Hansard

I have had a quick sip of water and I seem to be speaking fine. I hope that we hear from Annie Wells through the medium of Alison Harris very shortly.

I am pleased to speak in support of the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill. I begin by paying tribute to the Equalities and Human Rights Committee for its diligent work. I thank all the stakeholders and the cabinet secretary for her leadership on this important issue.

I firmly believe in the effectiveness of positive action to increase women’s representation. The Scottish Labour Party’s record on using positive action to further women’s representation is strong, and includes our use of all-women shortlists. It has consistently been shown that positive action is the only measure that works to substantively increase the number of women in politics. Voluntary measures simply do not have the same effect, and they preserve the status quo.

Like many colleagues across the chamber, I am a proud supporter of the Women 50:50 campaign, which was co-founded by my colleague Kezia Dugdale.

As I set out in my contribution to the stage 1 debate on the bill, it is a sad and stubborn fact that women remain underrepresented at practically every level of public life in Scotland—in the Scottish Parliament, the UK Parliament, our local councils, the media and, yes, on our public boards too.

Women make up half the population; we are not a minority. It should not need saying that we should also make up half the decision makers. The move to make it a legal obligation for Scottish ministers and public bodies in Scotland to improve the gender balance of our public boards is, we believe, a welcome step. The bill is far from being the panacea for women’s inequality, but nonetheless it is important to ensure that the public bodies that oversee our taxpayer-funded services reflect the citizens whom they serve. Good governance can occur only if public bodies are accountable to and representative of those whom they are appointed to serve.

It is also clear that, aside from the Conservatives—although they have time to change their minds—there is widespread agreement among the parties on the need for the bill.

I will focus the remainder of my comments on the substantive content of the bill and the work of the committee at stage 2. Having read the committee report and the bill as amended, we are reassured that the issues that were raised during stage 1 have been satisfactorily resolved.

Specifically, I congratulate Alex Cole-Hamilton on his amendment clarifying the tiebreaker concern. We shared the concerns that arose during stage 1 that a potential unintended consequence of the bill could be the elevation of gender at the expense of other protected characteristics. During the stage 1 evidence sessions, groups, including Inclusion Scotland, expressed the valid concern that those with disabilities or other protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, including race and religion, would run the risk of being forgotten or sidelined by the bill unless the language was clarified.

The bill now clarifies that “protected characteristics” refers to those listed under the 2010 act, and that if there are two equally qualified candidates, the position may be given to a candidate who is not a woman if they have another protected characteristic. Improving women’s representation means very little if the women who are being appointed are mainly middle-class, white women who have similar backgrounds and a similar outlook. Improving representation needs an intersectional approach and will lead to meaningful change only if boards are committed to changing the culture.

In the chamber today, there has been further scrutiny of Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. I am mindful, from my time on the Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee, of the example of Moi Ali, a black or minority ethnic woman who sat on the Scottish Police Authority board. By all accounts, Moi was a very experienced and respected board member, but she was treated quite awfully during her time on the SPA. In evidence to the committee, she agreed that she had been bullied. When I asked whether all the things that had happened to her would have happened had she been a man, she said no. She gave examples of male colleagues taking similar actions to those that she took, but she was the only one who was treated a certain way.

That is an example of a high-profile woman’s voice on a public board not being valued. Although that has not been the experience of every woman on a public board, it draws attention to the risk that the culture can discourage women from applying for such positions in the first place. In my view, a lot more work needs to be done to ensure that boards are leading inclusive recruitment processes and that increasing the representation of protected groups leads to meaningful culture change.

The cabinet secretary has already paid tribute to my colleague Mary Fee and the Scottish trans alliance. A further strength of the bill has been the clarification of the term “woman”. At stage 2, amendment 10, in Mary Fee’s name, added a definition to the bill to ensure that the legislation is inclusive of trans women, including those who do not have a gender recognition certificate. That is important.

The stage 2 amendments in the name of the cabinet secretary were very welcome. They included an amendment on guidance for public authorities on how to deal with the tiebreaker issue in the appointment of candidates following the amendment of section 4. The commitment from the Government to report on the progress of the legislation is reassuring and will allow Parliament to scrutinise the legislation’s effectiveness.

In light of the stage 2 amendments, we are more than satisfied that the concerns raised during the stage 1 evidence sessions have been addressed. The bill is sensible and necessary, and I have to admit that I am baffled as to why Conservative members persist with their opposition to it. Even at this late stage, I urge them to reconsider their position. Maybe Annie Wells could nod—we could take that as a yes. If Conservative members care about fairness and improving the representation of protected groups, they should vote for the bill.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to reaffirm my support and that of the Scottish Labour Party for the bill. Creating legislation that gives women greater rights to representation is a bold move, and I hope that it is the first step towards creating an equal playing field for all women at all levels of public life.

As the cabinet secretary said, next month will mark 100 years since some women in this country first gained the right to vote. That is a landmark to be celebrated, yet it is a reminder that, despite how far we have travelled in 100 years, the slow march towards true equality of representation for women still has some way to go.

Unfortunately, measures such as the bill are still required. At the heart of the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill is the aim of promoting equality in Scotland; for that reason alone, I am proud to support it.