, 2020: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Scottish Parliament Stage One Debate on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill on 14th December.
We welcome this opportunity to highlight our work on misogyny and hate crime ahead of the Scottish Parliament’s Stage One debate on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill. In particular, we welcome the Justice Committee’s detailed scrutiny of the effective response needed to tackle the nature and scale of harassment and violence directed toward women because they are women.

Date of publication: December 2020.

Engender response to the Scottish Government Equally Safe consultation on challenging men’s demand for prostitution, working to reduce the harms associated with prostitution, and helping women to exit

Dec 10, 2020: We welcome the opportunity to respond to this consultation by Scottish Government and particularly its explicit recognition of prostitution as a gendered phenomenon, which is rooted in women’s inequality. In November 2020, the UN’s CEDAW Committee published a general recommendation relating to Article 6 of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In it, it recommends that states focus on the four root causes of sexual exploitation in women and girls: 1.Systematic gender-based discrimination; 2. Conflict and humanitarian emergencies; 3. Discrimination in migration and asylum regimes; and 4.Demand that fosters exploitation.
In line with Engender’s expertise, our response to this consultation focuses principally on the first of these root causes, which maps onto the primary prevention approach set out in Equally Safe.

Date of publication: December 2020.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Equalities and Human Rights Committee Debate: Valuing the Third Sector

Dec 1, 2020: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Equality and Human Rights Committee debate on Valuing the Third Sector on 1st December 2020.
We welcome the opportunity to share a small glimpse of the impact the women’s sector has had in Scotland ahead of the parliamentary debate initiated by the Equality and Human Rights Committee on Valuing the Third Sector. We also highlight the role of the women’s sector in Scotland in delivering equality and human rights priorities and to reflect on issues raised by the Committee’s report in respect of sustainability and impact during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Date of publication: December 2020.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Scottish Government Debate: Making Scotland Equally Safe: Marking the Annual International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Nov 26, 2020: This is a briefing for MSPs ahead of the Scottish Government debate marking the 16 days of Activism on Violence Against Women on 26th November 2020.
We welcome this debate coinciding with 16 Days of Activism, and the opportunity to set out some of the current evidence surrounding violence against women, which remains endemic in Scotland, noting specific opportunities for harms over the upcoming election. We also set out our hopes for the working group on misogynistic harassment announced by the Scottish Government and this opportunity for Scotland to be bold and develop new solutions to the types of violence that continue to impede women’s lives.

Date of publication: November 2020.

Engender response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Proposed Changes to Pre-Application Consultation Requirements in Planning

Nov 13, 2020: Engender welcomes this opportunity to comment on the Scottish Government’s proposals for Changes to Pre-Application Consultation Requirements in Planning. In order to ensure that planning processes result in places that are more inclusive, diverse and empowering, communities of women must be involved in planning processes.

Date of publication: November 2020.

Engender response to the Commission on Social Justice and Fairness consultation on Discussion Paper 2: Reform of Social Care

Oct 23, 2020: Engender welcomes this opportunity to comment on the discussion paper put forward by the Commission on Social Justice and Fairness. We believe that reform to care services must start from understanding the effects of low pay, undervaluation and low investment from a gender perspective before it develops effective solutions. We do not consider ourselves best placed to comment on the detail of proposed reforms to the delivery of social care in Scotland nor to conclude at this stage whether a national care service could be all or part of the solution. We have therefore approached this consultation with the aim of highlighting the significant gendered considerations that must underpin any reforms.

Date of publication: October 2020.

Engender submission of evidence to the Equality and Human Rights Committee call for evidence on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill

Oct 20, 2020: Women’s rights and children’s rights are closely connected, both because of women’s gendered social roles as mothers and caregivers as well as for the protection of the rights of girls and young women. Engender warmly welcomes the UNCRC Bill and the approach the Scottish Government has taken to the incorporation of children’s rights within it. However, we would restate that children’s rights and women’s rights go hand-in-hand, and that guidance and training must be sufficiently gendered in order to protect both girls and young women and mothers and primary caregivers.

Date of publication: October 2020.

Engender submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament Social Security Committee inquiry on the role of Scottish Social Security in Covid-19 recovery

Oct 15, 2020: Women are twice as likely to rely on social security for all or part of their income than men due to a greater risk of poverty, gendered experiences of the labour market which push them into poorer paid and insecure employment, the impact of men’s violence and deeply-ingrained norms around the provision of care and childcare.

Engender is acutely aware of the scale of impact the Covid-19 pandemic presents to women and to inequality in Scotland and we do not underestimate the challenges of meeting the various demands this will place on Scottish and UK public services. However, we are strongly
of the view that the principles of Scottish social security require it to build on existing commitments to meet new and expanding needs. While we are concerned about the adequacy of the system as a whole to respond to the huge and complex dangers to women’s equality and risk of poverty, there are specific groups for whom there is evidence of building need and opportunity for policy-makers to react in the more immediate term.

Date of publication: October 2020.

Engender and Close The Gap joint response to the Scottish Government’s Proposal to Set Missions for the Scottish National Investment Bank

Oct 13, 2020: Close the Gap and Engender have been engaged in the development of the Scottish National Investment Bank for nearly three years. During that time we have worked with Scottish Government and MSPs to ensure the inclusion of important provisions which require the Bank to mainstream gender equality into all of its functions alongside accountability mechanisms to ensure the Bank prioritises equality in its lending and employment policies.

Based on the proposal document and consultation questions, we are unclear as to how the missions will further women’s equality in Scotland nor how the need to address women’s inequality was integrated into design of the proposed missions.

Date of publication: October 2020.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Recognising the Importance of Family Caregivers

Sep 30, 2020: This is an Engender briefing for MSPs ahead of the Scottish Parliament Opposition debate on Recognising the Importance of Family Caregivers on 30th September 2020. In June 2020 Engender published our paper Gender and Unpaid Work, which summarises the evidence on the gendered allocation of unpaid care for older and disabled people as well as childcare, housework, and household management. It describes how the Covid-19 lockdown has affected these patterns and analyses how they must be taken into account in planning for economic and social recovery.

We therefore welcome the timing of this debate in Parliament and the opportunity to highlight how changes to paid and unpaid social care present an opportunity to advance women’s equality, wellbeing and rights.

Date of publication: September 2020.

Engender submission of evidence to the Equalities and Human Rights Committee call for evidence of the impact of Covid-19 on equalities and human rights as part of its pre-budget scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2021-22

Sep 21, 2020: This is a submission of evidence to the Equalities and Human Rights Committee call for evidence of the impact of Covid-19 on equalities and human rights as part of its pre-budget scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2021-22 We welcome the focus of the Equality and Human Rights Committee this year on the social and economic recoveries from Covid-19 and ensuring that there is sufficient scrutiny of how revenue raising and spending relates to these outcomes within and outwith the Budget process.

Our submission focuses on our concerns about the extent to which women and girls have been considered in the development of economic recovery plans. We need to see additional substantive commitments to realising women’s economic equality or women will be further pushed behind.

Date of publication: September 2020.

Engender and Close The Gap Joint Response to the Scottish Parliament Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee’s inquiry into the Scottish National Investment Bank’s Draft Missions

Sep 17, 2020: Close the Gap and Engender have been engaged in the development of the Scottish National Investment Bank, and we have welcomed the establishment of the Bank as it holds enormous potential to tackle women’s economic inequality.

This joint response concerns the contents of the Proposal to Set Missions for the Scottish National Investment Bank and the dearth of information pertaining to gender equality and both Ministers’ and the Bank’s equality obligations. Based on the proposal document and consultation questions, we are unclear as to how the missions will further women’s equality in Scotland nor how the need to address women’s inequality was integrated into design of the proposed missions.

Date of publication: September 2020.

Engender response to the Scottish Law Commission Aspects of Family Law Discussion Paper on Cohabitation

Aug 27, 2020: This document is a submission in response tot he Scottish Law Commission Aspects of Family Law Discussion Paper on Cohabitation.

Engender’s primary interest is in ensuring that women are not disadvantaged by cohabitation. A system which presumed that equitable asset sharing, or independence of finances did not have long term consequence would not reflect the available evidence. We therefore suggest that any reform to the law be focused on the circumstances of the relationship and the ongoing intentions, responsibilities and practical finances of the parties throughout, with the aim of responding to advantages and disadvantages from the perspective of a fairness principle that allows for ongoing circumstances to be considered, in the same way that s.9 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act treats divorcing couples.

Date of publication: August 2020.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: An Implementation Plan for Economic Recovery

Aug 12, 2020: This is an Engender briefing for MSPs ahead of the Scottish Government debate on an Implementation Plan for Economic Recovery on 11th Agust 2020. Over the past six months Engender has sought to highlight the multitude of ways in which Covid-19 and our response to it will impact on women’s lives, rights and equality with men. We are especially cognisant of the mounting evidence around women’s rising economic inequality due to the pandemic and national and devolved response planning.

This parliamentary briefing calls on Scottish Government to go further to ensure that economic recovery also closes the gap between women and men. We urge Scottish Government to scale up its ambition and the necessary action to deliver a meaningful economic (and social) recovery for women that not only responds to the threat of deeper inequality as a result of Covid-19 but actively realises women’s economic rights and revalues women’s work.

Date of publication: August 2020.

Engender response to the Scottish Labour Party consultation “Time to Care About Care”

Aug 19, 2020: This is a response to the Scottish Labour Party consultation "Time to Care About Care".

Engender believes that there is an important conversation to be had about the future and long-term provision of a social care system that is genuinely universal and equitable and meets individual needs. Gender cannot be excluded from this work, and there is a need to consider how revaluation of care work and skills can deliver better conditions for people, mainly women, who provide care, both paid and unpaid.

Date of publication: August 2020.

Engender submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee call for views on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill

Aug 7, 2020: This is a submission to the Scottish Scottish Parliament Justice Committee call for views on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill.

Women’s organisations have previously been opposed to including ‘sex’ or ‘gender’ within the protected characteristics covered by hate crime law in Scotland because evidence shows them to be ineffective at preventing and penalising misogynistic harm. As the law around hate crime has been revisited in Scotland over the last few years, we have worked with other national women’s organisations, including Rape Crisis Scotland and Scottish Women’s Aid, to consider whether a new Scottish hate crime bill offered possibilities for expanding protections from misogynistic harassment. We have also considered whether aspects of the Bill, particularly the offences of stirring up hatred, will temper or have a chilling effect on women’s political activism and campaigning.

Date of publication: August 2020.

Engender and Close the Gap response to the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery report

Jul 24, 2020: The differential impact of Covid-19 on women and men has been well-rehearsed. Engender and Close the Gap have issued multiple briefings making the case for a gendered response to Covid-19, advocating for the use of gender-sensitive sex-disaggregated data in developing policy interventions, and analysing the impact on women’s labour market participation. We also worked with other national women’s organisations to develop nine principles for a gender-sensitive economic recovery. These principles recognise that women’s equality is a precondition of a wellbeing economy, and we published a supporting paper exploring how Covid-19 might be an inflection point in gendering Scotland’s approach to inclusive growth. We submitted all of this information to the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery (AGER).

Despite this advocacy, and widespread media coverage of some of the gendered issues around Covid-19’s economic effects, AGER’s report is not gendered. Despite the profoundly gendered nature of the crisis, which has impacted female-dominated sectors and substantially increased women’s unpaid work, the report barely mentions these as concerns. Its analysis does not integrate these gendered issues and nor is there any evidence of them in the recommendations it has produced. Consequently, Scottish Government will need to pay particular attention to taking a gendered approach within its response if it is to avoid redistribution of jobs from women to men being a feature of ‘recovery’. Without mitigation, actions for recovery based on AGER’s report will worsen women’s economic position, and widen income and wealth gaps.

Date of publication: July 2020

Engender submission of evidence to Equality and Human Rights Committee inquiry on Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Equalities and Human Rights

Jun 4, 2020: Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the UK, Engender has sought to draw attention to the highly gendered impacts of both the virus and steps to mitigate it. In doing so, we have pursued the following strategy:

1. To push for gender analysis to be fully integrated into the crisis response, to account for the relevant differences in women’s and men’s lived experience;
2. To press the Scottish Government to maintain focus on its existing commitments to women’s equality and rights; and
3. To argue for a gender-competent recovery plan, including arrangements to exit from lockdown.

We welcome this opportunity to highlight the key impacts of the virus and the current and planned response on women’s equality, rights and safety.

Date of publication: 2 June 2020

Engender submission of evidence to the UK Parliament Women and Equalities Committee inquiry on Unequal impact: Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the impact on people with protected characteristics

Jul 10, 2020: Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the UK, Engender has sought to draw attention to the highly gendered impacts of both the virus and steps to mitigate it.

This submission was made to the Women and Equalities Committee at the UK Parliament at the beginning of May, and sets out the broad range of issues that have emerged pertaining to women’s inequality during the first weeks of the UK’s management of Covid-19. Inevitably, this pandemic will remain a serious and evolving issue, with phased recovery and cycled periods of response. The scale of the potential impact for women’s equality is enormous. It is therefore vital that as the full range of measures to implement mitigation and recover are developed, gender is a key and foremost consideration, otherwise decades of slow progress for women’s equality will be lost.

Date of publication: July 2020.

Engender response to the Scottish Government ‘Call for ideas’ for the National Planning Framework 4

May 8, 2020: This is a response to the Scottish Government ‘Call for ideas’ for the National Planning Framework 4. To date, gender equality has not been integrated into the public planning system in Scotland. However, women experience and navigate public space very differently to men.

This response was drafted before measures to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 were instituted. Since March, the scale of impact of these measures has brought to line an enormous range of issues, many of which have direct links to how we use public space, for example, a lack of access to green space including for children, and the design of cities restricting the ability to safely social distance (pavement widths). Additionally, demand on health and social care, including women’s unpaid care roles has expanded enormously. Women’s lesser access to digital forms or participation and increased responsibilities for care and domestic work add to their exclusion from consultation processes.

Date of publication: May 2020.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: criminal trials during the Covid-19 outbreak

Apr 20, 2020: The Covid-19 pandemic represents a crisis for gender equality around the world and in Scotland. We have already set out in our paper Women and COVID-19 the ways in which Covid-19 places women at increase risks of violence, poverty and inequality and called for gender to by systematically and consistently mainstreamed into our responses to this crisis at every level.

Engender previously called on MSPs and Government to “[e]xplore innovative options to protect women’s access to justice, including juryless trials in the instance of rape and serious sexual assault.” We continue to believe that judge-only trials respect the dignity and rights of women who have experienced gender-based violence, minimises additional trauma of delayed and protracted attempts to seek justice and balance the rights of women and the accused in a proportionate way while our society experiences the present disruption. However, we also recognise that further options have been put forward for the duration of the outbreak and welcome the opportunity here to raise points specific to the possible continuation of jury trials. We are concerned that many of these options will exclude women from participation in jury trials and undermine women’s access to justice by rendering juries less representative of the experiences of Scotland’s population.

Date of Publication: April 2020

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill

Apr 1, 2020: This is a briefing produced by Engender for MSPs debating the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill on 1st April 2020. It covers how the Bill should include a gendered response to the crisis, and includes a supplementary briefing note asking MSPs to support Amendment 54 which will ensure that decision makers must consider the impact of measures introduced under this Bill on women and other protected groups.

Date of publication: April 2020.

Joint Parliamentary Briefing: Stage 3 Proceedings: Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill

Mar 23, 2020: Ahead of the Scottish Parliament Stage 3 proceedings of the Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill on 19th March 2020, we joined with Scottish Women's Aid to publish a briefing outlining some key amendments that are well-intentioned but may potentially have unforeseen consequences that risk undermining women’s safety and dignity and the efficacy of the Bill as a whole.

Date of publication: March 2020.

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill

Mar 18, 2020: We welcome this opportunity to respond to a consultation on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, because of links that have been made between reform of the application process for a Gender Recognition Certificate and women’s equality and rights.

In this submission we will briefly outline the work that Engender has done in response to the two phases of consultation on reform; our analysis of the direct impact of reform on women’s equality and rights; and our work around some of the issues that have been associated with reform but do not form part of the Bill. In section 4 we respond directly to the questions in the consultation with information and analysis that is most relevant to our work.

Our headline finding is that the proposed reforms to the Gender Recognition Act will not negatively impact on women’s equality and rights.

Date of publication: March 2020

International Women's Day 2020 Parliamentary Briefing

Mar 3, 2020: This International Women’s Day adopts the theme Each for Equal, offering those of us committed to gender equality around the world an opportunity to reflect on our individual contributions towards securing women’s equality, including challenging bias and stereotypes. The theme also recognises that gender inequality is not just a social issue, it is an economic one. There is overwhelming evidence that women’s expertise is good for growth and that commercial entities with a gender balance outperform those dominated by men.

However, Scotland will not see these benefits without greater challenge to gender inequality and gender-blind decision-making which see collective effort to pass legislation and make policy which understands and responds to the lives of women and girls from all cultures and throughout their life-cycles. This Parliamentary Briefing explores how this can be done.

Date of publication: March 2020

Engender submission of evidence to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee inquiry on the Economics of Universal Credit

Mar 24, 2020: This document is a submission of written evidence to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee inquiry on the Economics of Universal Credit.

We welcome this opportunity to submit our views to the House of Lords Select Committee’s inquiry into the economics of universal credit (UC). Our years of work in this area and our feminist analysis of UC and its impacts leads us to conclude that UC is failing women. It is ensuring, increasing and embedding women’s poverty and contributing to pervasive sexism whereby the state punishes women for decisions around their reproductive rights, motherhood and the labour market, and is further reducing equality between women and their partners.

Date of publication: March 2020

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill

Feb 21, 2020: Engender is clear that menstrual care is a women’s health issue, and that barriers to accessing essential products have a negative impact on women and girls’ access to education, work, leisure activities and their wellbeing. The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill establishes a principle of universality, and a minimum legal duty to establish an ‘opt-in’ universal scheme for access to period products in very broad terms, which must be seen as a floor rather than a ceiling. Engender categorically supports this aspiration.

This parliamentary briefing sets our why we are calling on MSPs to support the Bill at Stage One, and agree the principle that everyone who needs access to products to manage their period has a right to access them in Scotland on a free and universal basis.

Date of publication: February 2020.

Engender submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee inquiry on Social Care

Feb 21, 2020: In Scotland, social care policy and practice is neglected from a gender equality perspective. This is in spite of the fact that women are the majority of those in need of social care, the majority of unpaid carers, and the overwhelming majority of the underpaid workforce.

Radical change to how we value care as a society, and to how this care is delivered is urgently needed in Scotland. This consultation response sets out some of the key factors which need to be considered to centralise gender equality.

Date of Publication: Feb 2020

Engender submission to the Office of the Chief Statistician on: Sex/gender: Gathering and using data to advance women’s equality and rights in Scotland

Apr 16, 2020: In order to make public policy and legislation that works for women, and that can advance equality and realise women’s rights, it is imperative that public bodies, including Scottish Government, generate and use data 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 submission we are following up on our meeting with the Chief Statistician as part of the Working Group about a Person’s Sex and Gender. In the submission we:

- Set out the connection between gender-sensitive sex-disaggregated data and women’s equality and rights;
- Give our assessment of the key issues around women’s equality and rights and data gathering and analysis in Scotland; and
- Provide our recommendations for:
-- actions to improve data gathering and analysis, and
-- principles and approaches for inclusion in the working group’s statement of principles and guidance3; and
-- Asking questions about individuals’ sex.

Date of Publication: February 2020

Engender response to the Social Security Scotland Draft Equality Outcomes Consultation

Feb 14, 2020: This document is a response to the Social Security Scotland Draft Equality Outcomes consultation. We are concerned that the draft outcomes put forward in this consultation do not take sufficient cognisance of women’s experiences and lives and are therefore insufficiently targeted to address inequalities in access to social security in Scotland.

Date of publication: February 2020.

Engender submission of evidence to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee inquiry on a Draft proposal for a Bill to amend the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Act 2002

Jan 30, 2020: This is Engender's evidence to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee inquiry on a Draft proposal for a Bill to amend the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Act 2002.

Engender works to secure women’s equality with men and a Scotland where women are free to live a good life, with equal access to their rights, power, resources and safety. The freedom to live such a life is severely diminished by systemic and culturally tolerated sexual harassment, discrimination and violence that women experience on a daily basis. Sexual harassment constrains and disrupts women’s careers, as women carry out ‘safety work’ to avoid men known to harass, lone working and travel in some contexts, and move job roles and occupations rather than report harassment to their employers.

We welcome these most recent steps as part of the Parliament’s response to the evidence-base produced through the 2018 survey. However, we see them as minimal and incremental steps towards a more robust complaints procedure. We would wish to see a holistic review of all the changes being introduced following the work of the Joint Working Group on Sexual Harassment to identify those gaps that remain.

It is vital that anybody making a complaint retains autonomy through the process, while at the same time ensuring that there are appropriate responses to anonymous complaints or circumstances in which an employee withdraws their complaint. We would therefore wish to see Parliament give serious consideration to developing a more comprehensive response to employer MSPs, which ensure that its aspirations for a zero-tolerance approach to sexist and sexual harassment is consistently applied and matched with appropriate sanctions.

However, even the most robust mechanisms for gathering, investigating, and acting on complaints will not eradicate sexual harassment alone. Scotland’s national strategy for tackling violence against women understands that sexual harassment, like all violence against women, is a cause and consequence of women’s inequality.6 Its eradication demands a concerted approach to tackling gender inequality in all areas of the Parliament itself, within political parties, and by individual staff and MSPs and others who work in its estates and participate in its democratic functions.

Date of publication: January 2020

Engender submission of evidence to the Equalities and Human Rights Committee inquiry on the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill

Jan 30, 2020: This is Engender's submission of evidence to the Equalities and Human Rights Committee inquiry on the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill

Engender welcomes the introduction of this Bill for the following reasons:
· Human rights should be an ever-advancing phenomenon; would not support rolling back the rights of same sex couples in order to ‘equalise’ treatment for mixed sex couples.
· Although marriage has evolved profoundly, for many people, particularly women, it is rooted in patriarchal and outdated ideas encumbered with traditional societal expectations of women.
· Women are likely to benefit from more alternatives to cohabitation and marriage because of their lesser access to resources, assets and income, due to systemic issues that include unpaid caring roles, the gender pay gap, violence against women and unequal representation.

Date of publication: January 2020

Joint Close the Gap and Engender Briefing on Proposed Stage 3 Amendments to the Scottish National Investment Bank Bill

Jan 21, 2020: Ahead of the Scottish Parliament Stage 3 proceedings of the Scottish National Investment Bank Bill, we have joined with Close the Gap to publish a briefing outlining some key amendments that will enable the Bank to fulfil its potential with regards to gender equality.

Date of publication: January 2020.

Engender response to the UK Government consultation on a new legal framework for abortion services in Northern Ireland

Dec 17, 2019: Engender unequivocally supports women in Northern Ireland’s autonomy over their bodies and lives, and considers abortion access fundamental to women’s rights and gender equality across the whole of the UK.

Until very recently the law discriminated against and criminalised some UK women based upon their residence in Northern Ireland alone. The United Nations CEDAW committee inquiry into restriction of abortion in NI found that the UK Government is responsible for both “grave and systematic violations” of women’s human rights under international law. We therefore welcome the opportunity to respond to this consultation on the means of correcting this denial of rights. These proposals offer scope to go beyond restrictions in place under the Abortion Act 1967, and to bring abortion law in Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the UK in certain areas.

However, this is by no means guaranteed by the options set out this consultation document. As a bare minimum, the new legal framework for NI must afford women and girls the same rights and healthcare standards as those in England, Scotland and Wales. The creation of a new system also provides an opportunity to learn from issues with delivery of existing abortion services in other parts of the UK, and to set new standards with an improved clinical framework and model of service delivery that works for women and girls in different parts of Northern Ireland.

Date of Publication: 17 December 2019

Engender 16 Days of Action Hate Crime Briefing

Nov 28, 2019: This is a briefing ahead of the Scottish Parliament debate marking the 16 days of Activism on Violence Against Women on 27th November 2019.
The briefing sets out Engender's position that misogyny should be a standalone offence in Scotland in order to tackle the epidemic of harassment and abuse facing women and girls, and reinforce existing violence against women policies.

Date of publication: November 2019.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Universal Credit

Nov 20, 2019: This is a briefing ahead of the Scottish Labour Debate in the Scottish Parliament on Universal Credit on 20th November 2019. Parliament Member's Business Debate on Charities, Scotland and Holyrood on 30th October 2019. We fully support ending and substantively reforming the elements of the UK ‘welfare’ system which are having a harmful impact upon women across Scotland. This briefing sets out the particular concerns and impacts of universal credit, the two-child limit and the benefits cap.

Date of publication: November 2019.

Joint Close the Gap and Engender Briefing on Proposed Stage 2 Amendments to the Scottish National Investment Bank Bill

Nov 19, 2019: Ahead of the Scottish Parliament Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee consideration of the Scottish National Investment Bank Bill at Stage 2, we have joined with Close the Gap to publish a briefing outlining some key amendments that will enable the Bank to fulfil its potential with regards to gender equality.

Date of publication: November 2019.

Engender submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament Local Government and Communities Committee Call for Evidence on the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill

Nov 12, 2019: This document is a submission of written evidence to the Scottish Parliament Local Government and Communities Committee Call for Evidence on the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill. Menstruation is painful, inconvenient and expensive, with over 20% of all women experiencing such severe menstrual cramps that it interferes with their daily activities. The cost of period products remains significant and undermines women’s already poorer economic position. In 2017, Engender convened a roundtable discussion to gain a better understanding of period poverty in Scotland. This session was attended by organisations working around education, homelessness, poverty, and women’s equality and rights. This response draws on some of this discussion as well as additional materials and analysis.

Date of publication: November 2019.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Charities, Scotland and Holyrood

Oct 30, 2019: This is a briefing ahead of the Scottish Parliament Member's Business Debate on Charities, Scotland and Holyrood on 30th October 2019. Scotland has a thriving and politically engaged women’s sector, comprising organisations that work both independently and collectively to call for substantive changes in policy and practice to advance women’s rights and equality. This briefing highlights just some of the major successes of our campaigning and advocacy work since the Scottish Parliament’s establishment.

Date of publication: October 2019.

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on Scotland’s National Transport Strategy

Oct 29, 2019: This document is Engender's response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on its National Transport Strategy. The use of Scotland’s transport systems is highly gendered. Women are the majority of public transport users, and the minority of drivers and cyclists. Women also tend to make more complex and frequent journeys due to caring responsibilities and working patterns. Scotland’s current transport systems, however, do not reflect the different needs of women.

Date of publication: October 2019.

Engender submission to the Scottish Parliament Social Security Committee inquiry on benefit take-up

Oct 25, 2019: This document is a submission of written evidence to the Scottish Parliament Social Security Committee inquiry on benefit take-up. We welcome the Committee’s inquiry into benefit take-up and the opportunity to outline our concerns as well as the constructive, yet ongoing, discussions with the Scottish Government to ensure equalities considerations are addressed.

Date of publication: October 2019.

Engender submission of evidence to the UK Government Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry on welfare policy in Scotland

Oct 23, 2019: This document is a submission of written evidence to the UK Government Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry on welfare policy in Scotland. This submission was originally made in September 2019, but was not published until mid-October owing to the possibility of prorogation of the UK Parliament.

The design of social security and ‘welfare reform’ has a disproportionate impact on women. Around 20% of women’s total income comes from the benefits and tax credit system, compared with 10% of men’s. Women also rely more on public services, and as a result, up to 86% of net ‘savings’ between 2010 and 2020 will come from women’s incomes, not accounting for additional cost savings sought as a result of upcoming economic changes. Disabled, BME and refugee women, lone parents, unpaid carers and other marginalised groups are at even greater risk of poverty and destitution. We therefore welcome this opportunity to highlight issues relating to ‘welfare’ and social security in Scotland which we hope will help inform the committee’s work.

Date of publication: September 2019.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Scottish National Investment Bank Bill Stage 1 Debate

Sep 25, 2019: This is a briefing ahead of the Scottish Parliament Stage 1 Debate on the Scottish National Investment Bank Bill. Engender welcomes this Stage 1 debate on the Scottish National Investment Bank Bill and this opportunity to highlight the potential for the Investment Bank (the Bank) to make a substantial impact on women’s equality. We emphasise the wealth of international evidence that gender equality is a necessary precursor to economic growth in our support for the creation of the Bank. However, for the Bank to deliver meaningful outcomes for women the Bill must enable it to translate Scotland’s ambitions for inclusive growth into gender-competent strategy and execution through firm requirements on its face.

Date of publication: September 2019.

Engender response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on incorporation of the UN Charter of Children’s Rights

Aug 29, 2019: Engender welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Scottish Government’s proposals relating to incorporation of the UN Charter of Children’s Rights (UNCRC).

We are fully supportive of intentions to incorporate the treaty into Scots Law and view the UNCRC as the first step in a human rights legal framework for Scotland, one which will include women’s rights both overtly and holistically. We are however concerned that some of the Scottish Government’s proposals would not lead to a comprehensive and rigorous system for the protection of children’s rights. While we recognise that children’s rights and women’s rights are frequently closely connected, we do not consider Engender to have any particular expertise in the UNCRC. We have therefore approached this consultation in its broad themes in order to highlight some key areas of support and concern.

Date of publication: August 2019.

Engender submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament Equalities and Human Rights Committee call for evidence on delivery of national equalities and human rights priorities as part of its scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2020-21

Sep 26, 2019: This document is a response to the Scottish Parliament Equalities and Human Rights Committee call for evidence on delivery of national equalities and human rights priorities as part of its scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2020-21.

Engender welcomes the focus of the Equality and Human Rights Committee this year on ensuring that there is both adequate resource to deliver equality and human rights outcomes in Scotland and sufficient scrutiny of how revenue raising and spending relates to these outcomes within and outwith the Budget process.

Date of publication: August 2019.

Engender response to the Scottish Government’s Consultation on Implementation of the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018

Aug 6, 2019: This document is a response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on implementing the Gender Representation on Public Boards Act 2018. Engender has actively engaged with the Gender Representation on Public Boards Act (the Act) initially recommending as part of our Smith Commission engagement that powers be devolved to enable temporary special measures in Scotland to increase women’s representation. We continued to engage throughout the Bill process and remain strongly committed to the Act’s aspirations.

Date of publication: August 2019.

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on a new National Public Health body: 'Public Health Scotland'

Jul 12, 2019: Engender welcomes this Scottish Government consultation on proposals for Scotland’s new national public health body, Public Health Scotland.

Women and men have different experiences and needs when it comes to their health because of the interactions between biological differences, relative access to resources, power, and safety, and cultural norms and expectations. The ability to influence their lives, behaviours and experiences in order to maximise their physical and mental health outcomes is highly contingent on whether an understanding of these gender differences is well integrated into the work of the proposed body and those working in public health.

Date of publication: July 2019.

Engender response to the Scottish Human Rights Commission consultation on Informing the work of your National Human Rights Institution

Jul 3, 2019: The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is consulting on its draft Strategic Priorities for 2020 – 2024. The SHRC is an independent public body with specific duties and powers set out in the Scottish Commission for Human Rights Act 2006. These include a general duty to promote awareness, understanding and respect for all human rights - economic, social, cultural, civil and political - to everyone, everywhere in Scotland, and to encourage best practice in relation to human rights.

Engender has submitted the following response based on our experience of working with the SHRC on women’s rights in international and Scottish human rights forums.

Date of publication: July 2019.

Engender Response to the European Commission: Public consultation on Gender equality in the EU – current situation and priorities for future

Jun 4, 2019: This is an Engender response to the European Commission's public consultation to gather opinions of different actors of the current situation of gender equality in the EU and priorities for the next five years.

Date of publication: June 2019.

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on disability assistance in Scotland

Jun 3, 2019: Engender has been engaged on work around gender and social security since the 2010 programme of Welfare reform and over that period we have sought to highlight the ways in women, who are twice as likely to rely on social security for their income, have been systemically and grotesquely disadvantaged by reforms.

We therefore welcome this opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the future of devolved disability assistance within Social Security Scotland. In the UK, women are a small majority of disabled people and, as a group, disabled women are amongst the very hardest hit by welfare reform.

Date of publication: June 2019.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: It’s Time to End the Stigma of the Menopause

May 20, 2019: This briefing was written for a debate in the Scottish Parliament (S5M-17347: It’s Time to End the Stigma of the Menopause), exploring women's experiences of the menopause in Scotland.

In 2018 there were 1,146,757 women over 50 years living in Scotland, 35% of whom were aged 50-59. This suggests that a significant proportion of today´s population is going through the menopause transition at any one time, yet, there is a distinct lack of awareness of women’s experiences and needs in current policy frameworks. Social stigma and sexism have resulted in the menopause being undiscussed, despite the fact that it affects almost all women at some part of their lives and impacts their health, economic and social inequality.

This briefing covers menopause and health, and menopause in the workplace, as well as outlining Engender's work on the Menopause Matters project.

Engender note on Equally Safe: A consultation on legislation to improve forensic medical services for victims of rape and sexual assault

May 8, 2019: This is a note contributing to the Scottish Government’s Consultation on legislation to improve forensic medical services for victims of rape and sexual assault. As a policy and advocacy organisation, Engender works to secure women’s rights and we are ambitious in our aspiration to see a gender-equal Scotland for all women and girls.

Engender works closely with our colleagues across the women’s sector including Scotland’s violence against women organisations. We face a shared task given that violence against women is a cause and consequence of women’s inequality, but we have specific areas of expertise and focus. We are therefore responding to this consultation only where we have additional evidence to share about the experience of disabled and learning disabled women. On the wider issue we are pleased to endorse the evidence and analysis of Rape Crisis Scotland.

Date of publication: May 2019.

Engender submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament Economy, Energy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee Call for Evidence on the Scottish National Investment Bank Bill

May 6, 2019: Engender welcomes this opportunity to provide evidence to the Committee in relation to the Scottish National Investment Bank Draft Bill. We believe that the National Investment Bank (the Bank) can make a substantive impact on women’s equality, provided that it can translate Scotland’s ambitions for inclusive growth into gender-competent strategy and execution. There is now a wealth of international evidence that gender equality is a necessary precursor to economic growth, and Scotland’s economic strategy restates this. However, if the Bank is to address the structural issues underlying women’s economic inequality it must integrate gender equality into every element of its organisation and work.

Date of publication: May 2019.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Social Security Committee Debate on In-Work Poverty

Apr 22, 2019: This is a briefing ahead of the Scottish Parliament Social Security Committee debate on in-work poverty. The design of social security has profound implications for women’s capacity to be in paid work, and in their experience of poverty once they are employed. This is because women are twice as likely to be reliant on social security as men, and have very different experiences of both poverty and the labour market. In their evidence to the committee’s inquiry, Close the Gap highlighted in-depth the multitude of factors which ensure that paid work is not a route out of poverty for women in Scotland. Despite the policy intention behind Universal Credit (UC), its design contributes to trapping women in poverty and exacerbates inequality between women and men.

Date of publication: April 2019.

Engender Briefing: Pension Credit Entitlement Changes

Apr 2, 2019: 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 is concerned that the rule changes have attracted little attention and no gender analysis.

Date of publication: April 2019.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Condemnation of Misogyny, Racism, Harassment and Sexism

Mar 28, 2019: 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.

Harassment and other forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) are both a cause and a consequence of women’s inequality. Through our policy and advocacy work we have drawn attention to the multitude of ways in which women’s inequality persists in Scotland and without concerted action to address these, attitudes and actions which replicate sexism and create the conducive context for men’s violence will continue.

Date of publication: March 2019.

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on Prisoner Voting

Mar 12, 2019: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s Consultation on Prisoner Voting. Equal representation and participation in politics and public life is a key issue within feminist agendas. Given that women are far more likely to receive a short term sentence following a non-violent offence, the current law acts as an unnecessary barrier to women’s participation in public life. It is vital that the nature and gravity of women’s pattern of offending is taken into account in proposed reforms of Scottish election law.

Date of publication: March 2019.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: International Women’s Day 2019

Mar 6, 2019: This year’s International Women’s Day adopts the theme of #BalanceForBetter and provides an opportunity to reflect on both the ways in which structural gender inequality continues to constrain women’s lives in Scotland, and the political will and action needed to tackle it. Women still carry out the majority of unpaid care and household labour as a result of traditional gender roles. This is one of the factors underpinning the fact that women are still chronically under-represented in elected office and public life, including leadership of private companies, public bodies, and in academia.

Date of publication: March 2019.

Engender response to the Scottish Government consultation on Scottish Hate Crime legislation

Mar 6, 2019: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on how it might respond to Lord Bracadale’s recommendations following his Independent Review of Hate Crime Legislation in Scotland. We engaged substantively with the Independent Review, and took the opportunity it presented to consider the ways in which Scotland might respond to the gendered social phenomenon of misogynistic harassment and what might be characterised as ‘hate speech’.

Date of publication: March 2019.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill Stage 1 Debate February 2019

Feb 28, 2019: Engender briefing ahead of the debate on the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. The following briefing highlights our support for the general principles of the Bill at Stage One as well as the emerging consensus around amending the language of ‘gender identity’.

Date of publication: February 2019

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee Call for Evidence on the South of Scotland Enterprise Bill

Jan 7, 2019: Engender is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee’s Call for Evidence as part of its Stage 1 consideration of the South of Scotland Enterprise Bill. We believe the creation of a South of Scotland Enterprise Agency (SoSE) brings with it opportunities to change the way that economic development is led in the region and shape an economy that works for both women and men, and that advances women’s equality.

Date of publication: January 2019.

Scottish Women's Sector Submission to the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee on the Census (Amendment) (SCOTLAND) Bill

Jan 8, 2019: As a coalition of national women’s equality and violence against women organisations, we welcome the opportunity to submit information to the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee in respect of the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill.

Date of publication: December 2018.

Engender submission of evidence to the UK Government Women and Equalities Committee inquiry into abortion law in Northern Ireland

Dec 13, 2018: As Scotland’s representative member on the UK Joint Committee on Women, Engender unequivocally supports women in Northern Ireland’s autonomy over their bodies and lives, and considers abortion access fundamental to women’s rights and gender equality across the whole of the UK. The current law discriminates against and criminalises some UK women based upon their residence in Northern Ireland alone and places the UK Government in breach of its international obligations.

Date of publication: December 2018.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation Protecting Children: Review of section 12 of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 and section 42 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009

Nov 14, 2018: Engender welcomes this opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on proposed changes to section 12 of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 and to outline some of our current research relevant to the potential impacts.

The question of a correct approach to a legislative response to emotional neglect is outwith the scope of our expertise. We are generally supportive of updating the current offence in section 12 in order to better reflect more modern understandings of emotional harm in line with the views of Scottish Women’s Aid. However, we believe that without careful scrutiny and drafting there may be unintended consequences for vulnerable parents.

Date of publication: November 2018.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government consultation on a Scottish National Investment Bank Bill

Oct 31, 2018: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation on the Scottish National Investment Bank, which focuses on the proposed objectives, purpose and governance in the anticipated Bill. Scotland’s National Investment Bank should be instrumental in shaping an economy that works for women and men, and that advances women’s equality instead of entrenching gender inequality.

Date of publication: October 2018.

Joint Engender and SWA Parliamentary Briefing ahead of the Scottish Government Building a Social Security System Together Debate

Oct 2, 2018: Engender and Scottish Women’s Aid welcome this opportunity to discuss the creation of the Social Security Charter and the importance of ensuring women’s voices are heard in the process. Since 2013 our organisations have worked together to highlight the gender-impact that women accessing social security face.

Date of publication: September 2018.

Parliamentary Briefing: Sexual Harassment and Inappropriate Conduct in the Scottish Parliament

Jun 13, 2018: Engender has drafted a briefing for tomorrow’s parliamentary debate on the report by Standard, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee into sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct. In our briefing, we outline our support for certain measures recommended by the Committee, as well as share further action which could be taken to prevent, appropriately investigate, and sanction sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct.

Analysis of the Final Report by the Independent Review of Hate Crime Legislation in Scotland

Jun 1, 2018: Engender was disappointed by the recommendations in the inquiry’s report. The question of how to tackle misogynistic online abuse, sexual harassment in public spaces, and incitement to misogyny is one being raised worldwide. Women and girls face epidemic levels of misogynistic hate in schools, in the workplace, on city streets, and online. In response to the recommendations in the final report by Lord Bracadale’s Independent Review, we
continue to call for a standalone misogynistic hate crime in Scotland as a way of disrupting this epidemic.

Date of Publication: June 2018

Parliamentary briefing on abortion reform in Northern Ireland: Westminster must defend women's rights

May 31, 2018: Engender is calling on Scottish MPs to support the fulfilment of women’s rights in Northern Ireland by calling for the repeal of the current abortion law. The UK Government has the power to legislate so that women in Northern Ireland can access a safe and legal abortion. For too long, Northern Irish women have been denied the same levels of care, dignity and respect as those in the rest of the UK. In the past, Scotland has shown it trusts women. The question now is whether Northern Irish women can trust Scotland to act to prevent continued human rights violations.

Date of Publication: May 2018

Engender Submission of Evidence to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee on the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Bill Relating to Electronic Monitoring (EM) and its Impact on Women

May 21, 2018: The imprisonment rate for women in Scotland remains one of the highest in Northern Europe. Although it has decreased, approximately 3,000 women are imprisoned each year in Scotland, almost two thirds of whom are detained while presumptively innocent. Though the number of women in prison is decreasing, there continue to be concerns over the criminal justice system’s response to women who offend due to diminished use of alternatives to custody, lack of trauma-informed services, and insufficient funding for community services.

Date of publication: May 2018.

Joint Response to the UK Government Work and Pensions Committee Short Inquiry into the Impact of the Universal Credit Household Payment

May 10, 2018: Since 2010, the UK Government has pursued an austerity agenda and programme of ‘welfare reform’ which will result in a total of £82 billion of cuts to the social security budget by 2020. This is having an egregious impact on women’s access to resources, security and safety, and therefore on gender equality and women’s human rights. Over the decade of austerity, from 2010 to 2020, 86 percent of net ‘savings’ raised through cuts to social security and tax credits will come from women’s incomes.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Electoral Reform

Mar 29, 2018: In December 2017, the Scottish Government launched its consultation on electoral reform. Among its many questions on the future of elections in Scotland, the Scottish Government has focused on possible reforms to anonymous voter registration as well as to improving gender balance in elected office.

Equal representation across politics and public life is a key issue within feminist agendas, and Engender has long advocated for women’s increased representation in both political and public life.

Date of publication: March 2018.

Joint Briefing ahead of the Scottish Parliament Social Security (Scotland) Bill Stage 3 Debate on Universal Credit

Apr 24, 2018: Ahead of the Stage 3 Debate in Parliament, Engender, along with The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, One Parent Families Scotland, Advocard, The Health and Social Care Alliance, Poverty Alliance, Scottish Women’s Aid, and the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers have produced a briefing in support of Amendment 144 Universal Payment: Payment to Joint Claimants to the Social Security (Scotland) Bill.

Date of publication: April 2018.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Local Government and Communities Committee Debate on the Planning Scotland Bill March 2018

Mar 22, 2018: Engender briefing on the Planning (Scotland) Bill. This briefing indicates our support for calls to strengthen provisions of the Bill related to parliamentary scrutiny, clarity of purpose, community empowerment and policy coherence. We recommend integrating gender equality throughout these, as an objective that will contribute to the Bill’s stated aim to empower people and communities to get more involved and to have influence over development.

Date of publication: March 2018.

Engender Submission to the UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights Call for Evidence on the Impact of Economic Reforms and Austerity Measures on Woman’s Human Rights

Mar 7, 2018: This is Engender's response to the UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights call for evidence on the impact of economic reforms and austerity measures on woman’s human rights.

For years, Engender has worked with women and women’s organisations in Scotland to provide evidence on how the UK Government’s economic reform policies are breaching women’s human rights, and to lobby for policy change.
We are very pleased to present some of this evidence here. Our response mainly focused on social security policy, as well as provision of social care, violence against women and legal aid services in the UK.

Date of publication: March 2018.

Scottish Women's Sector Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Proposed Changes to the Gender Recognition Act

Mar 7, 2018: This is a joint response from national women's equality organisations Close the Gap, Engender, Equate Scotland, Rape Crisis Scotland, Scottish Women's Aid and Zero Tolerance to the Scottish Government's consultation on proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act (2004).

In it, we express broad support for the Scottish Government proposals, confirm our view that the proposals won't undermine the safety and dignity of women accessing women-only services, and make some detailed recommendations around next steps

There will be an event on May 22nd at which all are welcome to come and discuss this consultation response. You can find out more information and book on our events page.

Date of publication: March 2018.

Engender Response to the Scottish Parliament Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee Inquiry into Sexual Harassment and Inappropriate Conduct

Jan 31, 2018: This is Engender's response to the call for evidence to the sexual harassment inquiry by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee of the Scottish Parliament.

Engender's Parliamentary and Policy Manager, Emma Trottier, appeared before the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee to speak on this topic on February 1st 2018.

Date of publication: January 2018.

Engender Response to the Public Consultation on the Proposed Sanitary Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill

Dec 7, 2017: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to Monica Lennon MSP consultation titled ‘Ending Period Poverty’, which proposes to introduce a Bill in the Scottish Parliament which would provide women and girls with access to free menstrual products.

Date of publication: December 2017.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Gender Balanced Boards Stage 1 Debate November 2017

Dec 6, 2017: Engender briefing on the debate on the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill. The following briefing highlights why the Bill, and further amendments, are needed to strengthen women's representation on public boards in Scotland.

Date of publication: November 2017.

Engender Submission to the Independent Review of Hate Crime Legislation in Scotland

Nov 29, 2017: Engender welcomes the opportunity presented by this independent review to consider the ways in which Scotland might respond to the gendered social phenomenon of misogynistic harassment and hate speech.

The aim of Lord Bracadale’s review is to consider “whether the law should be clarified and harmonised, and whether additional protected groups should be included” . Our submission attempts to reflect on the shape and impact of misogynistic harassment of women in Scotland, and to generate ideas about how this might be disrupted.

Date of publication: November 2017.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: 16 Days of Activism Debate November 2017

Nov 28, 2017: Engender briefing on the debate to mark the 16 Days of Activism for the elimination of violence against women and girls. The briefing sets out the epidemic levels of violence that persist in Scotland, the ways in which women's inequality is cause and consequence of violence against women, and our calls for making change happen in communities in Scotland.

Date of publication: November 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Equality and Human Rights Committee Scrutiny of Draft Budget and Spending Plans 2017-18

Oct 24, 2017: Engender works in Scotland to advance women’s economic, social and cultural, and political equality with men. We make visible the ways in which women’s inequality impacts Scotland, and bring women together to make change happen.

We welcome the focus of the Equality and Human Rights Committee this year, as it anticipates the Draft Budget in its call for evidence. In response to the Committee’s questions on priorities and gender gaps within Budget 2016-17 and the budget process itself, we make two key points.

Firstly, we describe the way in which Scottish Government topline policy priorities around gender equality are not adequately reflected in the budget, and the consequential impact this has downstream on policy outcomes. Secondly, we describe a solution that could integrate policy priorities with the budget process, and ensure that public expenditure in Scotland was allocated in a way that reflected the needs of women and men in Scotland: adding gender budget analysis to the budget process.

Date of publication: October 2017.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Economy Jobs and Fair Work Committee Debate on the Gender Pay Gap October 2017

Oct 3, 2017: Engender commends the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee on No Small Change: The economic potential of closing the pay gap. This is a bold, ambitious, and strategic response to the persistent inequalities that exist in education, training, care, and employment and are indicated by the gender pay gap.

Date of publication: October 2017.

Women's and Equalities Sector Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Socioeconomic Duty

Sep 19, 2017: As a coalition of national equalities organisations, we welcome the opportunity to comment on the Scottish Government’s proposals for the socio-economic duty and the principle of the socio-economic duty itself. We commend Scottish Government for giving serious consideration to addressing socio-economic disadvantage through its ambitions for the socio-economic duty.

Date of publication: September 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Equality and Human Rights Committee Call for Evidence on the Draft Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill

Sep 6, 2017: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to the call for evidence on the draft Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill.

As highlighted by Engender in its response to the call for written evidence on gender balancing measures on public boards in Scotland in 2014, policy changes are needed to tackle gender inequality across the public sector; to break down the barriers to women’s equal participation in public life; and to eliminate gender imbalance in leadership, authority and decision-making across public, political, social and cultural institutions.

Date of publication: September 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Social Security Committee on the Social Security (Scotland) Bill

Aug 23, 2017: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Committee’s call for views. Over the last two years, we have worked with our partners at Scottish Women’s Aid, Close the Gap, the Scottish Refugee Council and Carers Scotland to highlight the link between women’s inequality and the existing UK social security system.

Date of publication: August 2017.

Engender Response to the Police Scotland Consultation on the ‘Policing 2026 Strategy’

Aug 16, 2017: Engender welcomes this opportunity to submit our views to Police Scotland on the Policing 2026 Strategy. The structure, roles and strategy of Scotland’s police force is of vital importance in both preventing and addressing violence against women and girls, and progressing gender equality in Scotland. In order to deliver actions and services that meet the needs of both men, women, boys and girls, it is vital that any policing strategy takes a gendered approach to how it thinks about the main risks, challenges, opportunities and demands in the Scottish context. We would like to see a police force that puts equality at the heart of its strategy.

Date of publication: August 2017.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Equally Safe Delivery Plan

Jul 3, 2017: Engender welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Equally Safe draft delivery plan.

As a women’s equality policy and advocacy organization, we have joined sister organisations in the violence against women sector in warmly welcoming the broad approach of Equally Safe. This bold document of ambition firmly locates the causal story for men’s violence against women in women’s inequality.

Date of publication: June 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Local Government and Communities Committee Call for Evidence on Homelessness

Jun 19, 2017: Engender welcomes the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee study on homelessness in Scotland, and its aim to ‘explore the underlying reasons which can lead to a person seeking homelessness services, and whether homelessness prevention services are effectively tackling those underlying reasons for homelessness’.

A review of policy and practice quickly reveals that approaches to tackle homelessness remain ungendered. Women’s experience of homelessness, including their pathways into and out of homelessness, are different from men’s, but poorly studied and understood. As explained by researchers in the UK, while ‘literature has increasingly acknowledged the presence of women amongst the visibly homeless population, it has rarely explored their experiences in any detail or sought to unpack the experiences of visible homelessness through an explicitly gendered perspective’ .

Date of publication: June 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Social Security Committee Call for Evidence on the Two-child Limit for Tax Credits and Universal Credit

May 18, 2017: Engender welcomes the opportunity to present evidence to the Social Security Committee on the two-child limit. We have been working with other women’s organisations in Scotland over the last few years to chart the impact of ‘welfare reform’, and the ways in which it is widening inequality between women and men.

Analysis of the two-child limit by Child Poverty Action Group calculates its impact as a loss of up to £2,800 every year per child. In addition, it is projected that these deep cuts to social security for families with more than two children will push up to 200,000 more children into poverty, and will impact approximately 510,000 families in 2019-20.

Date of publication: May 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Social Security Committee Call for Evidence on the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill

May 9, 2017: Engender welcomes the introduction of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill, which ambitiously sets targets to eradicate child poverty by 2030. The introduction of the proposed legislation signals a commitment by the Scottish Government to continue to implement measures to build a fairer Scotland. Though we welcome the Bill, we wish to highlight the importance of understanding the gendered dimension of poverty, as it is our firm belief that understanding and tackling women’s poverty in Scotland will be central to the success of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill.

Date of publication: May 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee Call for Evidence on the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill

May 4, 2017: Engender welcomes the proposed legislation as an opportunity to advance Scotland’s compliance with domestic and international obligations respecting women’s rights and women’s equality. In Scotland last year, 59,882 incidents of domestic abuse were recorded by police in Scotland, an increase of 2.5 percent from 2013-14. Of the recorded incidents, 79% had a female victim and male perpetrator.

Date of publication: May 2017.

Engender Response to the Budget Process Review Group Consultation

May 3, 2017: Engender welcomes this opportunity to submit our views to the Budget Process Review Group. Scotland’s budget is a statement of our nation’s macroeconomic policy intentions, and of our spending priorities. As our understanding of the economy and the choices we make about spending both have profound impacts on women’s lives, it is vital that the budget is well gendered.

As such, Engender wishes to see gender equality analysis embedded (‘mainstreamed’) across all aspects of the Scottish budget process: in the Scottish Government’s objective setting and budget development; in parliament’s scrutiny of the budget; in civil society’s engagement with the budget and in the principles that underpin the Budget Process Review Group (BPRG) itself. We would like to see Gender Budget Analysis (GBA) undertaken by the Scottish Government at all stages of the budgeting process, and for parliament to ensure that this is taking place.

Date of publication: April 2017.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Child Tax Credit and Child Element of Universal Credit ('Family Cap') Debate

Apr 24, 2017: Engender's briefing in advance of the Scottish Parliament debate on Child Tax Credit and Child Element of Universal Credit (known as the 'family cap', and including the so-called 'rape clause').

Date of publication: April 2017.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy

Mar 22, 2017: Engender welcomes this opportunity to submit our views to Scottish Government on its Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy. We observed in our submission on the Human Trafficking Bill that around 75% of people trafficked into Scotland are women, the vast majority of traffickers are men, and ‘sex trafficking’ is the most prevalent form of abuse . Cross-border movement of people is heavily associated with commercial sexual exploitation. Globally, 98% of those trafficked for that purpose are female, with 21% children and 79% adult women . The contexts into which the draft strategy describes individuals as being trafficked into in Scotland, including commercial sexual exploitation, labour exploitation and criminal exploitation, domestic servitude, and sham marriages , are all highly gendered. It is our position that gendered interventions will necessarily be required to meet the strategy’s ambitions to “eliminate human trafficking and exploitation” and “investigate the crimes and disrupt the activities of the perpetrators”.

Date of publication: March 2017.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on the Draft Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill

Mar 16, 2017: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to the consultation on the draft Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill.

As highlighted by Engender in its response to the call for written evidence on gender balancing measures on public boards in Scotland in 2014, policy changes are needed to tackle gender inequality across the public sector; to break down the barriers to women’s equal participation in public life; and to eliminate gender imbalance in leadership, authority and decision-making across public, political, social and cultural institutions.

Date of publication: March 2017.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Universal Credit (Claims and Payments) (Scotland) 2017

Mar 15, 2017: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to the consultation on the proposed regulations respecting two of the devolved flexibilities related to Universal Credit.

Date of publication: March 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee Inquiry into the Gender Pay Gap

Mar 10, 2017: Engender welcomes this inquiry, and particularly that this work is being undertaken by the Economy, Jobs, and Fair Work Committee. The Equal Opportunities Committee, now the Equality and Human Rights Committee, has explored the question of gendered inequalities in the labour market in many different spaces, including during its scrutiny of the Budget, but the pay gap must properly be understood as an economic issue as well as an issue of equality.

Date of publication: March 2017.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: International Women's Day 2017

Mar 7, 2017: This International Women’s Day Engender is drawing attention to two overlapping areas of women’s inequality: the persistent glass ceiling that has resulted in women filling only 27% of Scotland’s 3029 positions of power across political institutions, public sector, media and cultural bodies, and corporate world; and women’s persistently high share of unpaid domestic and reproductive labour.

Date of publication: March 2017.

Engender Response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission Consultation on its Measurement Framework

Feb 17, 2017: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) consultation on proposed amendments to its measurement framework. Beginning with an overview of the functions of the EHRC, this response proceeds with an overview of the EHRC’s previous framework and the rationale for developing the model under consultation. The response then provides an analysis of the proposed measurement framework and a set of recommendations to the EHRC.

Date of publication: February 2017.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Equalities and Human Rights Committee on Bullying and Harassment of Young People

Feb 15, 2017: Engender welcomes this opportunity to submit our views to the Equalities and Human Rights Committee on bullying and harassment of children and young people, with a particular focus on sexism, sexual harassment and gender inequalities in the school system.

Sexist bullying and sexual harassment undermine the dignity and safety of girls and young women, negatively impacting on their views of themselves and their experience of and attainment in education. Sexist bullying and misogynistic behaviours and attitudes within schools also contribute to a culture that sustains and amplifies gender segregation and gender stereotyping, limiting equal opportunities and creating a conducive context for violence against women and girls in society as a whole.

Date of publication: October 2016.

Engender Response to UK Government Consultation on Exceptions to the Reforms Which Limit the Child Elements in Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit to a Maximum of Two Children

Nov 28, 2016: Engender fundamentally rejects the principles behind both reducing vital social security for mothers of more than two children, and making an exception where a child is conceived as a result of rape.

Date of Publication: November 2016.

Engender Submission to the UK Government Women and Equalities Committee Inquiry on Women in the House of Commons After the 2020 Election

Nov 16, 2016: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to this inquiry on women’s representation in the House of Commons. Women have unequal access to power, decision-making and participation across all areas of public life in the UK. This is the case in the House of Commons, where men’s over-representation still stands at 70%, and throughout the political pipelines that lead to elected office nationally. This means that women are not able to participate fully in society and to exercise equal citizenship in the UK.

Date of publication: November 2016.

Engender Submission to the UK Government Women and Equalities Committee Inquiry on Women in the House of Commons after the 2020 Election

Nov 16, 2016: Engender welcomes the opportunity to respond to this inquiry on women’s representation in the House of Commons. Women have unequal access to power, decision-making and participation across all areas of public life in the UK. This is the case in the House of Commons, where men’s over-representation still stands at 70%, and throughout the political pipelines that lead to elected office nationally. This means that women are not able to participate fully in society and to exercise equal citizenship in the UK.

...

Whilst measures to erode the structural barriers that prevent women from entering into public office and to support women as candidates are also vital, these are simply not enough. If gender parity in our democratic institutions and gender equality more broadly are genuine political goals in the UK, then we must start moving towards a system of legal quotas to reduce men’s over-representation across public life.

Date of publication: November 2016.

Engender Response to Scottish Government Consultation on Social Security in Scotland

Oct 28, 2016: Engender welcomes this opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on social security in Scotland. Together with partners at Scottish Women’s Aid, Close the Gap, the Scottish Refugee Council and Carers Scotland, we have consistently worked to highlight the links between women’s inequality and the current UK social security system. Earlier this year we released a policy report on Scotland’s new powers over social security, recommending a suite of ways in which new powers can be engaged to increase women’s equality in Scotland.

Date of publication: October 2016.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on a Child Poverty Bill

Sep 30, 2016: Engender welcomes this opportunity to comment on the Scottish Government’s plans for a Child Poverty Bill for Scotland. We have consistently worked to highlight the inextricable links between women’s economic inequality and child poverty, and this consultation response is based on the need to mainstream gender throughout the development of any new legislation. Women are twice as dependent on social security as men, the gender pay gap persists at 14.8% in Scotland, 62% of workers that earn below the living wage are women, and pervasive violence against women undermines women’s access to resources and financial autonomy. Disabled women, black and minority ethnic (BME) women, lone mothers, unpaid carers, and refugee and asylum seeking women, amongst other groups are particularly at risk of poverty due to their gender and other forms of inequality and discrimination. Statistics show that a small majority of women in Scotland live in poverty, but these only take stock of figures for single-headed households and mask the extent of women’s poverty due to income inequality within many couple households.

Date of publication: September 2016.

Engender Submission to the European and External Affairs Committee Call for Evidence on the Implications of the EU Referendum Result

Sep 1, 2016: This paper sets out the need for effective gender mainstreaming and the inclusion of women’s voices as the Brexit process moves forward, briefly describes current gender equality law to which EU member states are bound under the terms of their membership and Scotland is therefore set to lose, and sets out the impact that this legislation has had on UK policy, and current EU programmes, policies and funding priorities that promote gender equality. In demonstrating what the EU has done and is doing for women, we highlight areas of concern and the need for action to protect women’s rights as the UK negotiates its exit.

Date of publication: August 2016.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Scottish Government Gender and the Workplace Debate

Jun 29, 2016: A parliamentary briefing ahead of the debate on Women and the workplace in the Scottish Parliament on June 29th.

Date of publication: June 2016.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee Scrutiny of the Draft Budget and Spending Plans

Jan 25, 2016: Engender works in Scotland to advance women’s economic, social and cultural, and political equality with men. We make visible the ways in which women’s inequality impacts Scotland, and bring women together to make change happen.

We welcome the focus of the Equal Opportunities Committee on the budget process, and particularly on the way in which the equality budget process aims to realise women’s equality and equality of other protected groups.

Date of publication: January 2016.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Welfare Reform Committee Scutiny of the Scottish Government Draft Budget 2016-17

Jan 19, 2016: Engender welcomes the focus of the Welfare Reform Committee on women’s equality as it scrutinises the Draft Budget 2016-17, and this opportunity to submit evidence.

Date of publication: January 2016.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Civil Partnerships

Dec 18, 2015: Engender supports the retention and extension of civil partnerships in Scotland. Fundamentally this is an equality issue, for which there is clear demand from non-LGBTI and LGBTI people alike. Equality before the law, irrespective of sex, gender or sexual orientation is a vital baseline against which further progress towards LGBTI and gender equality can be made. As such, equal civil partnership is a matter of concern for Engender and our membership. We work towards equality for all women and men in Scotland and we take an intersectional approach to our advocacy for gender equality.

Date of publication: December 2015.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on the Prostitution Law Reform (Scotland) Bill

Dec 7, 2015: Engender welcomes the opportunity presented by this consultation to consider the ways in which Scotland might respond to the gendered social phenomenon of prostitution. The aim of the draft proposal is to “begin a debate on how to reform the law”, in the knowledge that a Bill cannot be introduced in this session of the Parliament. We have therefore chosen to offer some reflections on the criminal justice responses to the sale of sexual services, as set out in the consultation document, but also to attempt to think more widely around the issues it presents around women’s rights and gender relations.

Date of publication: December 2015.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on the Introduction of Diversity Succession Planning for Board Appointments and the Lowering of the Threshold for Publishing Gender Pay Gap and Equal Pay Statements

Nov 30, 2015: Engender's response to the Scottish Government consultation on the introduction of diversity succession planning for board appointments and the lowering of the threshold for publishing gender pay gap and equal pay statements.

Date of publication: November 2015.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Welfare Reform Committee Debate on Women and Social Security

Nov 27, 2015: In respective budgets since 2010, between 70% and 85% of cuts to public spending on benefits, taxation, pay and pensions have come from women’s incomes.

Engender welcomes this parliamentary debate and the Welfare Reform Committee’s report on women’s social security. In partnership with other women’s organisations, we have worked to highlight discrimination against women within the austerity agenda. ‘Welfare reforms’ and wider austerity measures are undermining progress towards gender equality, and have a major impact on women’s lives.

Since the Welfare Reform Committee held its inquiry into women and welfare, the context for women has worsened. The House of Commons Library estimate that 70% of the £34 billion worth of cuts announced in the UK Government’s ‘summer budget’ will fall on women. Further extensive cuts will have been announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement by the time this debate takes place. As a result of structural gender inequality, a similar gender profile can be expected. Certain groups of women, including lone mothers, refugees, disabled women, unpaid carers and women experiencing domestic abuse face multiple and particularly extreme impacts as a result.

The role of the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament to protect social security for women is therefore more vital than ever. Strategic action is manifestly needed, or else existing commitments and political ambition on gender equality will not be achieved. Along with Scottish Women’s Aid, Scottish Refugee Council and Close the Gap, we are calling for a high-level summit on women’s social security, to develop such an approach.
This briefing sets out the current context for women and our proposals regarding forthcoming and existing powers over social security and related policy areas.

Date of publication: November 2015.

Engender Briefing: Scotland Bill

Aug 28, 2015: A briefing on the Scotland Bill before report stage.

Date of publication: August 2015.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act Regulations and Guidance

Aug 26, 2015: Engender submission to the Scottish Government consultation on the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act regulations and guidance.

Date of publication: August 2015.

Engender Submission to the Devolution (Further Powers) Committee Call for Evidence on the UK Government's Scotland Bill

Aug 17, 2015: Engender welcomes the Devolution Committee’s focus on the contents of the Scotland Bill (the Bill), and the opportunity to submit our views. We have monitored the progression of the legislation from the publication of the draft clauses and UK government command paper, and due to undue speed, lack of transparency and lack of scrutiny, there have been limited avenues to raise our concerns.

Date of publication: August 2015.

Engender Submission to the Equal Opportunities Committee Inquiry on Race, Ethnicity and Employment

Jul 16, 2015: Engender's submission to the Equal Opportunities Committee inquiry on race, ethnicity and employment. Women’s disadvantage within the labour market is a key manifestation of gender inequality. Within this, women from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities face particular discrimination and challenges in accessing paid work.

Date of publication: July 2015.

Women's and Equalities Sector Joint Statement to MPs on Proposed Amendment to the Scotland Bill: Abortion (NC56)

Jul 6, 2015: A joint statement from Engender, Scottish Women's Aid, Rape Crisis Scotland, Zero Tolerance, Close the Gap, NUS Scotland, Scottish TUC, Abortion Rights Scotland Committee, Abortion Rights, YWCA - the young women's campaign, Amnesty International, Human Rights Consortium Scotland, and Scottish Women's Convention on a proposed amendment to the Scotland Bill.

Date of publication: July 2015.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Welfare Reform Committee Inquiry Into Women and Welfare

May 1, 2015: 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.
Engender welcomes this opportunity to submit our views to the Welfare Reform Committee’s inquiry on women and welfare reform. This submission highlights the links between discrimination against women within the welfare reform agenda with other areas of gender inequality.

Date of publication: May 2015.

Women's and Equalities Sector Joint Statement to the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare: Women, Further Devolution and Social Security

May 1, 2015: The Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare is an intergovernmental group with ministerial representatives from Scottish and UK governments working around the post-Smith Commission devolution of some elements of social security. This is a joint statement to that working group from (in alphabetical order): Close the Gap, Electoral Reform Society Scotland, Engender, Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, Inclusion Scotland, Lead Scotland, NUS Scotland Women's Campaign, One Parent Families Scotland, the Poverty Alliance, Rape Crisis Scotland, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Scottish Refugee Council, Scottish Women's Aid, Scottish Women's Budget Group, Shelter Scotland, Voluntary Action Scotland, Women's Support Project, YouthLink Scotland, YWCA Scotland, and Zero Tolerance.

Date of publication: March 2015

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee Call for Evidence on the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill

Mar 2, 2015: Engender's submission of written evidence to the Justice Committee on the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill.

Date of publication: February 2015.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Welfare Reform Committee Debate on Welfare Reform and the Smith Commission

Dec 19, 2014: A briefing paper for MSPs in advance of the Welfare Reform Committee debate on welfare reform and the Smith Commission on 18 December 2014.

Date of publication: December 2014.

Joint Submission to the Scottish Parliament Welfare Reform Committee Scrutiny of the Draft Budget 2015-16

Nov 12, 2014: A joint submission from Engender, Close the Gap, Scottish Women's Aid and Scottish Refugee Council to the Welfare Reform Committee on their scrutiny of the Scottish Goverment Draft Budget 2015-16.

Date of publication: November 2014.

Engender Submission to the Smith Commission

Oct 30, 2014: Engender's submission to the Smith Commission on additional powers for the Scottish Parliament.

Date of publication: October 2014.

Engender Briefing on the Smith Commission

Oct 8, 2014: A short briefing paper on the Smith Commission on further devolution to the Scottish Parliament.

Date of publication: October 2014.

Engender Response to the Scottish Parliament Welfare Refom Committee Consultation on the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill

Aug 28, 2014: Engender's response to the Welfare Reform Committee's consultation on the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill.

Date of publication: August 2014.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing - Welfare Debate 2014

Aug 13, 2014: A briefing paper for MSPs in advance of the Scottish Government debate on welfare in the Scottish Parliament on 13 August 2014.

Date of publication: August 2014

Women's and Equalities Sector Joint Statement Welcoming 'Equally Safe'

Jul 23, 2014: A joint statement from Engender, Rape Crisis Scotland, Scottish Womenʼs Aid, Scottish Womenʼs Convention, White Ribbon Scotland, Womenʼs Support Project and Zero Tolerance welcoming 'Equally Safe', the Scottish Government strategy document that outlines a gendered approach to tackling gender based violence.

Date of publication: July 2014.

Engender Repsonse to the Scottish Government Consultation on the Introduction of Gender Quotas on Public Sector Boards

Jul 4, 2014: Engender's response to the Scottish Government's consultation on gender quotas on public sector boards.

Date of publication: July 2014.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Education and Culture Committee Call for Evidence on Scotland’s Educational and Cultural Future

Jul 30, 2014: Engender's response to the Scottish Parliament Education and Culture Committee call for written evidence on Scotland's Educational and Cultural Future. Our submission mainly focuses on childcare provision, as well as youth employment.

Date of publication: March 2014.

Engender and Close the Gap Joint Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on European Structural and Investment Funds 2014 – 2020 Programmes

Mar 6, 2014: A joint response from Engender and Close the Gap to the Scottish Government's consultation on the Scottish structural and investment funds programmes for 2014 - 2020.

Date of publication: January 2014.

Engender Response to the Public Consultation on the Human Trafficking (Scotland) Bill

Jul 30, 2014: Engender's response to consultation on the Human Trafficking (Scotland) Bill, a Private Member's Bill presented by Jenny Marra MSP.

Date of publication: January 2014.

Engender Submission to the Expert Working Group on Welfare Call for Evidence on Social Security in an Independent Scotland

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the Expert Working Group on Welfare's second call for written evidence on social security in an independent Scotland.

Date of publication: December 2013.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Integration of Adult Health and Social Care in Scotland: Partial Equality Impact Assessment

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the Scottish Government's consultation on its partial equality impact assessment of the integration of adult health and social care.

Date of publication: October 2012.

Engender Response to the Public Consultation on the Proposed Criminalisation of the Purchase and Sale of Sex (Scotland) Private Members Bill 2

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the public consultation on the Criminalisation of the Purchase of Sex (Scotland) Bill 2.

Date of publication: December 2012.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Changes to Passported Benefits

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the Scottish Government consultation on changes to passported benefits that will arise as a result of the introduction of Universal Credit and personal independence payment (PIP).

Date of publication: October 2012.

Engender Response to the UK Government Equalities Office Consultation on 'Building a Fairer Britain: Reform of the Equality and Human Rights Commission'

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the UK Government's Government Equalities Office consultation on proposed changes to the purpose and governance structures of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

Date of publication: June 2011.

Engender Response to the Public Consultation on the Proposed Criminalisation of the Purchase and Sale of Sex (Scotland) Private Members Bill

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the consultation on the private members' bill lodged by Trish Godman MSP.

Date of publication: February 2011.

Engender Response to the Christie Commission Consultation on the Future of Scotland’s Public Services

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the Christie Commission on the future of Scotland's Public Services.

Date of publication: February 2011.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Tackling Child Poverty in Scotland: A Discussion Paper

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to a Scottish Government discussion paper: Tackling Child Poverty in Scotland: A Discussion Paper.

Date of publication: January 2011.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on the Public Sector Equality Duty

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the Scottish Government consultation on PSED.

Date of publication: November 2010.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee Call for Evidence on the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill (Stage 2 Amendment 516)

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's submission of written evidence to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee call for evidence on the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill (Stage 2 Amendment 516).

Date of publication: April 2010.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee Call for Evidence on the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill (Stage 2 Amendments)

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's submission of written evidence to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee call for evidence on the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill (Stage 2 Amendments).

Date of publication: March 2010.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Public Sector Equality Duty Specific Duties

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the Scottish Government consultation on PSED Specific Duties.

Date of publication: 2010.

Engender Consultation on Scottish Labour Party at Holyrood

Mar 5, 2014: The following notes were compiled following an informal discussion session, which took place on 22 September, involving a group of Engender members and inspired by input via email from others who were unable to attend that evening.

Date of publication: September 2009.

Engender Response to the Government Equalities Office Discussion Paper on the Equality Bill: Assessing the Impact of a Multiple Discrimination Provision

Mar 5, 2014: Engender response to the Government Equalities Office discussion paper on the Equality Bill.

Date of publication: June 2009.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Jusitice Committee Call for Evidence on the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's written submission to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee call for written evidence on the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill.

Date of publication: April 2009.

Engender Response to the Scottish Government Consultation on Civil Remedies to Forced Marriage

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the Forced Marriage: Civil Remedies consultation from the Scottish Government.

Date of publication: March 2009.

Engender Submission to the Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee Call for Evidence on the Inquiry into Female Offenders in the Criminal Justice System in Scotland

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's submission of written evidence to the Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee Inquiry into female offenders in the criminal justice system in Scotland.

Date of publication: March 2009.

Engender Response to the Consultation on the Scottish Government Response to the 2008 Concluding Observations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the consultation on the Scottish Government's response to the 2008 concluding observations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Date of publication: March 2009.

Engender Response to the Government Equalities Office on Proposals for Extending the Provisions for Women-only Shortlists

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the Government Equalities Office proposal on extending women-only shortlists.

Date of publication: October 2008.

Engender's Submission on Extending the Public Sector Equality Duty Requirement to Give Due Regard to the Need to Promote Equality of Opportunity to Religion or Belief

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's submission on extending the PSED requirement to give due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity to religion or belief.

Date of publication: September 2008.

Engender Letter of Support for the EHRC Response to the Consultation on the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill

Mar 5, 2014: This is a letter of support from Engender for the Equality and Human Rights Commission submission of written evidence to the consulation on the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill.

Date of publication: December 2008.

Engender Response to the Discussion Paper on Tackling Poverty, Inequality and Deprivation in Scotland

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's Response to the Government Discussion Paper on Tackling Poverty, Inequality and Deprivation in Scotland

Date of publciation: June 2008.

Engender Response to the Scottish Law Commission Proposals for Rape and Sexual Offences

Mar 5, 2014: Engender Response to the Scottish Law Commission Proposals for Rape and Sexual Offences.

Date of publication: March 2008.

Engender Response to the Home Office Consultation on Marriage to Partners from Overseas

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's Response to the Home Office Consultation on Marriage to Partners from Overseas.

Date of publication: February 2008.

Engender Response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission Single Equality Scheme Consultation

Mar 5, 2014: Engender's response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission Single Equality Scheme Consultation.

Date of publication: February 2008.