Scottish Labour
Consultation Paper:
Achieving
Women’s Equality.
Scottish Labour Party Consultation Paper
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Foreword: Kezia Dugdale MSP, Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Politics is changing.
The struggle for women to gain the right to vote is nearing its centenary. Since woman’s suffrage in
the early 20th century much has been achieved.
The introduction of the National Minimum Wage; creating tax credits; increasing maternity and
paternity leave; pension credits; the expansion of childcare and the implementation of the Equality
Act.
Three out of four of the leaders of the Scottish Parliament’s largest parties are women. Cross party
support exists for the Women 50:50 Campaign and the Scottish Government has committed to a
gender-balanced cabinet.
But equal representation will not deliver the changes we need to see to improve the lives of women
in Scotland. Just as having a female Prime Minister did not signal the achievement of equality for
women in the early 1980s, nor does a female First Minister in post in Scotland today.
Every achievement for women has been a battle which has had to be fought and won. It isn’t enough
to point at women in positions of power and claim we can assume all is now equal. Too many
institutional barriers still stand in the way of talented women and to ignore this gives credence to
the lie that “if you are good enough, and work hard enough, you can achieve anything”.
Nicola Sturgeon is the first female First Minister. The Scottish Government now publishes an annual
Equality Budget Statement to accompany the Scottish Budget. But this is not enough.
In Scotland, 1 in 4 women will still face gender-based violence.
Too many women remain in low-skilled, low paid and part time work.
Not enough women are going into key jobs or sectors like science and engineering.
And we still don’t equally recognise female dominated professions such as a nursing and carer
workers.
85% of Scottish Councils do not report having enough childcare provision for parents working full
time.
Scottish Labour is committed to challenging discrimination, tackling the imbalance of power and
continuing to lift women out of poverty.
We have set out just some of our vision at our conference in Perth. Now we want to hear from you.
Kezia Dugdale MSP
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Contents
Foreword: Kezia Dugdale MSP, Leader of the Scottish Labour Party ................................................... 2
Women’s Inequality ................................................................................................................................ 4
Scottish Labour Vision: .................................................................................................................... 4
Questions: ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Women and Opportunity ........................................................................................................................ 5
Childcare ............................................................................................................................................. 5
Further and Higher Education............................................................................................................. 6
Occupational Segregation ................................................................................................................... 6
Scottish Labour Vision ..................................................................................................................... 7
Questions ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Women in Public Life .............................................................................................................................. 8
The Scotland Bill: A Missed Opportunity ............................................................................................ 8
Women on Boards .............................................................................................................................. 8
Women and the Media ....................................................................................................................... 8
Scottish Labour vision ..................................................................................................................... 9
Questions ........................................................................................................................................ 9
Women and the Economy .................................................................................................................... 10
Women in employment .................................................................................................................... 10
Women and Welfare ......................................................................................................................... 11
Scottish Labour Vision ................................................................................................................... 11
Questions ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Women and Justice ............................................................................................................................... 13
Ensuring justice for all ....................................................................................................................... 13
Preventing Violence against Women ................................................................................................ 14
Scottish Labour Vision ................................................................................................................... 14
Questions ...................................................................................................................................... 15
Women and Health ............................................................................................................................... 16
Women and Health Inequalities ....................................................................................................... 16
Mental health.................................................................................................................................... 16
Women and Social Care .................................................................................................................... 17
Reproductive and Sexual Health ....................................................................................................... 18
Scottish Labour vision ................................................................................................................... 19
Questions ...................................................................................................................................... 19
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Women’s Inequality
The pursuit of equality has been marked by the gains highlighted by Kezia in her introduction to this
document; however we are a long way from true equality. Women dominated employment
opportunities still remain stubbornly underpaid when compared with male dominated employment
requiring the same level of skills and education. This impacts on everyone as a child’s life chances
are largely dependent on their mother’s earnings. By lifting women out of poverty we aspire to lift
all out of poverty.
The responsibility for family caring duties still predominantly fall on women; child care and elderly
care – these duties are seldom shared equally amongst the genders. It is women’s careers which are
harmed and held back by taking on these duties. Can employment policies address these
inequalities?
It is striking that, even in female dominated careers, men still disproportionately hold the senior
posts. We need to combat the causes of this and understand why it happens; is this due to career
breaks, discrimination or differing priorities?
While crime is falling we see a marked increase in violent crime towards women, for example, rape
and domestic abuse. While some of this is due to an increase in reporting, come about from a
change in the culture of Policing, much of it is due to the commodification of women and the sense
of entitlement shown by men.
Gender stereotyping still exists in our society including in our School and workplaces. Girls are often
discouraged in pursing “male oriented” jobs such as engineering and male dominated work
environments have not adapted to attract female employees. Too often this starts at a young age
where children are encouraged to play differently and study certain subjects. The media re-enforces
gender stereotypes and represent women in an objectified manner.
Scottish Labour Vision:
To put gender equality into the heart of government activities and ensure that tackling gender
inequalities is mainstreamed across government.
To tackle inbuilt cultural bias to ensure that women and girls have the same opportunities as their
male counterparts.
To challenge the representation of women in the public sphere and change the gender stereotyping
that exists.
To ensure that all public services are able to deal with gender inequality including tackling violence
against women.
Questions:
What mechanisms are needed to ensure that all government departments are tackling gender
inequality?
How would you like to see progress in tackling gender inequality reported?
What kind of training needs to be undertaken to ensure that all public service workers are
equipped to tackle gender inequality?
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Women and Opportunity
Childcare
Flexible and affordable childcare is essential to economic prosperity in Scotland – both in developing
skills for a future workforce, and in allowing parents to return to work. Two thirds of mothers see
the cost of childcare as a barrier to them working, and two fifths see it as their biggest barrier1.
The provision of increased, high quality childcare is a top priority for Scottish Labour. There is a clear
connection between affordable, accessible childcare and a mother’s ability to resume her career and
to access work.
Transformative childcare should be able to improve children’s life chances and social mobility. Early
years intervention has been shown to be a key factor in helping close the attainment gap later in life
between pupils from poor backgrounds and pupils from the most affluent areas in Scotland.
The Scottish Government has increased the minimum statutory entitlement of free childcare from
475 hours per year to 600 hours per year for all 3 and 4 year-olds and 27% of 2 year-olds. This has
been hailed as a massive success story. However, this current policy has focused on hours over
quality and flexibility.
Only one in six councils in Scotland have enough childcare capacity, this is down on the 2013 figure
of one in four councils. Childcare provision is worse in Scotland than in England, where 43% have
adequate provision, and it’s actually deteriorating. The number of councils in Scotland reporting
sufficient childcare provision has dropped in the past year from 23% in 2013 to 15%.
This means childcare policy is failing working families in Scotland. Thousands of Scottish children are
missing out on their free childcare entitlement because there are not enough places and not enough
flexibility to meet working parents’ needs.
While the Scottish Government has said its policy to extend the entitlement to childcare to 27% of
two-year-olds over the next two years would cost £61 million in capital spending, councils have put
the figure at around £114 million, according to COSLA.
The Scottish Government have made a further commitment to increase free childcare to 1,140 hours
(30 hours per week) for all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds in Scotland by the end
of the next Parliament. The Scottish Parliament’s Independent Information Centre (SPICe) estimates
that this will cost an additional £700m.
Even by their own analysis, the Scottish Government’s sums don’t add up on childcare. The limited
analysis which has been published relies upon a theoretical rise in female employment, which
suggested a 6% uplift could yield £700m a year in additional taxes – the same cost as the policy.
However, this relies on up to 104,000 women moving from economic inactivity into economic
activity. At present there are only 64,000 mothers of 1 to 5 year olds in Scotland who are
economically inactive.
Therefore we are concerned that their policy pledges cannot be delivered on the budget they
propose. We need a realistically costed and funded childcare policy and to provide quality childcare
that meets the needs of parents and children.
1
Fawcett Society, 08 July 2015 http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/2015/07/giving-with-one-hand-taking-away-with-two-the-2015-budget/
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Further and Higher Education
Access to further education is a vital opportunity for many women to return to the labour market or
develop new skills.
Recent cuts to colleges have disproportionately impacted on women and particularly older women
learners. Colleges Scotland have highlighted that Scottish Government policy to deliver more
learning hours to full-time young people, has – along with funding cuts - had a knock-on effect “at
the expense of other learners i.e. part-time, older learners and female returners”
Audit Scotland state that there was been a 48% reduction in part-time students and a reduction of
41% in the number of mature student between 2008-09 and 2013-142.
These stark figures are picked up by the Scottish Women’s Convention in the Report from the 2015
‘Older Women’s Conference’, which noted that “Cuts to college places have curtailed part-time
opportunities, which are often the most suitable ways of learning for older women.”3
While numbers of people attending college steadily increased from 1997 to 2007, it has been argued
that this was caused by a sharp increase in numbers of women who had succeeded in school but
were prevented from continuing in education for social and family reasons4.
The change in the Scottish Government’s focus to using colleges to address youth unemployment
levels have meant that these women are suffering most acutely from the Government’s subsequent
large cuts in funding. There are 26% fewer women attending further education courses since 2007.
Occupational Segregation
Within further education, occupational segregation remains, with women hugely underrepresented
in STEM subjects - just 10% of those studying engineering and technology in further education are
women5.
In employment, nearly half of working women are employed in public administration, education or
health. Within local government and the NHS, women make up 67% and 81% of the respective
workforces. In education, women make up 97% of childcare and early years education employees
and 98% of classroom assistants.6 Often these occupations are undervalued and attract lower wages
and poorer advancement opportunities.
While 71% of female school leavers enter Further or Higher education (66% to university, 51% to
college7), it’s a different story in Modern Apprenticeship programme were they are more popular
amongst men. In 2013/14, 41% of all apprenticeships started in that year8 were taken by women;
however these were mostly in female dominated profession such as the care sector.
Occupational segregation pervades the training programmes offered in Scotland – for example just
4% of all new starts in Engineering and Energy apprenticeships were women in 2014/15 - that is just
74 women compared to 1630 men9. Traditionally, male-dominated areas such as engineering tend to
be better paid, reflecting pay issues and occupational segregation in the workplace.
2
Audit Scotland, Scotland Colleges’ 2015 http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/docs/central/2015/nr_150402_scotlands_colleges.pdf
Scottish Women’s Convention Older Women’s Conference Report, 2015, p20.
4 Adults in Further Education: A Policy Overview, Ian Finlay, University of Strathclyde. Link:
http://www.niace.org.uk/lifelonglearninginquiry/docs/FE-Ian-Finlay.pdf
5 https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/uploads/wise/files/WISE_UK_Statistics_2014.pdf
6 http://www.closethegap.org.uk/content/gap-statistics/
7
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32425/12-905-understanding-higher-education-infurther-education-colleges.pdf
8Question S4W-22059: Jayne Baxter, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 08/07/2014
9 http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0042/00421238.pdf
3
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Scottish Labour Vision
To create an affordable, flexible and accessible childcare system for working families in Scotland.
Invest in the skills of the childcare workforce, transforming it into a more valued profession, staffed
with qualified childcare practitioners.
Moving provision away from rigid set of hours: Flexibility matters to working families and being able
to access childcare that fits parent’s working lives.
Set a goal of capping childcare costs at no more than 10 per cent of median income of Scotland and
work with key childcare stakeholders to achieve this policy.
Create Family Centres to give children in Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities the best start
in life and would act as a single place in the community where parents could get the support they
need. This would include flexible early learning and childcare, access to key child and family health
services and access to a selection of courses and training opportunities for parents.
To support women re-skilling at college, Scottish Labour will offer a guaranteed free childcare place
for all pre-school children whose parents are attending college.
To tackle gender segregation and ensure that no profession is viewed as either female male oriented.
Place equal value on occupations that are female dominated and ensure they attract salaries that
reflect what similarly qualified male dominated careers would attract.
Ensure that women have equal access to training and employment opportunity and that caring
responsibilities are no a barrier.
Provide a jobs guarantee for all young women on jobseekers allowance.
Questions
Do you support the goal of capping childcare costs at no more than 10% of median income?
Family centres can play a key role in supporting parents and their children – what services would
you like to see offered and how best can they be incorporated into communities?
Is childcare provision in Scotland flexible enough to meet the needs of working parents, or those
on shift-work? Does the current childcare offer meet the needs of parents in Scotland?
What steps can colleges and universities take to improve women’s access to further and higher
education – particularly women furthest from the labour market or returning to learning?
What measures are needed to encourage STEM subjects, and how can we ensure that STEM
professions are attractive to women?
What changes are needed in the modern apprentice program to ensure there is gender balance in
the uptake, especially in STEM professions?
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Women in Public Life
The Scotland Bill: A Missed Opportunity
A decade ago, the Scottish Parliament was held up as example of women’s participation in politics at
the highest national level. In 2003, after formal measures taken by the Labour Party, and informal
measures taken by other parties at grass roots level, 51 (39.5%) of the 129 MSPs elected were
women. This has been identified as a high water mark and the numbers of women in Parliament
have since decreased, with 45 (34.8%) current MSPs women, despite the leaders of the three main
political parties in Scotland being women.
Of the 650 MPs elected in the 2015 General Election, 191 (29.4%) are women, the highest number
and proportion ever. The number of women MPs elected in 2015 was 48 more than in 2010. Women
MPs by party include 99 Labour, 68 Conservative and 20 SNP; 43% of Labour MPs are women, 21%
of Conservative MPs and 36% of SNP MPs. Of the 59 Scottish MPs elected, 33.8% are women.
Only three of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, Aberdeen, East Dunbartonshire, and Stirling, are
currently led by women10. After remaining stagnant for many years local authorities were praised for
increasing the number of women elected to 24% in 201211 . The SNP did increase its percentage of
women councillors; however, fielded no women in any of its targeted Glasgow seats, leading to
commentators suggesting that women candidate were viewed as a “risk”12. The Conservatives also
managed to slightly increase their numbers, but figures remained at less than a quarter of the total.
Women on Boards
The Scottish Government has launched an initiative for “50/50 women by 2020” for public, private
and third sector organisations to sign up to a voluntary commitment for gender balance on boards.
Currently, over half of the boards of Scotland’s Colleges; Health Boards and Non-Departmental
Public Bodies; and over three-quarters of Universities’ governing bodies have yet to reach that
target. There is a lot of work to do.
Following the recommendations of the Smith Commission, Scottish Labour MP Ian Murray tabled
amendments to the Scotland Bill in July 2015 which would have devolved power to the Scottish
Parliament to include a requirement for gender balance among the members of the Scottish
Parliament and members of Boards of Scottish public authorities. This unfortunately fell as all SNP
MPs abstained on Labour’s Amendment and it was opposed by the Tories.
Women and the Media
Women are consistently portrayed in the media in a negative way or in an objectified manner.
Media representations of women have a significant impact on women equality and often reinforce
the negative stereotypes that exist. The lack of quality and consistent reporting on the gender issues
helps side line them and disempowers people to challenge them. The objectification of women has a
damaging effect to how women are viewed in wider society and contributes to negative body image
and mental health. This is especially apparent in sexualised imagery which reinforces the view that
women are “sexual objects” for the pleasure of others and bolsters male sexual entitlement.
10
http://www.cosla.gov.uk/councils/leaders
‘Still Counting? Women and the 2012 Local Government Elections’, Meryl Kenny and Fiona Mackay, Gender Politics at Edinburgh, 11
February 2013. Link: http://genderpoliticsatedinburgh.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/still-counting-women-and-the-2012-localgovernment-elections/
12‘More of the Same? Women and the Scottish Local Government Elections 2012’, Meryl Kenny and Fiona Mackay, Gender Politics at
Edinburgh, 18 April 2012. Link: http://genderpoliticsatedinburgh.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/more-of-the-same-women-and-the-scottishlocal-government-elections-2012-5-2/
11
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In 2013, only 5% of editorial positions and 0% of political editorial positions in daily newspapers
were held by women across the UK, again highlighting their underrepresentation in influential and
high-profile roles. Women standing for or who are elected to political office are routinely subjected
to sexism in the mainstream press. The First Minister has expressed her anger about her own
treatment by the media, stating ““Some of things that are said about women in politics, the way you
are characterised, the way you are described, the focus on how you look and what you wear. It is
tough.”13
Online abuse of high-profile women has also been widespread with consistent reports of sexual
threats and wider misogyny, such as in the cases of Caroline Criado-Perez14 and Mary Beard15. This is
also pervasive in wider population and there are growing concerns around sexual online bullying.
Scottish Labour vision
We are committed to at least 50% women in any Scottish Government Cabinet and will appoint a
Cabinet Minister for Equalities with specific responsibility to ensure that gender and other equalities
are mainstreamed throughout the Scottish Government and Public Sector.
Ensure equal representation of women and men on the boards of public bodies accountable to the
Scottish Government.
Ensure that women are visible in all forms of public life and are fairly represented in the media.
Ensure that the online space is safe for women and steps are taken to tackle sexist online bullying.
Questions
How can we improve the representation of women in politics and encourage more women to
become involved in politics at all levels?
What measures can private companies take to improve their gender representation in high-level
positions?
What other measures need to be put in place to ensure that women have equal representation in
all forms of public life?
What measures are needed to ensure that women are represented fairly in the media?
What steps can be taken to challenge online Bullying?
13
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/nicola-sturgeon-accuses-the-sun-of-sexism-over-miley-cyrus-poster-10111055.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25641941
15 http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jan/21/mary-beard-suffers-twitter-abuse
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Women and the Economy
Women in employment
Women in Scotland are more likely to be in poverty than men, with unemployment,
underemployment, and welfare reform measures disproportionately impacting on women’s lives16.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2014 revealed that over 20% of women in Scotland earned
less than the Living Wage, compared to around 14% of men17.
The Gender Pay Gap in Scotland is currently at 11.5% (when men’s mean full-time hourly earnings
are compared with women’s mean full-time hourly earnings). Women account for 76% of all parttime workers in Scotland18.
This is reinforced due to occupational segregation where female professions systematically have
lower wages and have worse terms and conditions. These professions often have little access to
collective bargaining and because of this have low trade union membership. The Scottish
Commission on Older Women report on Older Women and Work19 highlighted that whilst the
numbers of older women in employment has been increasing steadily, there are widespread issues
around the quality of their jobs. Notably that occupation segregation and wage differentials are
more acute amongst this age group, who are also more likely to have caring responsibilities.
Recent amendments to the Scotland Act and the implementation of the Smith Commission have
provided the Scottish Government with greater powers than ever to improve the position of women
in Scotland.
Such measures should receive support from campaigners. The Poverty Alliance has urged that the
devolution of some benefits and employment support should be used as an opportunity to “consider
gender assessment impacts of labour market practices and labour market support and training”. 20
Over the last two parliamentary sessions underemployment has increased: rising from 80,000 in
2008 to 243,100 in 2013.21 The Women in Scotland’s Economy Research Centre estimate that
“Women are more prone to be underemployed than men, mainly due to difficulties in combining
caring responsibilities with paid work”.22
A recent report by Equality and Human Rights Commission found that pregnancy and maternity
discrimination still exists in the work place in Britain despite being unlawful under the Equality Act
2010. The report estimated around 54,000 women each year may be made to leave their jobs in
Britain.
Changes to employment tribunal legislation by the previous Coalition government, and the
introduction of tribunal fees, have seen maternity discrimination claims fall by over 70%.
Scottish Labour MP, Ian Murray tabled amendments to the Scotland Bill which would require
Scottish Ministers to establish a process to abolish tribunal fees in Scotland.
Neither the SNP nor Conservatives supported this amendment.
16
http://povertyalliance.org/userfiles/files/Poverty_Alliance_WomeWelfare_resp010515.pdf , p4.
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefingsAndFactsheets/S4/SB_14-90_Earnings_in_Scotland_2014.pdf
18 http://www.closethegap.org.uk/content/gap-statistics/
19
http://www.stuc.org.uk/files/Womens%20page/Older%20women%20report/SCOW%20Report%20FINAL%20Embargoed%20200815.pdf
20 http://povertyalliance.org/userfiles/files/Poverty_Alliance_WomeWelfare_resp010515.pdf, p4.
21 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0044/00449714.pdf
22http://www.gcu.ac.uk/media/gcalwebv2/theuniversity/centresprojects/wise/WiSE%20Briefing%20Sheet%20June%2014.pdf
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Women and Welfare
The Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee has produced a report on Women and Social
Security23 which has concluded that “women have been disproportionately impacted by the reforms
to the social security system”.
Women’s incomes will be further affected. From April 2016, the Minimum Wage for workers over
25 will rise to £7.20 per hour. However, this wage rise will be accompanied by tax credits threshold
changes. Low-paid women will be disproportionately affected by these changes. It is estimated that
20% of women’s income relies on benefits and tax credits compared to just 10% of men’s24.
The Scottish Government’s Equality Outcomes and Mainstreaming Report 2015 (page 13) claims that
SG mitigation of Welfare Reform measures amounts to £81m in 2015-16 and argues the positive
impacts of the Scottish Welfare Fund on women as well as the Council Tax Reduction Scheme which
“has gender implications, with more women than men receiving assistance in meeting their Council
Tax liability”25
Scottish Labour Vision
Ensure that women are equally recognised and represented in the economic prosperity of Scotland.
We will eliminate the gender pay gap and campaign for firms to publish their pay gap (and their pay
ratios) to expose any discrimination and inequality in workplaces across Scotland.
To make equality and transparency a key element in all public contracts to government. Using
procurement powers, we will ensure that all companies tendering for public sector contracts publish
the pay difference between men and women and publish pay ratios.
To pursue a sectorial approach in tackling low pay; Hospitality, retail and care are not only the
sectors with continuing low pay, but also the sectors which employ proportionally more women and
BME workers. Scottish Labour will develop a strategy with the living wage accreditation scheme to
focus on these sectors, amongst others, that have continuing low pay.
Ensure that all female dominated professions have comparable wages and condition. This requires
these professions to have equally access to collective bargaining which will be support by trade union
movement.
Remove all barriers to women challenging discrimination at work
All women returning from maternity leave career enrichment to enable them to gain experience that
may have been lost during their career break.
Support all women in the work place and tackle the challenges
23
Women and Social Security, 3rd Report, 2015 (Session 4), Welfare Reform Commmittee 2015.:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/91066.aspx
24 Fawcett Society who benefits – gender analysis report.
25 Equality Outcomes and Mainstreaming Report 2015, p13.
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Questions
Do we need contractual changes in the public sector to ensure men are allowed and encouraged
to share maternity and carer leave allowances?
What support would be useful for women returning to employment from maternity leave or after
a career break looking after children?
How do you think the occupational segregation and gender stereotyping that still exists in many
sectors and areas of employment can best be tackled?
How do we address the underemployment of women?
How can public sector procurement be best utilised to tackle inequalities within the workplace?
What measures are needed to ensure that female dominated professions have comparable wages
and condition?
How can we increase the access to collective bargaining to women?
What steps could be usefully taken to close the pay gap in the private sector?
What measures are needed to ensure that the welfare system works for women?
Should the recommendations of the Scottish Older Women’s Commission be implemented?
Are there other measures needed to ensure older women, and other disadvantaged groups have
equal access and support in the work place?
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Women and Justice
Ensuring justice for all
Women face particular challenges, both as victims and as perpetrators of crime. Dame Elish Angiolini
noted that there is an artificial dichotomy between victims and offenders who are women as very
often they are one and the same. She went on to point out that over half of the women in prison
have suffered domestic abuse and one in three has been the victim of child sexual abuse26.
To a lesser extent these trends can be seen in the non-imprisoned population of Scotland. Women
are more likely to be the victims of domestic abuse, cyber harassment, stalking, and sexual crimes,
including incidences of revenge pornography. As these crimes are overwhelmingly gender biased, it
is clear that a gendered approach must be taken to policy on the issues.
When mothers are imprisoned children and families suffer too. Scottish Labour successfully
campaigned to scrap the building of the women’s “super prison” in Scotland. We need real justice
and rehabilitation.
There must be a focus instead on community based alternatives to custody such as community
justice centres, ensuring perpetrators are held to account, that justice is served, but importantly,
that rehabilitation is not sacrificed and families do not suffer.
The number of women being convicted and sent to prison in Scotland has risen by 66% in the last
decade, more than double than the rate of men being convicted27. Women are more likely to be in
prison for lesser crimes and serve shorter sentences. Women are more likely to have mental health
problems or drug habits, and the system was designed with very little account taken of the specific
issues women face when entering and leaving prison. In particular there are very few rehabilitation
or support services aimed at women on leaving remand28.
Violence against women is still widespread with 1 in 5 women suffering domestic abuse and 3 rapes
a day reported29. There has been widespread effort to ensure that women have access to the justice
system and Police Scotland has made tackling these crimes a priority. Over the lifetime of the
Parliament there have been various pieces of legislation to tackle violence against women including
making stalking a criminal offence and the Domestic Abuse Act30. However, progress has slowed and
the proposed Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm Bill has a relatively limited remit around revenge
porn and abusive behaviour.
There has been a lot of progress in this field but there is still long way to go as the incidents of sexual
crimes increase and there are still institutional and cultural barriers within the criminal justice
system. Legislation against female genital mutilation has existed in Scotland since 1985, yet twenty
years later, a Labour-led debate highlighted that there have been no complaints raised with the
police. Rape and sexual assaults conviction rates are still persistently low with conviction under 50%,
and there remain issues surrounding access to legal aid.
One area that has been overlooked is commercial sexual exploitation. There have been various
attempts by Scottish Labour MSPs to introduce comprehensive legislation to tackle the demand of
and provide support to individuals selling sex, including providing exiting services; Trish Godman
tried to amend the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill 2009, and member legislation was
put forward by Rhoda Grant MSP in 2013.
26
‘Why prisons are failing vulnerable women’, Mary Rachel McCabe, The Justice Gap. Link: http://thejusticegap.com/2012/12/whyprisons-are-failing-vulnerable-women/
27 ‘Gender Crime and Justice’, Scottish Government. Link:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/Equalities/DataGrid/Gender/GenCrimeJust
28 ‘ Commission on Women Offenders’, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00391828.pdf*
29 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/violence-women/Key-Facts
30 http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/03/4845/4
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Preventing Violence against Women
Violence against women in Scotland is a widespread phenomenon but not an inevitable one. Where
good practice has been implemented and funding has been made available the levels of violence
have been shown to decrease.
The Scottish Government has a world leading violence against women strategy: “Equally Safe”,
which has clear cross party support. However, there has been little progress on its implementation
since it was published in June 2014, the Joint Strategic Boards have not met and there is no
timetable on publishing recommendations and action plans. Statuary bodies, including Police and
Local Authorities, and third sector partners have taken the initiative to start this work, but the
Scottish Government needs to show leadership to ensure that it is implementing across all
government departments.
There is a record level of funding for tackling violence against women as the Scottish Government
recently announced an extra £20m over the next three years. Whilst there have been various high
profile announcements on where this money will go, many organisations, including Womens Aid
groups, have insecure funding arrangements. In 2015, funding was only announced less than a
month before previous funding ended, meaning various organisations were contemplating job losses
or even completely closing their services.
Education plays a vital role in preventing violence against women and helps challenge the existing
myths. There has been excellent work to challenge these views, however there is a long way to go;
24% of Scots believe that if a woman is drunk when raped she bears some blame for what has
happened31. Currently, sex and relationship education is taught inconsistently across the country
and not all programs cover consent and domestic and sexual violence.
Online abuse and revenge porn has become more prevalent in Scotland. Coupled with the increase
in crime comes the understanding that legislation is unable to keep up with the developments in
technology that lead to new and different forms of violence against women. Commentators agree
that cyber abuse is a gendered phenomenon in that it affects women more than men. One study has
asserted that 40% of women using the internet have been harassed at some point32.
Scottish Labour Vision
Ensuring that women offenders are given appropriate penalties which focus on rehabilitation and
also take count of the impact on her children.
Create a strong and robust legislative framework around domestic abuse, including creating a single
offence and ensuring that there are no barriers in women accessing Justice.
Ensuring that demand for court time is met and that delays in bringing Domestic Abuse Courts cases
to trial are minimised.
Prioritising the detection and prevention of sexual exploitation in Scotland for children and adults.
Identifying and tackling all legal barriers for prosecuting sexual and domestic violence, including
examining issues surrounding corroboration and “not proven” verdicts.
Creating comprehensive legislation to tackle commercial sexual exploitation through tackling
demand and protecting victims both legally and through providing adequate services, including
support to exit.
31
Domestic Abuse 2007/08: Post-Campaign Evaluation Report’, Scottish Government Research, 2008.Link:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/232321/0063563.pdf
32 Cyber Civil Rights’, Danielle Keats Citron. Link:
https://www.bu.edu/law/central/jd/organizations/journals/bulr/volume89n1/documents/CITRON.pdf
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Committing to investigating the prevalence of FGM, working with agencies to ensure partnership
working in order to provide, sufficient education, and build trust in at risk communities. We will also
provide resources and an action plan to tackle FGM.
Finding a legislative solution to online harassment and highlighting the need to monitor the reporting
of crimes relating to online abuse and assessing whether current legislation is effective.
Ensuring all young people are aware of what informed consent is and are equipped to deal with the
scourge of pornography.
Continuing to champion the rights of women who are harassed by stalkers by carrying out further
monitoring of the existing legislation to take account of developments in technology which facilitate
stalking and ensure that it continues to be an effective tool against the offence.
Ensuring that all Women’s Aid Groups are adequately and securely funded.
Questions
What alternatives to sentencing for women facing short term jail sentences should be explored?
What gaps still exist in implementing all the recommendation made by the Commission on
Women Offenders? What need to be done to ensure they are implemented in full?
What measures need to be taken to reduce women re-offending?
How does current Domestic Abuse legislation need to be strengthened and should a single offence
be introduced?
What are main barriers in accessing Justice, both legal and cultural, and what changes need to be
made?
What current gaps exist in our legal framework in addressing violence against women in all its
forms?
How can we tackle online abuse? Do we need a parliamentary inquiry?
Should sex and relationship education be mandatory and how should it be delivered? Does it
need to include online technologies and safety?
Do we need to carry out a review of all legislation around violence against women, especially in
terms of stalking and sexual exploitation?
How should funding arrangements be administered, and do we need a specific women aid fund?
How long should the fund streams last?
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Women and Health
Women and Health Inequalities
The evidence of the last 65 years shows how well the NHS and the care sector has served women in
Scotland. Women are now likely to live longer than men, the rate of maternal and infant mortality
has plummeted, women are half as likely to smoke as men, and more likely to spend longer in
residential care facilities than men33.
However, despite the huge advances made by both the NHS and advances in medical science and
reporting since the post war period, inequalities remain. Despite a sustained assault on the ability of
public services to care for those most in need in British society inequalities are even more
pronounced; the last time the gap in health between the richest and poorest in society was so
polarised was in the 1930s34.
Many inequalities in the health care stem from inequalities in income and levels of deprivation35 and
this is the area in which most data can be found. However, there is increasing evidence to show that
other inequalities in health and care are prevalent in Scotland and although women have seen huge
strides in the level and quality of healthcare available to them there is some evidence of gender
based inequalities in health care.
Women who are more likely to be hit by the cuts in the welfare system along with the NHS because
historically these benefits had brought an overall improvement in living standards which contributed
towards decreasing inequalities in health care in Scotland. Women are more likely to be living in
poverty than men and experience the consequences of this.
Women are not only patients of care services. Women are far more likely to work in health and care
services in Scotland than men, and the pay gap in the NHS is increasing.
Scotland’s population is aging. In 2010 the population of Scotland was estimated at 5,222,100. This is
projected to increase to 5.36 million by 2018. By 2018, women will live for almost 5 years longer
than men36. Women will spend longer utilising care services and more women than men live in
permanent residential care. In addition, a new generation of women is emerging, who are still
working, but are also shouldering the increased burden of caring for older and younger dependants.
Mental health
1 in 4 people in Scotland experience mental health difficulties at some point in their lives. Women
are more likely to experience anxiety and depression than men37, women are susceptible to
perinatal and neurotic mental health disorders38, and women are more likely to suffer from eating
disorders. The Mental Health Foundation states that inequalities are profoundly linked to mental
health39. Women are more likely to be affected by poverty and have more major life events, and
there is evidence to suggest women are more at risk of social exclusion than men.
33
‘A Gender Audit of Statistics: Comparing the Position of Women and Men in Scotland’ Scottish Government, March 2007. Link:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/03/27104103/11
34 ‘Think Piece: In Place of Fear: Narrowing Health Inequalities’ Professor Danny Dorling, Centre for Labour and Social Studies, May 2013.
Link: http://classonline.org.uk/docs/2013_05_Think_piece_-_In_Place_of_Fear_(Danny_Dorling).pdf
35
‘Health Inequalities In Scotland@ Audit Scotland, December 2012. Link: http://www.auditscotland.gov.uk/docs/health/2012/nr_121213_health_inequalities.pdf*
36 ‘ At Home with Scotland’s Older People’ Age Scotland, 2012. Link:
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/pagefiles/17830/2011%20at%20home%20with%20scotland's%20older%20people%20%20%20web%20pdf%20hi-res.pdf?dtrk=true
37 ‘Addressing Mental Health Inequalities in Scotland equal minds’ National Programme for Improving Health and Wellbeing, 2005. Link: h,
ttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/76169/0019049.pdf*
38
http://www.scotpho.org.uk/health-wellbeing-and-disease/mental-health/key-points*
39 For more information, go to: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/about-us/Scotland/*
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There are significant differences between men and women’s perception of their health in Scotland
which can be related to gender as well as socio economic and environmental factors. Women are
more likely to consider themselves unhealthier than men, and are less likely to have participated in
exercise and sports, but are more likely to have gone to a GP if they feel ill. Women are less likely to
smoke than men, but the more deprived they are the more likely they are to smoke40.
Despite problems with mental health being linked with inequalities and gender, the Scottish
Government’s action plan for mental health in Scotland makes no mention of women as part of its
strategy to improve Scotland’s mental health41. Further work should be carried out into identifying
the links between gender and mental health and seeking out solutions that can be tailored to
women’s specific problems in this area.
Women and Social Care
Women suffer major inequalities in the workplace. This is very clear in the health and social care
environments. The health sector has one the highest proportion of female employment with almost
80% of employees being women.
However, relatively few women reach senior leadership and managerial positions. Despite the fact
that there is relative parity in gender in managerial positions within the NHS, given the high
proportion of women in the NHS one would expect to have a higher representation of females in
administrative/managerial positions. In addition, most (63%) of the senior management positions in
the NHS are occupied by men, which indicates a 40% gender gap in senior management positions42.
The care sector also displays a similar imbalance in its workforce. The Scottish Social Services Council
has noted that 80% of the social services workforce is estimated to be women43. Unison Scotland has
carried out work which shows that public sector care workers face wages which are typically below
national averages and jobs which are less stable than others. Women are most affected by these
inequalities44.
There are two aspects to caring for older people that can be seen to have a gender context. Firstly,
women live longer than men and so are more likely to be in need of care services for older people
for longer. For example, 71% of patients in residential care homes are women. Secondly, more
women than men are responsible for the care of younger or older relatives or friends.
An instrument that could be used to reform the employment structures of the health and social care
sectors is the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill, which was passed by the Scottish
Parliament on 25 February 2014. The Bill puts in place the framework for integrating health and
social care in Scotland and could be used as a way to ensure that health and social care workers have
parity of wages and have more job security and rights.
The Labour Party’s Commission on Older Women states that there is a new generation of women
who are both looking after their grandchildren in order to help their daughters return to work, and
also caring for elderly relatives.
40
‘Tobacco Use and inequality‘ Ash Scotland, March 2011 . Link:
http://www.ashscotland.org.uk/media/3862/Tobaccoandinequalities.pdf*
41 Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland: Policy and Action Plan 2009- 2011’ Scottish Government, April 2009. Link:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/271822/0081031.pdf*
42 ‘Gender Balance in Management: Scotland's Public and Private Sectors’ Glasgow Caledonian University, May 2006. Link:
https://www.academia.edu/1993935/Gender_Balance_in_Management_Scotlands_Public_and_Private_Sectors*
43
‘Powers for a purpose- Strengthening Accountability and Empowering People’ . http://www.sssc.uk.com/cat_view/67-social-servicesworkforce/69-statistics-and-reports*
44 ‘ Bargaining Briefing’, Unison Scotland http://www.unisonscotland.org.uk/briefings/b051_BargainingBrief_FairPayFortnight_Mar2014.pdf*
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However, this new generation and the roles in which they now inhabit are neither recognised nor
supported by public policy initiatives. The Commission on Older People suggests that there should
be a national standard of information services for carers, and that they should have a right to
adjustment leave, a period of time taken off work to deal with any crises in care which may arise. In
addition, the report notes that Hungary allows parental leave to be shared between parents and
grandparents in order to share the responsibility of caring for grandchildren45.
Reproductive and Sexual Health
In Scotland, the maternal mortality rate has decreased to almost zero. There are still issues relating
to childbirth in Scotland that remain to be addressed, one of which being something which can
profoundly affect a woman for the rest of her life; there were 5008 recorded miscarriages in
Scotland in 201246. Currently, only women who suffer recurrent miscarriages in the first trimester
are offered subsequent testing in pregnancy. The Miscarriage Support Service’s funding was cut in
2013 by the SNP government47. Scottish Labour will look into the issues surrounding miscarriage in
Scotland and identify whether any further action can be taken to reduce, and lessen the pain
suffered as a result of miscarriage.
We recognise that postnatal depression can impact on bonding between mother and child,
especially when in-patient treatment is required. In these cases mothers will be able to have their
children with them when this is in the best interests of mother and child.
Equal access, irrespective of geographical location must be available for all women to contraceptive
advice and sexual health services. Currently there are still health inequalities surrounding sexual
health and wellbeing, especially amongst young people and people with disabilities48.
Access to family planning services and abortion services is crucial and must be provided. Currently,
most women in Scotland seeking a termination of their pregnancy from 18-20 weeks have to travel
to England for the procedure.
It has been announced that abortion law will be devolved to Scotland. Many women’s organisations,
and Scottish Labour, firmly believe that the safest way to protect the current legal framework
around abortion was for it to remain at UK level where there is a strong consensus around the
current time limits. The experience in Northern Ireland shows that devolving has meant dramatically
different laws and has subsequently limited women’s rights.
We support the protection and extension of all women's rights, including with regard to their
reproductive health by opposing cuts in health and public services which restrict women's rights in
practice.
45
‘The Commission on older Women Interim Report’ September 2014
http://www.yourbritain.org.uk/uploads/editor/files/Commission_on_Older_Women_-_Interim_Report.pdf*
46
‘Births in Scottish Hospitals’. NHS Scotland, August 2013. Link: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Maternity-andBirths/Publications/2013-08-27/2013-08-27-Births-Report.pdf*
47 For more information, go to: http://www.miscarriagesupport.org.uk/*
48 For more information, got to; http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0048/00484414.pdf
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Scottish Labour vision
To ensure that we have fit for purpose Carer support legislation and review whether it is
working for carers, who are predominantly women, in Scotland.
To have a professional care sector work force which has access to clear career pathways and
pays at least the living wage.
Addressing wealth inequalities can be important in tackling health inequalities. We recognise
the role the living wage, the promotion of trade union recognition and collective bargaining
to secure fair pay and fairness at work and the role it can play in improving women’s
economic circumstances.
Ensure all women have access to suitable sexual health services including specialist
miscarriage centres.
Sexual health framework has to focus on supporting sexual wellbeing.
Have well-resourced mental health sector that is equipped to tackle specific gender issues.
Questions
What are the key steps we can take to reduce the numbers of women with poor mental health?
What support can be offered to improve the position of women working in health and social care?
How can the contribution of unpaid carers be recognised and supported?
Do you support the recommendations outlined in the report made by the Commission on Older
Women? Which would you prioritise?
How can we mitigate the impact of welfare reform measures on the health and wellbeing of
women?
What further action can be taken to support women who have experienced miscarriage?
Women and reproductive rights – how can access to abortion, sexual health services and
education be improved
What measures are needed to help support sexual wellbeing?
What changes would you like to see to antenatal services, access to midwives and health visitors
for new mums?
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Forward Plan
Scottish Labour is firmly committed to tackling gender inequality, and strives to make such goals a
core value in society today. In 2016, combatting gender inequalities will serve as a basis and help
shape policy developments in the Scottish Labour vision. While we have outlined ideas throughout
this paper, we welcome responses to the questions posed as well as broad input to further continue
the conversation about ending gender inequality.
We would encourage and accept feedback of various means in order to help accomplish this goal.
For any written responses or requests for in-person discussions, please contact Rhoda Grant MSP at
Rhoda.Grant.MSP@scottish.parliament.uk or send them to the office at :
Rhoda Grant MSP
Scottish Labour Party
Crichton House
4 Crichton Close
Edinburgh
EH8 8DT
Responses we receive will be greatly appreciated, and kept confidential. Thank you in advance for
helping to inspire additional conversations about battling gender inequality, and supporting Scottish
Labour in its mission to do so.
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