Latest publications

'Part of the Job?' Women councillors’ experiences of sexism, misogyny and gender-based violence in Scottish Councils

Jun 16, 2026: This report provides an insight into the endemic sexism, misogyny and gender-based violence that
women councillors in Scotland are experiencing in their roles and the serious, profound impacts
this is having on them as individuals, on their communities and our democracy.

Date of publication: June 2026.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing for the Scottish Government Debate: Expanding Childcare

Jun 3, 2026: This is a briefing sent to MSPs ahead of the recent Scottish Government Debate on Expanding Childcare. Our work exposes women’s deep financial inequality and increased risk of poverty due to the intersectional gender inequalities they face. A key driver of women’s financial
insecurity is the current lack of childcare provision in Scotland. The availability of affordable, appropriate childcare determines whether women have jobs, the types of jobs they can access, the hours they can work, and the level of pay they can earn. Alongside many of our sister organisations and partners across Scotland, we are calling for the next Scottish Government to go further and faster towards providing
affordable, flexible, universally available childcare. This is a necessary step to reduce child poverty and advance women’s equality.

Date of publication: June 2026.

Standing Down, Speaking Out: Why women MSPs are leaving Holyrood and how we fix it

Apr 23, 2026: This new paper forms part of Engender’s Equal Representation in Politics Project, which aims to help create a Scotland where women, in all their diversity, are sustainably represented in politics. We work to ensure women’s perspectives shape decision-making, reduce gender inequality, and create better outcomes for women and society. Building on our previous work examining women’s experiences of candidate selection, campaigning, and electoral processes, this briefing focuses on the gendered dynamics that influence decisions to leave parliamentary roles, seeking to gain deeper insight into the challenges women face in political office and to identify opportunities for positive systemic change.

Date of publication: April 2026.

Engender Annual Report 2024-2025

Apr 2, 2026: This annual report sets out the work that Engender has been doing over 2024-25 to ensure that women's equality remains at the heart of policy-making in Scotland.

This annual report contains a welcome from Engender's convener Lucy Mulvagh and provides updates on all areas of work, staffing, governance and finances.

Date of publication: April 2025.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Scottish Government Abortion Law Review report

Dec 16, 2025: This is a briefing for MSPs following the publication of the Scottish Government’s recently published Abortion Law Review report (ALR report). The report recommends removing abortion from the criminal justice system and reforming Scotland’s abortion care framework, in line with World Health Organisation guidelines and international standards on the protection of women’s human rights. Since the release of the ALR report, there has been a concerted campaign to publicly distort its recommendations. Supported by some media outlets, alarmist misinformation has been shared in attempts to discredit the Group’s work and undermine organisations that gave their time and expertise to the process. We are calling on MSPs to stand up against these kinds of tactics.

Date of publication: December 2025.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing Uniting Local and National Efforts, Across Sectors to End Violence Against Women and Girls

Dec 2, 2025: This is a briefing for MSPs sent ahead of the Scottish Government debate on ending VAWG, which is being held during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign. This year’s 16 Days campaign comes at a time in Scotland when VAWG is occurring at endemic levels, and equality and women’s rights are increasingly under threat. We need all MSPs to unite to ensure that debate and discussion about how to eradicate VAWG is based on evidence and rooted in international human rights. At Engender, we know that eradicating VAWG can only be achieved by investing in primary prevention. Primary prevention focuses on stopping VAWG before it occurs by addressing its root cause: gender inequality. This requires coordinated action across all levels and areas of government, as well as all relevant sectors, to ensure that preventing VAWG is understood as everyone’s responsibility.

Date of publication: December 2025.

Beyond Promises: What works in getting more women elected

Oct 27, 2025: Engender’s new report ‘Beyond Promises: What works in getting more women elected’ explores the use and impact of gender quotas and other Positive Action Measures (PAMs) in Scottish political parties’ candidate selection processes. It shows that consistent use of these tools leads to better representation, but also that tokenism, cultural resistance, and lack of intersectionality continue to hold us back.

Date of publication: October 2025.

Engender’s response to the Scottish Government Consultation on a draft SSI to add ‘sex’ as a protected characteristic to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021

Oct 15, 2025: We are deeply concerned that the Scottish Government has chosen to suspend plans for more comprehensive legal reform that would enhance redress for misogyny offences, instead opting for the lesser approach of amending the Hate Crime Act to include sex. This significant change in direction is particularly difficult to understand, as evidence demonstrates clearly that adding sex or gender as a category to hate crime law will not be effective or adequate in addressing the gendered violence and the misogyny that women and girls are increasingly facing.

Date of publication: October 2025.

Women’s Political Journey: Exploring the election process and women’s experiences of abuse, exclusion and bias

Jul 14, 2025: Engender’s new report ‘Women’s Political Journey’ explores the candidate journey—from preparing to stand as a candidate, including all the interview and vetting processes, to being elected and what happens after. Change needs to happen, so we urge political parties, governments, councils, and other stakeholders to implement measures and commit to equal and diverse representation. I want to see at least 50% women in our parliaments—for that to happen, we need to see a real culture change first.

Date of publication: July 2025.

Primary Prevention and Public Policy Spotlight: Planning

Jun 26, 2025: This mini-briefing sets out the steps to achieving a primary prevention approach in planning, and highlighting that it is essential that our public spaces are inclusive and accessible to address women’s inequality and prevent VAWG once and for all.

Applying a primary prevention approach requires policymakers to actively address gender inequality and promote women’s safety in all areas of public policy, including planning.

Date of publication: June 2025.