In Scotland, there are 24 parties and 22 independents standing for election – a good mix, one might think, giving voters a decent choice of who to vote for. Look a little closer, however, and they don’t seem as varied as one might hope. Although there is more racial and ethnic diversity than in previous years, with the Conservatives notably improved on that front, 69% of all the candidates are male. In five seats – Glasgow South, Inverclyde & Renfrewshire West, Inverness, Skye & West Ross-shire, Orkney & Shetland, and Stirling & Strathallan – it’s not possible to vote for a woman at all.
This shortage of women applies to every party but one. The Scottish Greens are fielding 13 women and 12 men, plus four non-binary people – the only openly non-binary candidates in the whole race. The SNP, Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats all have lists that are around 40% female. In Reform UK, that figure drops to 30%, and in Alba, which likes to style itself as a party dedicated to women’s rights, it’s all the way down at 25%. Meanwhile, only 22% of the independents and members of smaller parties are female.
Equal representation at risk of going backwards
What is most disappointing is that this represents a decline in women’s representation. The Scottish Parliament, elected in 2021, is 46% female, and that represents the steady growth that took place throughout this millennium. Are we now at risk of going backwards? With a strong backlash against women’s rights currently manifesting across Europe and North America, it has never been more important to commit to equal participation, as agreed internationally in the Beijing Declaration in 1995.
According to UN Women, the proportion of female parliamentarians worldwide is just under 27%. Obviously, women in different countries face different issues, but some are universal. These include the fact that women provide the bulk of unpaid care, which leaves them with less time to spend on political engagement. Women have less money, making it harder for them to finance campaigning. Women lack political role models, so are more likely to assume that politics is not for them. And women who do go into politics frequently face discrimination, social exclusion and sexual harassment from male colleagues, which, even at a low level, can be exhausting to deal with, prompting many to quit.
Sexual harassment online and off
Scotland has made progress on the former two problems in recent years. Efforts have been made to tackle the latter, but a related problem has grown worse: that of misogynistic harassment online. The abuse of prominent women in Scottish politics knows no party lines and frequently ignores political issues altogether, instead focusing on appearance, the policing of supposedly unfeminine behaviour, and sexuality (real or wholly imagined). And it’s not just the direct impact of abuse that does the damage. Nicola Sturgeon recently said that she was motivated to step down as First Minister partly by the belief that doing so might make the online environment less toxic in general – something that, sadly, has proven not to be the case.
Vanishingly little has been done to tackle this. Women report that they often struggle to access support within their parties when dealing with it and, worse, a third of all women working at Holyrood have experienced sexual harassment or sexist behaviour within the institution itself, with some anonymously asserting that the perpetrators were male MSPs. Although Alex Salmond was cleared of sexual harassment, the public monstering of his accusers, which extended to the publication of names and personal details, has left many women feeling that the risks of speaking up are too high and that they therefore have no means of ensuring their safety at work.
Why we all need women in politics
When women are pushed out of politics by this kind of toxic culture, it impacts women’s rights first, but has a negative effect on everybody. Numerous studies have shown that when women are in positions of political power there is more support for cross-party, collaborative politics and democratic reform. Women are more likely to direct investment towards supporting children and older people, challenge discrimination and oppose austerity. They are less likely to go to war and more likely to take action to tackle climate change. Governments with women in senior positions have lower levels of corruption and commit fewer human rights violations – in other words, they conform much more closely to what the average Scot seems to be looking for.
Research shows that young women are no less politically engaged than young men, so there is no shortage of potential candidates out there. What we need to do is provide them with proper support – for all our sakes. Every political success story for a woman inspires more to follow in her footsteps, but we need to make sure that women who start out on this path are not bullied out of continuing their journeys. There was a time when Scotland was number four in the world for political gender balance. We can get there again if we all invest in making it happen. So when female politicians impress you, tell them so. Encourage the young women you know to think about political careers. And if, on 4 July, you find you simply can’t make up your mind as to which party appeals to you most, consider putting female candidates first.
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