Meeting of the Parliament 19 June 2025
I welcome the opportunity to debate an issue that is close to me and many of my fellow female MSPs across the chamber. Equality between men and women, and boys and girls, should be one of the driving objectives of this Parliament. We need equality in schools, in the workplace, in healthcare and in the economy. Failure to deliver that does not just fail Scotland’s females, who account for more than half the population; it also results in a number of missed opportunities for growth, progress and innovation.
Although I welcome the debate, it should also be noted that women across Scotland are becoming fed up with so much talk being matched by so little action. Females may well appreciate MSPs taking the time to debate in the chamber or to set up focus groups or round-table discussions, but we are also aware that, while the talking continues, things on the ground move backwards. The National Advisory Council on Women and Girls made a number of recommendations designed to reduce gender inequality. Ministers recognise that tackling such inequality is key to a fairer Scotland and that
“Women are central to all Government priorities”.—[Official Report, 12 March 2025; c 30.]
However, in real life, many measures are only getting worse.
Perhaps the most brutal measure of all is the rate of domestic violence in Scotland. Cases are rising, and police now receive a report of domestic abuse in Scotland pretty much every 10 minutes. Women may not be the victim in every one of those cases, but we know for sure that they are the victim in the overwhelming majority and that the attacker is almost always a man and always a partner or a former partner.
It is patently unfair that someone, just because of their sex at birth, is on a pathway that makes them considerably more likely to be a victim of violence, abuse, intimidation, bullying or coercion. Domestic violence is rife in this country and, until we turn the tide, we can never truly claim that things are even close to being equal. Even seeking justice is often out of the reach for too many women. One survivor, who lives in the Highlands, contacted 116 solicitors listed on the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s website and still could not find help with divorce proceedings—that is not an isolated incident.
Gender inequality can be seen throughout the generations. Despite performing better in school, learning faster and behaving better, girls are less likely to go on to have well-paying, successful careers than their male contemporaries. In 2024, our gender pay gap widened. There are many reasons for that, but we cannot blame it all on childcare and the fact that women are more likely to be carers of their children and their elderly relatives. Attitudes need to change in the classroom and in the boardroom. We need more flexibility and more incentives and support for women who want to push up their career ladder in the same way as men.
Despite living longer, women experience poorer outcomes for a range of health issues. Conditions that are unique to women, such as endometriosis and cervical cancer, are not well understood, treated or tested for. We also have the issue of gender recognition. Given the Supreme Court ruling and a clear update from the EHRC, the Scottish Government’s failure to implement is, at the very best, a stalling tactic. Will the minister tell us, in her closing remarks, why public bodies are not complying with the law now?