Items tagged “equalrepresentation,”

Engender Response to Scottish Government Data Improvement Proposal

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

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

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.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Charities, Scotland and Holyrood

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’s Consultation on Implementation of the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018

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

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.

Gender Edit of General Election 2019 Manifestos

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

Date of publication: December 2019.