Engender blog

All of Engender’s latest news. Reports, reviews, books, articles, and information from across Scotland’s women’s sector.

We would love to hear from other feminists around Scotland. Check out our guidelines for more information on how you can blog for us.

CEDAW concluding observations: what do they mean for women in Scotland?

CEDAW

On March 8th 2019 the UN CEDAW Committee released their concluding observations following the UK examination in Geneva.

Women's sector letter to Joan McAlpine MSP

This week the Scottish Parliament held its Stage 1 Debate on the general principles of the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. Following the debate, Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee convener Joan McAlpine MSP took to Twitter to criticise the work of Engender and other women's organisations. In order to clarify and correct some inaccurate statements which were made, Engender, along with Scottish Women's Aid, Rape Crisis Scotland, Close the Gap, Zero Tolerance and Equate Scotland, wrote to Ms McAlpine and other members of the Committee.You can read our full letter below.

Making Work Visible is back – and we need your help!

For the past couple of years we have asked women in Scotland to share their days with us as part of our Making Work Visible project on International Women's Day. This year, our Making Work Visible project is back and even bigger than before.This year, Engender are running a photography and video project to show all of the different things women in Scotland do. We are looking for people to take part in this photography project to tell us about women’s lives across Scotland.

Proxy voting and making politics work for women

In the week that a year-long proxy voting pilot scheme was launched in the House of Commons, our Policy and Parliamentary Manager Eilidh Dickson reflects on what the move means for women and considers whether it's time for Holyrood to do the same.

Just this week Tulip Siddiq became the first MP vote by proxy in the House of Commons while on maternity leave following the birth of her second child. So aware of the importance of the moment, her colleague Vicky Foxcroft wrote ‘Tulip’ across her hand to make extra sure she wouldn’t slip up and forget to cast her colleague’s vote.

GUEST POST: Abortion Legislation in Latin America

Belén González Leggire is an Uruguayan journalist with a master's degree in gender studies and public policy. She was born in Montevideo, and is been living in Edinburgh since 2017. The topics she has investigated over the past years have included sexual violence against women during military coups and the design of social care services in Europe and South America. She is a member of WomenBeing, a research network for the promotion of gender studies.

Festive Friday Feminist Fanfare

It can hard to focus on the good stuff, when there seems to be so much bad stuff in the world. So as the year draws to an end, we wanted to take the time to reflect on some of the wins, joyful moments, and reasons for optimism which we've seen this year.

Guest post: Reflections on the Intersection Between Race and Gender in Public Life

Briana Pegado is the Founder and Director of the Edinburgh Student Arts Festival. During Black History Month she appeared on a panel to discuss the film Confirmation, which tells the story of Anita Hill's testimony against Supreme Court Nominee Clarence Thomas. Here, she reflects on the themes raised by the film. It is this very ability to identify, namely to self-identify, that allows us to be fully heard, seen, respected and enabled to exercise our agency. The term self-identification isn't simply a fad or trend - it is a political act.

 

Guest Post: My week at Engender

This week Engender welcomed Amy, a pupil at Ross High School, for her work experience. She has written a blog about her experience and what she has gained from her weeks work experience.

Downloads

Engender Briefing: Pension Credit Entitlement ChangesEngender Briefing: Pension Credit Entitlement Changes 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 Parliamentary Briefing: Condemnation of Misogyny, Racism, Harassment and SexismEngender Parliamentary Briefing: Condemnation of Misogyny, Racism, Harassment and Sexism 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.

Gender Matters in Social Security: Individual Payments of Universal CreditGender Matters in Social Security: Individual Payments of Universal Credit A paper calling on the Scottish Government to automatically split payments of Universal Credit between couples, once this power is devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

Gender Matters Manifesto: Twenty for 2016Gender Matters Manifesto: Twenty for 2016 This manifesto sets out measures that, with political will, can be taken over the next parliamentary term in pursuit of these goals.

Scottish NGO Briefing for UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against WomenScottish NGO Briefing for UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women Joint briefing paper for the UN Rapporteur on Violence Against Women.

Become a member

Newsletter

Sign up to receive our newsletter here:

Sign up to our mailing list

Receive key feminist updates direct to your inbox:

Loading