Most of us think of Scotland as a fairly equal country where gender is concerned. It’s certainly doing better than many, but with the poorest women in Scotland facing a shocking drop in living standards in recent years, hit far more severely by the economic downturn than men, it’s clear that there is still a long way to go.
The country’s leading intersectional feminist policy and advocacy organisation, Engender, launched a new manifesto this week aimed at pinpointing specific actions that Scotland’s next government can do to make a difference.
“When we speak to women and girls, they tell us that they need change to happen faster and on a more ambitious scale,” said the charity’s policy and parliamentary manager, Lucy Hughes.“We need our next parliament to step up and take urgent action to tackle the deep-rooted inequalities women continue to face.”
Investing in women, transforming communities
Titled Investing in Women, Transforming Communities, the manifesto is structured around the principle that by addressing the needs of the most marginalised people – such as disabled women, women of colour, and lesbian, bisexual and trans women – policies can create a society that offers a better deal for everyone.
Engender’s executive director, Caroline Murphy said, “Too often, government policy and decision making simply doesn’t understand or consider women’s specific needs, particularly marginalised women. That desperately needs to change. The next Scottish Government must be bolder and braver in defending equality for all, and we are keen to work with new and returning parliamentarians to achieve this.”
Women, kinship care and social security
At the heart of the manifesto is the need for change at a systemic level. While it’s easy for politicians to position themselves as feminists or allies by calling out specific example of injustice, Engender wants them to undertake the more challenging work of structural change. It points out that, because women do most of the unpaid care work in society, looking after children or disabled people or elderly relatives, they are much more likely than men to be living in poverty and dependent on state support.
With this in mind, Engender has called for changes to the social security system and thereby avoid disadvantaging women further. These changes would include an end to the two-child benefit cap and a rise in the Scottish Childcare Payment. It also wants to see the crucial role of unpaid care recognised in Scotland’s strategy for economic growth.
Investing in women’s health and safety
Pointing out the biases in healthcare provision that lead to inequalities across multiple areas of life, Engender is asking the incoming government to take account of economic marginalisation when developing a new Women’s Health Plan, and to invest in the research needed to bring women’s healthcare up to date. It wants action to be taken on conditions like endometriosis, which affects one in ten women, but currently takes NHS Scotland an average of eight and a half years to diagnose before treatment can begin. It also wants all criminal law relating to abortion to be scrapped so that it can be managed purely as an aspect of healthcare.
Other areas of concern include poverty and housing insecurity, which increase women’s vulnerability to homelessness, illness and domestic abuse. Engender wants to see women’s views given higher priority in the planning of urban spaces, ensuring that housing is secure, so they are able to travel safely to and from it. Difficulty in getting home safely after dark is a significant factor in many women’s choice of employment, potentially creating further financial disadvantage by limiting their options.
Women in Scottish politics
With all this in mind, Engender stresses the importance of women having a political voice. Since 2017, when half of Scotland’s political leaders were female, women’s input at the top level has gradually declined, representing a trend seen elsewhere in the world. Senior female politicians have spoken out about the additional strain placed on them by misogynistic harassment, both in person and online, while others have noted how difficult it is to combine a political career with motherhood or other care responsibilities.
Engender wants to see the creation of a new fund aimed at supporting women and members of other marginalised groups who want to get involved in politics, both on a local and national level. It has highlighted research showing that women’s participation at senior levels is associated with a decrease in corruption and an overall strengthening of democracy.
With women’s hard-won rights under threat in many parts of the world, and serious conversations underway within the ruling US Republican Party about stripping women of the right to vote, it has never been more important for Scotland to stand up and provide an example of how to get this right.
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