Hansard

I, too, welcome the minister to her new role.

This international women’s day, my thoughts are with the women around the world who are affected by conflict and violence. It is two years since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine—two years in which Ukrainian women’s lives have been turned upside down. Many have been forced from their homes, 72 per cent of unemployed Ukrainians are women, and 8 million women and girls will need humanitarian assistance this year.

In Gaza, women are struggling to survive displacement, bereavement and lack of access to basic necessities. Women are giving birth without access to water, painkillers or anaesthesia for caesarean sections, and they are going without food to give what they can to their children. The stories that we are hearing are heartbreaking and remind us that violent conflict intensifies pre-existing gender inequalities and discrimination.

A United Nations report in 2022 showed that the number of women and girls living in conflict-affected areas had increased by 50 per cent since 2017. However, as the minister has highlighted, although women are disproportionately impacted by violent conflict, they are underrepresented in peace processes. Of the 18 peace agreements that were reached in 2022, only one was signed or witnessed by a representative of a women’s group or organisation, and in recent years only between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of peace agreements include provisions that reference women, girls and gender, despite women having led successful negotiations at local levels to secure access to water and humanitarian aid, to prevent and resolve tribal conflicts and to mediate local ceasefires.

The sidelining of women in peace negotiations does everyone a disservice. This international women’s day theme is “Inspire Inclusion”. Women’s participation in peace processes makes agreements more durable and sustainable. I recognise the Scottish Government’s work in that area, having previously corresponded with the previous equalities minister on the topic.

I am pleased that the women in conflict 1325 fellowship programme has continued this year. The need for humanitarian and development aid is clear, but a UK Government internal report last year warned that the cuts to its aid budget will result in hundreds of thousands of women facing unsafe abortions, thousands of deaths in childbirth and thousands more women being left without access to healthcare and health services. That is a stark reminder of the consequences of the cuts. The UK Government must reinstate the 0.7 per cent commitment.

The report also shows that budget decisions are not gender neutral. Gender-responsive budgeting is needed across all Government spending. It ensures that fiscal policies and budgets target gender inequalities and support inclusive development for all.

There is a need to consider how women’s organisations in Scotland are funded. A model of funding through the Scottish Government, such that organisations can spend more of their time helping women than they do searching for funding, merits further exploration.

Another aspect of inclusion that is crucial for gender equality is education. Gender equality and education benefit every child. Girls and boys are empowered with life skills, skills gaps that perpetuate pay gaps are closed, and reductions are seen in gender-based violence, including child marriage. However, around the world, 129 million girls are out of school. The barriers to girls’ inclusion in education are many. They include poverty, lack of safety, poor sanitation and hygiene for girls in schools, child marriage and boys being favoured for investment in education. Supporting girls not just to attend but to thrive at school is key.

In Afghanistan, where women are being denied rights to education, Scottish charity The Linda Norgrove Foundation has been working hard to sponsor 20 medical students to come to Scotland to complete their studies. I supported the campaign last year and look forward to hearing about the women’s progress.

Women make up 51 per cent of Scotland’s population, but figures from Engender show that there is a clear imbalance in women’s inclusion in leadership and decision making. Forty-five per cent of MSPs are women, but only 35 per cent of local councillors are women. Just over a fifth of sheriffs and senior police officers, and 35 per cent of public body chief executives, are women. That raises important questions for us to consider. How are women involved in designing policies and programmes? Do we ask ourselves how policies can tackle discrimination? Do we identify and prevent the unintended consequences of reinforcing inequalities?

In Shetland, all three council leadership positions—leader, convener and chief executive—are currently held by women, and with me as the MSP, this is the first time that four women have held those posts at the same time. However, there is much more to be done at home and globally.