Hansard

I thank Jackson Carlaw for his contribution—his contributions to these ministerial appointment debates are becoming infamous—which was characteristically funny and, equally characteristically, completely lacking in any substance. Perhaps it was the best advert he could have made for more women in politics.

I also thank Jackie Baillie for a speech that certainly started out as gracious but quickly went downhill after that. I was quite intrigued by one aspect of her contribution. She said that the First Minister had—I think that I am quoting directly—a “women problem”, which brought to mind a recent opinion poll that I read about in none other than the Daily Record. It looked at current party preferences and found that support among women for Labour in Scottish Parliament elections was 34 per cent and support among women for the Scottish National Party was 42 per cent. So if the First Minister has a problem with women, goodness knows what those figures say about Labour’s problem with women. Incidentally, support among women for the Tories was 13 per cent, so maybe it is time that they listened a bit more to some focus groups, to see what they can do to improve that standing.

Perhaps the SNP’s standing among women has something to do with the fact that we are seeing an increase in the number of women appointed to public bodies and perhaps it has something to do with the fact that, as a result of these ministerial appointments, which I hope will shortly be approved by Parliament, 40 per cent of our Cabinet will be made up of women. Incidentally, that is compared to 14 per cent of the United Kingdom Cabinet when Gordon Brown left office as Prime Minister.

I am pleased to support the appointments, which, as the First Minister said, are being made absolutely on merit. Angela Constance and Shona Robison are Government ministers with strong records of achievement. They are being appointed today because they deserve to be appointed and they will both make outstanding contributions to the Cabinet.

The appointments unashamedly send a message. Women are underrepresented in senior positions, not just in politics but in many other walks of life, and we intend to rectify that. Today’s appointments say that we are prepared to do more than indulge in rhetoric; we are prepared to take action and lead by example. That is what the appointments will do.

The appointments mean that 40 per cent of Cabinet members will be women, which is a significant milestone that we should be proud of. It is the highest percentage of any Administration in the lifetime of this Parliament. However, I should perhaps say that, given that we make up 52 per cent of the population, perhaps we should not stop where we are now.

The real significance of the appointments is not that they contribute to greater equality for women—although they do—but that the jobs that Angela Constance and Shona Robison have been given to do are about promoting greater equality for others in our society. For Angela Constance, it is women in employment and, for Shona Robison, it is women generally and, of course, the rights of pensioners. The appointments illustrate an important truth: that the commitment to equality runs deep and strong in this Government. I hope that it does so right across the Parliament.

I hope that all members will support the appointment of two outstanding ministers to the Scottish Cabinet and that, in doing so, we will all celebrate yet another important crack in the glass ceiling.