Consultation Responses and Parliamentary Briefings

Engender response to the Scottish Labour Policy Forum consultation

Jan 30, 2025: The 2026 Holyrood Election is a chance for Scottish Labour to show meaningful commitment to women’s equality and for the party to be bold in creating a manifesto that will improve their lives materially. We ask that Scottish Labour ensure that their proposed policies recognise and actively address the deep fault lines of intersectional gender equality, which are alive and well in Scotland.

Date of publication: January 2025.

Engender Response to Scottish Government Consultation on Proposal to Allow Proxy Voting for Councillors

Dec 13, 2024: The Scottish Government recently carried out a consultation on allowing proxy voting for local councillors. Women remain underrepresented in local politics at just 35% of councillors in Scotland. Introducing more flexible ways of working - like proxy voting - is essential to ensure more diverse participation in local politics.

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 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 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 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.

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 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 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.

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.

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 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 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.