Presiding officer leads audit of female representation at Scottish Parliament

The representation and participation of women in the Scottish Parliament is being reviewed by a group of cross-party MSPs and representatives from equality groups and academia.

Launched by presiding officer Alison Johnstone, the so-called audit will take work already done by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association as its starting point and will seek to make recommendations for change.

Although the current parliament is more diverse than any that preceded it, Johnstone said that when viewing that in the context of the original post-devolution Scottish Parliament of 1999 “we know […] that this welcome progress can’t be taken for granted”.

“This is an important opportunity to have a broad look at how the parliament takes account of barriers to equal representation in its work,” she said.

In addition to the presiding officer, the audit board includes Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole Hamilton, Jeremy Balfour of the Scottish Conservatives, Karen Adam of the SNP, Maggie Chapman of the Greens and Monica Lennon of Scottish Labour.

Academics on the board include University of Edinburgh politics professor Fiona Mackay and gender and politics lecturer Dr Meryl Kenny, and Sarah Childs, professor of politics and gender at Royal Holloway. They are joined by Eilidh Dickson, policy and parliamentary manager at feminist organisation Engender.

Issues they will look into include the number and position of women parliamentarians, participation and intervention levels in chamber business and the impact of parliamentary procedures and policies.

“When the Scottish Parliament was created in 1999, it was internationally praised for its world-leading levels of women’s representation, and its attention to equal opportunities and participation. Now is a good time to take stock,” said Mackay.

“This audit, based on a well-tested comparative framework, will let us know how well Scotland has done over the long haul and, crucially, what work still needs to be done to make it an inclusive parliament for the 21st century.”

Dickson added: “Women are underrepresented in almost all areas of our democracy, resulting in policy decisions which not only ignore women, but actively deepen inequality.

“By examining the make-up of committees, gathering data on who is being invited to give evidence, and understanding where gender mainstreaming is being ignored, we can work towards a Scottish Parliament which can act as an exemplar for women’s equality.”

Work on the audit has already begun, with a report detailing recommendations for improvement due by the end of this year.