 The next item of business is debate on motion 16171, in the name of Christina McKelvie. Okay. Thank you. On international women's day 2019, balance for better. May I ask those who wish to speak in the debate to press the request to speak buttons? I call on Shirley-Anne Somerville to speak to and move the motion for up to 12 minutes, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'm delighted to have the opportunity to open this year's international women's day debate. First, I'd like to thank Gillian Martin, who had planned to hold a member's business debate on international women's day, but has kindly agreed to participate in the Government's debate instead, and I look forward to hearing her contribution. International Women's Day is a day to celebrate women's social, economic and cultural contributions to society and to raise awareness of the structural inequalities, discrimination and violence experienced by women in girls in Scotland and around the world. A day to reaffirm our commitment to women's rights and to galvanise our collective efforts to ending gender inequality. When I was considering the theme for this year's international women's debate, balance for better, it struck me that here in these stark global statistics is a reflection of the on-going inequality that women face. Women constitute just under half of the world's population, perform nearly two thirds of its work and receive one tenth of the world's income. Research from organisations working internationally also reveal that 75 per cent of the world's illiterate people are women. Only 24 per cent of parliamentary seats worldwide are held by women and violence against women causes more deaths and disability among women 15 to 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents or war. Add women's responsibility for caring and community cohesion and the picture is clear. Women's contribution is immense but not reflected in status, reward or position in society. Women are a long way short of equality and the need to pursue this agenda is as important as ever. This is no less so here in Scotland where one in five women experience domestic abuse from a male partner in their lifetime. Women earn overall 15.6 per cent less than men. Women occupy the lowest-paid jobs in the lowest-paid occupations, are underrepresented in boardrooms and decision making bodies and discriminate against unemployment and access to services. I am very clear that we do not have gender equality and we are still far away from achieving balance. This is not an issue past its sell-by-date. It is no less important than any other equality issues and it demands the attention of all of us. We inherit the legacy of centuries of discrimination in grain sexism and patriarchy and we should not underestimate the difficulty in overcoming this. However, it would be pessimistic and a great disrespect to the thousands of women in Scotland and worldwide who have fought, struggled and dedicated their lives to achieving equality for women not to recognise the tremendous steps taken on the progress made. It is fitting to acknowledge today the work of the women's sector in Scotland who hold us to account and push government to break down the systemic inequality that women and girls face. Organisations such as Engender, Rape Crisis Scotland, Scottish Women's Aid, Close the Gap, the Scottish Women's Convention and Equate Scotland provide us with a gendered analysis of women's experience and challenge us to go further to achieve the position in society that they deserve. One of the ways in which we can challenge the myths and raise the awareness is to remember, to record and to celebrate the contribution and progress of women. Virginia Woolf once said, for most of history, anonymous was a woman. We can't achieve equality for women without identifying and eradicating the discrimination and disadvantage that they face. That's why the First Minister established her national advisory council on women and girls. The First Minister's ambition was for the council that it would act as a catalyst for change, to address gender inequality by providing independent strategic advice to the First Minister. The advisory council's vision is of a Scotland that is recognised as a world leader for its commitment and action towards realising an equal society where all women and girls can reach their true potential. Elaine Smith, I wonder if the minister would recognise, as given an answer by the health secretary at general questions today, that this month the advisory group is taking contributions on women's health inequalities, which is something that has featured over the past few weeks in Parliament very highly? Shirley-Anne Somerville. Elaine Smith is quite right to point to that. Indeed, I was in the chamber for the cabinet secretary's answer on that, and it is a very important aspect that we must make sure is given sufficient attention by the Government but as society as a whole, so I would thoroughly endorse her remarks on that issue. The advisory council published its inaugural 2018 end-of-year report on 25 January, setting out 11 recommendations to realise gender equality in areas from justice to women's political representation, childcare and education. The council's recommendations are ambitious and thought-provoking, intended to drive systemic change. The reflective First Ministers ask of the council to be bold, even to make the Government feel a little bit uncomfortable. We are actively considering the recommendations of the advisory council, and I am pleased to announce that it will be my portfolio's responsibility to ensure that the recommendations are given the priority that they deserve. Over the course of last year, women's political representation has been high on the agenda. 2018 was, of course, the centenary of women's suffrage and women's right to stand for election to parliament, and a range of events and activity to celebrate the centenary were held across the UK. In Scotland, a small grant scheme supported 50 projects across the country. I am also pleased that the Scottish Government is supporting why WCE Scotland and the Young Women's Movement and the Parliament project deliver the Scotland Women's Stand campaign, which encourages women to consider standing for election, and uses a range of online tools and resources to provide practical support and advice. I do not have time to do justice to all the work that has been taken forward, but I would like to highlight some today. In my own portfolio, the Scottish Government has committed in its social security charter that policy development will advance equality, non-discrimination and human rights, in line with the principles that were enshrined in the Social Security Scotland Act 2018. Women are twice as dependent on social security as men, and have less access to resources, assets and occupational pensions. That is due to a number of factors, including women being more likely to give up work to care, earning less than men and challenges in accessing childcare. That situation is made even more acute in households where women experience domestic abuse. Research assessing the UK Government's social security reform highlights the disproportionate negative impact of this reform on women, and that has resulted in women being placed at a greater risk of deeper and sustained poverty. The driver for the reform has been austerity and it has not taken a gender equality into account. The design of a social security system can have an impact on the gender pay gap in a number of ways. It can equalise access to income or it can exacerbate inequalities. It can act as an enabler for women to access retraining or fully and equally participate in the labour market. It can force women in taking jobs that are detrimental to their wellbeing and the long-term earning potential. In response, we outlined in our fairer Scotland action plan, child poverty action plan and equally safe delivery plan how we will seek to mitigate the UK Government's social security reform founded on the basis of dignity, respect and human rights and to make the system fairer where we can. However, we recognise that we must continue to look at how we can ensure that gender equality is taken into account within our own social security system. In relation to women in the workplace, the Scottish Government has been working with our key partners to develop our ambitious gender pay gap action plan, which will be published shortly. Our work to eradicate violence against women and girls continues to be a priority for us. We are clear that it is a fundamental violation of human rights. It cannot and must not be allowed to stand. The Scottish Government recognises that we must challenge it, prevent it and support survivors. In order to help us to work towards this goal, we are implementing equally safe Scotland's strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls. We are also investing in significant levels of funding, bringing forward new legislation and working to strengthen front-line services. However, we recognise that we must also have a strong and decisive focus on building a society where violence does not occur in the first place. For that to happen, we must all acknowledge and work to address that the cause of violence against women and girls is women's inequality. That is why Equally Safe prioritises primary prevention and focuses on progressing women's equality, changing attitudes and behaviours, building knowledge and skills of individuals, and ultimately delivering a progressive shift in the structural, cultural and societal context in which that violence occurs. That strategy provides an overarching framework to deliver that change, but we recognise that we must also take forward specific actions to realise our ambitions and that is why in November 2017 we published our Equally Safe delivery plan. In conclusion, I have only had time to touch on some of the work that we are undertaking with our partners, but I hope that my remarks make clear the Government's commitment to tackling women's inequality in a systemic way. As everyone here knows, this year marks the 20 years since devolution, and as we celebrate international women's day, I think that it is fitting that we look back on the gains that have been made since devolution. Irrespective of our political persuasion, we can all I hope agree that devolution has allowed us to raise the profile of women's equality in Scotland. From that first parliamentary debate that focused on domestic abuse to the annual takeover of the debating chamber by over 300 women to mark international women's day, it has allowed us to use the powers that we have to make real change for women and girls, such as legislation like the Domestic Abuse and the Gender Representation on Public Boards Act. Another aim that I hope that we can all agree on is that we want to make sure that all women, regardless of not only their ethnic background, religion or belief, their sexual orientation, disability or age, access the best possible opportunities, can make a full contribution to our society and economy and improve their own lives. Let's celebrate our achievements and make a further commitment to do all we can to achieve gender equality and balance for better. Thank you. Could you move the motion, please? Move, Presiding Officer. Thank you very much, Cabinet Secretary. I call Annie Wells for up to eight minutes, please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I feel honoured to be opening for the Scottish Conservatives in today's debate, marking international women's day. I also want to thank all the organisations that sent through briefings ahead of today's debate. While celebrating the achievements of women and girls throughout history, I want this year to be a year in which we see real change. Too often I feel like I stand up in the chamber, knowing the challenges ahead and feeling disheartened about the pace in which progress is being made. Society has a big role to play, which is something that I will stress today, as does of course government. Although this year's theme focuses largely on the workforce and economy, there is so much to say on general societal attitudes, education, sport, the media and not to forget politics. Today we will be supporting the Scottish Government's motion in the spirit of the global event and reaffirming our support to upholding and protecting the rights of women and girls. The concept of a women's day has been around since 1909. Following a march held in New York that year, it was suggested at the International Women's Conference in 1910 that March 8, which is tomorrow, became an official event. And since 1996, the UN has selected a campaign theme to be launched on the day and continued all year round. In this year's theme, as we have heard, is balance for better, brings renewed focus to achieving equality and representation and the workforce. And it reminds us that there is still a long way to go in why a gender balance is essential to economies and communities to thrive. Importantly, it is also time to celebrate the achievements of women both now and throughout history. In my time as an MSP, I have met many women who have inspired me with their achievements. Recently, I met a local activist from Glasgow, Cara Theven, a student from Strathclyde University, who worked tirelessly on a campaign to get pubs and clubs to offer lids on drinks to deter drink spikers. Cara, using her own initiative to protect women and girls against this awful crime, now has the backing of Police Scotland as she looks to roll out the campaign nationwide. I also met Dee Bradbury, who last year became the first female president of a tier 1 nation, a top job in Scottish rugby. Last year, I also had the privilege to meet Donna Kennedy, who is the most capped rugby player, male or female, and is now rightly in Scotland's rugby hall of fame. I was delighted to be there in present when it happened. I have also had the opportunity to reflect on the changes that I have seen in my lifetime. From my time at school, where the only options offered to me were either administrative or secretarial, to my niece now studying sports science at the University of Stirling. In fact, when I looked into it, women are now far more likely to start a university course than men, with six in ten first-year Scottish students being women, so indeed progress. It is right that we reflect on these changes, as well as the subtler ones not necessarily linked to Government policy, but to wider society. In recent months, as examples, we have seen the release and success of major films with all female leads, and where the main plot line is in demand. We saw the announcement last year that women can now apply for the Royal Marines and all other front-line military roles. We have also seen the continuation of the me too in times-up movements. To some of those changes may seem insignificant, but there are signs that society is beginning to really question traditional attitudes towards women and girls in everyday life. I think that it is great that the status quo is being challenged, and that as society we are becoming more aware of what it means to achieve true gender equality. Today's debate does, however, also shine a light on where change really is still needed. Whilst I use examples of university places to highlight progress, it still remains the case that some individual subjects are dominated by either women or men. In the UK, the percentage of women studying a STEM degree makes up just 24 per cent of the total. In 15 per cent of engineering graduates were women in 2017, compared with 30 per cent in India. More concerning still is that the proportion of young women studying engineering and physics has remained virtually static since 2012, and in some subject areas, such as computing degree programmes, the numbers are falling. Earlier in the week, I was lucky enough to visit Walker Precision Engineering as part of the Scottish apprenticeship week, and whilst I was blown away by the positive impact that the apprenticeships were having on the young people's lives, I was disappointed not to meet a female apprentice. When I asked why that was the case, the company stated that simply women were not applying. It is clear that more needs to be done to change traditional views on what women and men should do educationally and in their careers. Annie Wells is talking about STEM and apprenticeships. In my area, Earshire College ran a campaign, This Earshire Girl Can, which encouraged young women and girls to go into STEM subjects. Is that the sort of thing that you think would be helpful? Annie Wells? Absolutely, and I look forward to hearing more from the member on that. It is things like that that we really need to see rolled out across the country. On that point, I would like to ask the minister what action has been taken to overcome the barrier. More broadly speaking, it is incumbent on all of us to have these discussions day to day. All of that, of course, feeds into the types of jobs women do. Women still largely represent those in low-skilled, low-paid jobs in Scotland, and women earn on average 14 per cent less than men, a figure that rises to 30 per cent for part-time workers. In business, although there are examples of good practice, as I have said with companies such as FDM and Glasgow, systemic change is still needed. As will be said time and time again, childcare is imperative to this. Women are still faced with the overwhelming societal expectation that they should lead on childcare, and we must encourage companies to incorporate organisational designs that recognise the pressures women face. In politics, we have seen progress from last year marking the centenary of some women being given the right to vote, and in 2017 a record number of female MPs being elected to the House of Commons. However, I know, as well as anyone, the need for vast improvement. In the Scottish Parliament, just 35 per cent of MSPs elected in 2016 were women, and in my own party, the percentage is even lower. I'm just about to get into my last minute. I've got a wee bit to do. I acknowledge that, which is why I set up Women to Win, with colleagues to ensure that continuous work is being done to get more women involved. The organisation is working hard to identify, recruit, assess, support and mentor female candidates and the results of which we won't be able to see until the next election. Presiding Officer, I'd like to finish by expressing my gratitude to the women and girls who have devoted their lives to upholding and protecting our rights. I wholeheartedly support the sentiments of International Women's Day, a debate that I have been privileged enough to speak in each year. I hope that, by continuing to shine a light on this issue, we can inspire women and men to achieve the change that is still desperately needed. Lastly, I couldn't let this debate go by without mentioning my mum Maria who continues to inspire me every day. Thank you. I call on Rhoda Grant for seven minutes, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. We celebrate International Women's Day at the weekend and I'm pleased to speak in support of the Government motion today. This year's theme is balance for better, which is about ensuring gender balance in all areas. Equal representation at every level, equal pay in every occupation. I'm especially proud that the Scottish Labour Party has taken positive action to back our commitment to 50-50 representation. We've achieved this a number of times in the Scottish Parliament. However, if we've learned any lessons, it is that it does need positive action and any achievement can't be taken for granted. If we let down our guard, it slips back. Unfortunately, in other areas such as councils and the UK Parliament, we still struggle and have yet to achieve 50-50. I would ask other parties to join with us and take positive action to increase women's representation in this Parliament and, indeed, at every level of government. People argue that representatives should be selected and elected on merit alone. I agree. I so look forward to the day that happens, a day when women will be elected on their merit because it doesn't happen today. If you're a man, you are so much more likely to be selected and elected, not because you have greater merit than a woman does, but simply because you're a man. Until women can compete on merit alone, we need to take steps to deal with the gendered discrimination that favours men. We all know people who argue that merit works now and what they're actually saying is that women are of less merit than men are. Those people discriminate against women, they're sexist and they need to address that behaviour. We have seen men favoured throughout society. We have seen that in politics, we've seen it on boards, we've seen it both in public and private boards and in our legal systems, and we must act to stop it. The Scottish Government appoint public boards and they must ensure that women's voices are heard there, but more importantly on the appointment boards because like recruits like, so we need to have women in those positions where they will also recruit women. While all women face an uphill struggle, women from ethnic minority groups face even greater discrimination, not only gender discrimination but also race discrimination. Therefore, I have to pay tribute to the work of Talot Yacouw, a founder member of Women 5050 who has worked both personally and professionally for the cause of women. She's an inspiration for all women, measured but absolutely uncompromising. Equality is not an end in itself, simply not a numbers game. We all lose out if we don't hear women's voices. We've all seen the difference that women make when they're empowered. Their knowledge and personal experience adds to the debate. Decisions are made on a broader base with a diversity of views and that's why we must strive to have councils, parliaments and boards and the like reflect society with regard to gender, ethnicity, disability and sexuality. Gillian Martin. I know that Rodegrant talks about public boards. Does she agree with me that there's an awful lot more to be done in the private sector as well and that there's great potential when having 5050 representation for the private sector? Rodegrant. I would absolutely agree with that. Not just because of the numbers game, but because that diversity leads to better decision making and it reflects the views of all the people that are represented in society. For instance, would we have laws, the laws that we have now around violence against women without women in this Parliament? Would we have a campaign against period poverty without women in this Parliament? I think not. Equality doesn't stop with representation. It must go further. Equal pay has been law for decades and yet we see even in public organisations that we have not achieved it. It's not just pay for the job, but it's also promoted posts in workplaces where women dominate. If you take, for example, primary school teaching or nursing, dominated by women, but the promoted posts are still dominated by men. Why is that? Is it because women are being forced to choose between family and career? Is it because, as a society, we expect women to take on the caring roles? In Scandinavian countries, maternity leave is shared, both parents can take career breaks to look after children. Therefore, to get equality, we need to have equality at home as well as at work. Governments are also contributing to inequality. Austerity has had a disproportionate impact on women. Women make up the majority of single-parent households and have been particularly badly hit. Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty, said that the UK welfare system is so sexist that it could have been compiled by a group of misogynists in her room. What an indictment! Is sexism so entrenched in our society that even our welfare system reflects it? That's why we in the Scottish Labour Party have targeted poverty. The cabinet secretary asks where to increase child support and remove the two-child cap. Those were focus policies that we sought to mitigate some of the negative aspects of our welfare policy that targeted women. Sadly, violence against women continues to increase. Domestic abuse continues to grow even given the actions of this Parliament since its intersection where we would have hoped to see a decline. Back in the first Parliament, my colleague Maureen Macmillan piloted the first committee bill through the Parliament providing protection against domestic abuse. Since then, every Government and every Parliament has continued in this lane, yet it appears that we have had little impact on the overall situation. We need to teach boys respect. We need to stop their access to violent pornography that forms their sex education and warps their understanding of relationships. For all of us, not just parents to do this, we need to look at how we regulate online pornography. The digital platforms have had long enough to put their house in order and they must now be forced to take action to protect future generations. We must also protect children from abusive parents. No parent has a right to access their children. When a parent abuses their partner, they also abuse their child. That must mean that they lose access to those children. Too often it does not happen and access is used to perpetrate continued abuse. It needs to stop. We all know that a child's life chances, health, wealth and education are directly linked to those of their mother. We cannot tackle child poverty without tackling their mother's poverty. We cannot build a child's self-esteem while leaving them subject to domestic abuse. On International Women's Day, we need our efforts to tackle those issues and to create a truly equal society for our children to inherit. I call Anand Whiteman for four minutes, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It gives me pleasure to rise to speak on behalf of the Scottish Green Party in this International Women's Day debate. In preparation for this, I was reading Rhoda Grant's contribution from last year in which she said that I wish my role as woman and equality spokesperson did not need to exist. I wish that International Women's Day did not need to exist. I agree, because although the day is a global day celebrating women, it is also a call for action to fight against patriarchy and deliver genuine equality. As such, its continuing need is disappointing to say at the least. Like others, I thank those who have provided briefings for today's debate. Reminding us, as the minister did, of the issues around care, representation and violence that still require serious action to overcome inequality. I would also like to commend Engender for its recent shadow report on measures that are necessary to give effect to the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. A UN treaty adopted 40 years ago in fact this year, in December 1979, in which defined discrimination in article 1 as any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex, which is the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition enjoyment or exercise by women irrespective of their marital status on a basis of equality of men and women of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. The recommendation was made in that shadow report across the 15 substantive articles of the treaty. Observance of which is a devolved matter are worthy of close attention and I hope that the Scottish Government will respond to them in due course and we might hear something of that in closing. However, as Angela Constance observed in opening the debate on International Women's Day in 2017, she said that it is a stark fact that in 2017 women nowhere in the world can claim to have the same rights and opportunities as men. No country has eradicated violence against women and girls, eliminated pay inequality or erased discrimination and prejudice. We know, of course, that International Women's Day had its origins in New York, in Denmark and in pre-revolutionary Russia and was a product of socialist organising. Significantly, it was on 8 March 1917 that women celebrating International Women's Day joined those protesting against food rationing leading to riots across Petrograd and women organising and recruiting over 50,000 workers to strike against the food shortages, against the czar and against the end of World War I. 100 years later, women and girls remain the world's most numerous and discriminated against human beings. For example, in 2006 I moved to Ethiopia. During a long walk through the Simeon mountains in northern Ethiopia, we rested for a moment on top of high escarpment overlooking a green valley. Even at some distance we were shouting and screaming. We took a close look through binoculars and observed a young girl running with men chasing her. They caught her and beat her with sticks before dragging her back towards the village from which she was running. She was one of tens of millions of girls in Ethiopia, 40 per cent of women aged 20 to 24 who have been forced into so-called marriage before the legal age of 18. Running away, of course, affords the slim chance of a better life but is fraught with danger with many young girls ending up in the streets of Addis Ababa begging or forced into prostitution. In India, too, there is a long history of endemic discrimination and violence and being conceived as a girl, as Vicky Allen wrote in an award-winning article in the Sunday Herald in 2015, is to put you at risk of feticide, infanticide, neglect, abandonment, bride burning, wife torturing, dowry killing and domestic violence. In short, in many parts of that country girls are not wanted. The struggle for true equality between the sexes is the biggest on-going social struggle facing all of us. Women bravely across the world have been leading the campaign to eradicate the patriarchy but we men, too, have a special responsibility to see, listen, learn and act about the systematic and structural ways in which women and girls face discrimination on a level never experienced by men. I call Alex Cole-Hamilton for four minutes, please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. It is the third occasion I have had the honour to speak for my party on the occasion of International Women's Day. I have to say that in previous occasions I have risen with some embarrassment obviously representing the views of five blokes in a Parliament that should reflect the society we all seek to serve is an embarrassing situation but since I came to this place we have, as a party, made strides in remedying that, both in the fact that we now have a front bench of a person's team which is entirely 50-50. We have, in the snap general election, returned a parliamentary team to Westminster which is made up of two men and two women and on the poll this afternoon which would put us on 10 MSPs in terms of the internal party structures we have in place, we would see five of those seats given to women so I am grateful that we are making progress but we are still a ways to go. In September last year a man attended a job interview it was surprisingly acrimonious for a job interview and at one point through a veil of tears he actually shouted at the panel I like beer, I still like beer that astonishing admission was in part an attempt to answer allegations that that same job interview panel had heard the day before a day later he then attempted to justify that outburst by saying sometimes I get emotional perhaps too emotional but he still got the job and of course the candidate I'm referring to is Brett Kavanaugh the panel that he was up in front of was the senate judiciary committee and the job was of course supreme court justice of the United States of America Presiding Officer the highest law officers on the planet like the highest politicians on the planet must reflect the better natures of the society that they seek to serve yet Brett Kavanaugh had been accused in dignified detail of assault and harassment but he had become notorious in far earlier in his career and gained attention and notoriety for producing the reputation of Monica Lewinsky in the late 90s in an attempt to bring down the presidency of Bill Clinton I defy anyone to state with certainty in this place that would any of those qualities or behaviours exhibited by Brett Kavanaugh in that protest exhibited by a woman would she have still got that job would she still, as a global society treat women demonstrantly differently than men whether that's in pay whether that's in the pink tax which my friend and colleague Christine Jordan has launched a campaign on this week about simple domestic sanitary products for men which are cheaper than women the representation in public art the sexual harassment in terms of the fact that we still have a structure delivered by the DWP which pays single claimants to households sometimes compounding domestic abuse and indeed in the provision of childcare we still have an expectation that that will fall to the women my party I'm proud to say in its time in government in Westminster did something to address that and that was with the introduction of shared parental leave which will mean I hope that for the very first time a female job interview will not be prejudiced on their child bearing age that a woman will be no less likely to ask to take leave than her male partner and I'm very proud of that Correstus Scott King said that the struggle for equality is never truly one you have to win it with every generation and we see in the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh and in the increasingly misogynist language in some of the political quarters of this world where that struggle for our generation still lies I started my remarks today with a quote from a Supreme Court Justice Presiding Officer and I will finish one as well Ruth Bader Ginsburg I'm sure carries the support of all of these benches and we hope that she continues in her role for many years to come but she said and I think that this sums things up perfectly when I am asked when will there be enough women on the Supreme Court I say when there are nine of them people are shocked but there have already been nine men and nobody's ever raised a question about that thank you very much thank you very much moving to the open debate I call Gillian Martin to be followed by Maurice Corry Ms Martin please this year's international women's day message is balance for better why is balance better and I'd like to concentrate on why gender balance in women's economy equality is good for the economy gender bias conscious or unconscious of course hurts women's life chances but more than that it hurts Scottish finances I convene the cross-party group women in enterprise no matter what theme we're discussing in our meetings the same barriers come up that stop women playing their full role in our economy as business owners they are always these assumptions that women are the main carer flexible or agile working opportunities male centric business support and unconscious buyers from the gatekeepers to support and finance and implied lack of legitimacy if there's not a man in the scene either as a financial backer or a company partner and this was mentioned again yesterday by Fiona Maturo who is the director of Radiant and Brighter who I believe is in the gallery just now along with women's enterprise Scotland ambassadors the rise of women is not about the fall of men it is about equality and if equality for its own sake doesn't do it for you then let me put it this way not having gender balance across every sector and a gender pay gap in our economy is wasteful and a delusion of our country's economic potential of our global potential the key study on this with facts from around the economic arguments for balance when closing the gender pay gap is the McKinsey report the women's equality adds 12 trillion dollars to global growth McKinsey pointed to globally operating companies who had really targeted making their teams more diverse and tracked the positive effects of that on their profitability and productivity and the results speak for themselves and one of the things I'm most proud of to be involved in this Parliament is the work the economy committee did on the gender pay gap our report No Small Change the potential of closing the gender pay gap drilled down on the causes of the lack of gender balance in Scottish workplaces the economic cost of leaving things as they are and the benefits of closing the gap so we know that closing the gender pay gap could add 17 billion to Scotland's economy and we also know that if the same amount of women set up in business as men do in Scotland and had the tailored support to help them sustain their businesses we could be looking at 8.7 billion influx into that economy too according to Women's Enterprise Scotland but of course a lot has to happen for those economic bonanzas to be realised and key amongst that is government funded and flexible high quality childcare that Scottish government is making huge inroads into tackling this particular cause of women's enforced and structural economic inactivity with the doubling of child free childcare Presiding Officer a country with a stubborn gender pay gap and a lack of gender balance in all sectors is a country that is not fulfilling its potential and I would argue that's a country that is failing and I'll end by yes I will it has to be brief the members in their last minute Ms Harper it will be very brief does Gillian Martin agree that one of the sectors is the agriculture sector and the women in ag task force and the local Dumfries and Galloway women and dairy network to promote advancing women to have a fairer Scotland I would and I'd like to thank Emma Harper for coming along to Women's Enterprise cross party group where we talked about women in agriculture and their continued support for the work that we do there I'm just going to finish briefly with one of my favourite stories which illustrates sensible policy decisions around equality and how they're good for the economy the former Norwegian Prime Minister was interviewed by the Washington Post in 2011 and the interviewer asked him what the secret of Norway's economic success was and the journalist I imagine was expecting to reply by oil and gas but Stoltenberg simply replied that it was Norway's woman he said one Norwegian lesson is that if you can raise female participation it helps the economy birth rates and the budget and of course Norway funds all its child care publicly and their tax take is the reward of that investment so balance is better not just for women's equality but for everyone happy international women's day to you Presiding Officer and to everyone I think that's the way to get extra time Ms Martin to congratulate me, wish me something then you get extra time it's a good bribe you missed that in your applause don't everybody try it I call Maurice Corry if we fall about Angela Constance Mr Corry please I too am honoured to speak today in this international women's day debate it's also good to see some of us men stepping up to the mark in the debate itself in 2019 it's not enough to simply acknowledge the good which is being done to promote gender equality but work actively to promote it and I agree with the Scottish women's convention chair Agnes Tolmy when she said issues that confront women on the daily basis cannot be tackled unless policy and decision makers listen to and take action on women's views, experiences and ideas as these policy makers we have the responsibility to take action to ensure full gender equality to strive for anything less would be to set our sights too low this year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the commonwealth women's parliamentarians or CWP a group founded by women delegates to increase female representation in parliaments and their recent initiative to promote equality included appointing a male champion of change to ensure that the male parliamentarians also carry the torch for gender equality in commonwealth parliaments and also legislatures I have been appointed as that CWP's male champion for this parliament and while it is clear that women members in this parliament do not need a male to speak on their behalf I am indeed humbled by this responsibility that we can as a male MSP for gender balance in all aspects in this parliament Ruth Maguire I thank Maurice Corry for taking intervention I wonder if that would include speaking up for gender quotas to help to increase female participation Maurice Corry Absolutely it would and that has been talked about already at that level in the CWP to thank you for that intervention that's an important point that the International Women's Day Balance for Better implies that achieving gender balance is not only morally right but also makes sense as easy as it is to simply say we are inclusive, some of us men must get out of our comfort zones and also challenge our inherent biases we need to support in word and deed those organisations which already are working hard trying to eradicate gender inequalities and I commend the organisations of which my colleague Annie Wells who started this is a group dedicated to increasing the number of female conservative candidates on the ballot they have done a strikingly well and their support has led in part to an increase in conservative female candidates running over the last 10 years and I hope to see these numbers increase in the near future let us continue to shift our perspective and see what we are missing out on talent in the public sector and in the workplace and when there is parity in the councils of human decision making in boardrooms and councils, better decisions are made and including women's perspectives also benefits the national economy as already been mentioned and a landmark study in the 1970s asserted that overlooking gender aspects of development projects led to project failure from this time onwards empirical research has confirmed linkage between gender variables and national economic performance and has found that improving women's equality effects security, GDP and education on health outcomes and the proportion of females in the workplace is also statistically significant in relation to the national economic growth and as has been mentioned already in light of such evidence balance is truly better women's involvement possibly shapes the economy and the presence of women's voices directly affects the economy the visibility of the political system females presence in economic decision making can moderate overconfidence and risk we need women's voices even more in this volatile world historically the system has systematically excluded women from what we would define as the formal economy and the traditional roles of women in care taking render themselves invisible in the economic system yet if this labour were to be calculated into the economy it would account for some 40% of world production and we have a responsibility as a Government to recognise the women's invaluable contribution both in and out of the formal economy and we can do better here in Scotland and Deputy Presiding Officer in conclusion without women's voices and participation we cannot hope to solve the most important problems of our day health problems, security of nations economic stability cannot be addressed without the insight of half of our population and we must do everything in our power to include women in the conversation including stepping aside and simply listening Thank you very much I now call Angela Constance Do we follow a bit Anna Sarwar Ms Constance please Mary Beard Professor, author, broadcaster in her women and power a manifesto shines a light on how many other attitudes prejudices and strategies to silence women are wired into our culture and she recounts the first recorded example of a man telling a woman to shut up as immortalised at the start of Homer's Odyssey when a young telomachus when challenged by his mother Penelope to change his tune said to his mother Mother go back upstairs into your quarters and take your own work the loom and the dis staff speech will be the business of men and of me most of all for mine is the power in this household and 3,000 years later sometimes it's hard not to conclude that our western culture is well practised at silence in women classical writers had much to say about the tone and timbre of women's voices and how tiresome is their barking, yapping or whinging not such a distant culture is it of course Mary Beard the Cambridge Dawn has lost count of how many times she's been described as an ignorant moron and I have to say it was not until I had reached the grand age of 44 and had been appointed as the Cabinet Secretary for Education that I had the very first ever experience in my life of being called thick or at least to my face and I used to get lots of emails complaining about my glottal stop and don't you know the emails would say there are two T's in Scottish or as I would say Scottish it is well known that Margaret Thatcher had voice training lessons to lower her voice but I have to say that Ella Cushan lessons were never on my priority list so women all women irrespective of the background have the right to be heard we are not some pale stale, homogenous group and in speaking up for all women whether it's women with a disability women from the BME community lesbian women, bisexual women or trans women I want to quote Coretta Scott King when she said freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience I don't believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others and if I can just say briefly Presiding Officer in terms of the debate gender recognition reform can I appeal for tolerance, respect, patience from everyone without exception because we all know that you never persuade anyone of your position by noise or by anger and it is easy these days to become overwhelmed and utterly frustrated that real equality between men and women is still an aspiration for the future however there is hope and there is progress establishment of this Parliament 20 years ago increased the visibility of women in elected politics and achieved a consensus and focus on ending violence against women and girls the legacy of the 2014 referendum irrespective of what side you're on led to the creation of a cross-party women's 50-50 campaign and I do very much believe that our public services will be better for everyone as a result of balanced public sector boards and in terms of hope for the future it was utterly uplifting to get a text from my 9-year-old nephew Robbie this week wanting to interview me for his homework on international women's day asking who has inspired me well of course there are many people I would love to mention but I just want to pay tribute to two very special women today the first is a constituent of minds Annie Mackenzie who is my local hero at the opening of the Parliament in 2011 due to her being a carer a campaigner and a fundraiser for Huntington's disease she was a larger than life character and will be sorely missed and then like Annie Wells I want to pay tribute to my own mother because my life is so different to that of my mothers and the reason I have not had to endure the struggles that she has was largely due to her so can I say to young Robbie do not be like Telly Marcus and always listen to your mother thank you thank you very much I call Anas Sarwar to follow by Ruth Maguire Mr Sarwar please thank you I learned at a very young age that real men are feminists and as a father of three boys I hope I can bring up my sons to be feminists too and I want to make just three points in the debate this afternoon firstly is to pay tribute to all the inspiring women over the generations who have helped to affect and deliver change inspiring women who have made personal sacrifices through really difficult times to get change for the generations that follow and change hasn't been easy it hasn't come by accident it has had blood, sweat and tears all the women and all the sisters who have helped to deliver the Equal Pay Act the Sex Discrimination Act the Equality Act recognised the challenges of violence to get women with the setting up of Scottish women's aid to those that drive campaigns today for example the 50-50 campaign for this Parliament for those that are speaking out and challenging around the Me Too movement and also us in this Parliament in terms of the gender representation on boards act thank you to each and every single one of them for the whole lot more work to do and that brings me to my second point I think it's important to recognise that the fight against all forms of prejudice including sexism and misogyny can't be left to individual communities alone we as men have to stand shoulder to shoulder with the sisters in this fight we have to amplify their cause but we also have to recognise that we too ourselves need to change and I hope that every man will have reflected on their behaviour post the Me Too campaign because just as I say that it's not just a fight for women against sexism the exact same applies for all other forms of prejudice and hate we can't just leave it to our ethnic minority communities to fallange racism we can't just leave it to our Muslim communities to challenge Islamophobia we can't just leave it to our Jewish communities to challenge anti-Semitism we can't just leave it to the LGBT community to challenge homophobia to be seen as a fight for every single one of us and only if we see it genuinely as our own fight will we defeat prejudice and hate in all its forms and that brings me to the third point which is what I wanted to focus on and that is to recognise the intersectionality of prejudice and hate I've mentioned homophobia I've mentioned racism I've mentioned Islamophobia I've mentioned anti-Semitism I've mentioned a racist attack or an Islamophobic attack or an anti-Semitic attack if you are a woman that is not a coincidence that is the deliberate targeting of women because people see women as an easier target and that means circumstances that I've seen myself in terms of women having the headscars for example pulled off their heads at train stations people being sworn at or assaulted in our underground system and our public transport system and about how people are victimised around our public transport system and therefore my challenge again is how do we work alongside those women who are even more tight in that minority and amplify their voice so we can allow Jewish, Muslim and ethnic minority women to come forward and speak about their own challenges and their own experiences and I want to share with you just one practical example of that about their daughter in a classroom their daughter in a classroom who just the week after the Paris attacks experienced horrific sexism and Islamophobia during her lunch hour had pupils in the class coming up to her and opening their jackets and pretending they were suicide bombers in front of her face when the teacher came in at the end of the lunch hour and saw this taking place he joined in and did it with his own jacket too and when the parents went to that school to see how broken that girl was with the circumstances the explanation they got back was it was the only way the teacher thought he could control the classroom and get it back to order now, Presiding Officer, you tell me how that child will ever have confidence that she can speak out on any form of prejudice or hate if that's what she can expect in her own classroom and that's just one little example and that's why I ask us all please to recognise then a time of division where we see an us vs them politics rising across our country, across Europe and across the world we have to redouble our efforts to fight for equality in all its forms and that's why I stand in solidarity with the sisterhood today thank you very much I have to be quite firm with members there is no time in hand so call Ruth McGuire to fall by Alison Harris it has to be four minutes Presiding Officer, balance for better is a call to action to address the overrepresentation of men at the expense of women on business boards and political chambers and on the media a situation where 52 per cent of the population are underrepresented harms everyone I've said it many times and I will keep saying it it's not just about unfairness women and girls not participating to the women and girls not visible it's damaging to society as a whole diverse groups make better decisions diverse groups make better policy resulting in better outcomes for our communities the UN special rapporteur said of the UK welfare reform that so disproportionately reaped misery on women and particularly single parents and disabled and the young if you got a group of misogynists together in a room and said how can we make a system for men but not for women they wouldn't have come up with too many other ideas than what's in place I don't know how many women were in the room when these reforms were developed but I do know that still in 2019 in our parliaments and in our council chambers women, in particular women from black and ethnic minority communities particularly disabled women are woefully underrepresented and if you're not at the table you're on the menu in 2016 I was one of only 45 female MSPs to serve in the Parliament it's not good enough and it's not good enough that we have no women from black ethnic minority communities in here either only this week I've heard at both Gillian Martin's women and enterprise cross party group and on my own committee real life examples of the structural racism that exists here in Scotland coupled with sexism you can see how crucial it is that we have more black and minority ethnic women's voices in our institutions at the last election Labour and SNP took action to ensure more female MSPs within our Parliament waiting for change that moves at a glacial pace is not an option if you believe in equality then measures have to be taken to redress the imbalance action has to be taken slogans and hashtags are not enough and there's solid evidence that when you do that quality increases it doesn't decrease, it increases and to those in groups where white middle aged able bodies men are overrepresented I'd simply ask that they reflect on this perhaps when they're using the word merit it's actually privileged they're referring to I utterly reject the notion that men are overrepresented in public life because they're better and I reaffirm my commitment to legislation to quote us to action deeds not words as sister suffragettes used to say the Scottish Government motion also talks to upholding and protecting the rights of women and girls briefly, very briefly thank you would the member not agree that it's also very important that you actually assess people also on their skills and suitability to jobs irrespective of what sex they are thank you we heard you nevertheless there is evidence that when you have more diverse groups of people the quality goes up nobody's talking about having unqualified people and what I'm saying to you perception that the overrepresentation of men is about merit it's not it's about privilege it's about the privilege of white able-bodied men upholding the rights of women and girls their fundamental human rights and these rights have been long and hard fought for and should be defended vigorously the fight is not over we have female genital mutilation prostitution, sexual slavery women and girls are refused access to education access to political participation women and girls are trapped in conflicts globally where rape is used as a weapon of war and around the world deaths relating to pregnancy and childbirth are needlessly high and women and girls are prevented from making deeply personal choices about their reproductive healthcare as the cabinet secretary said in opening women as a sex class do not have equality and the fight is not over not in this country and not globally the rights of women and girls must be defended vigorously I'm very grateful to all the organisations that the cabinet secretary mentioned and to the many individuals who do just that however they describe their feminism and I would just finish in thanking my colleague Joan McAlpine for speaking up this week and raising a matter that many of us have been uncomfortable raising I thank all women who do that Thank you very much I call Alison Harris to be followed by Fulton McGregor Ms Harris please Thank you Deputy Presiding Officer I am also delighted to be speaking in today's debate Tomorrow as we have heard marks international women's day where people from all over the world celebrate the economic, cultural, social and political achievements of women International women's day first officially occurred in 1911 with over 1 million people in support nowadays it belongs to so many more After what seemed like steady years of steady progress it feels like the last few have been a huge step forward for social and cultural change that has been felt all over the world attitudes are changing at a fast pace we have seen this in politics in business, in cinema, in sport and right across the spectrum One where we are witnessing progress or one place where we are witnessing progress is here in Scotland and it is in the gender pay gap This looks at the difference between the average hourly pay rates for men and women and the Office of National Statistics published gender pay gap data annually In Scotland, the gap has been narrowing consistently In the decade from 2008 to 2018 it almost halved down to 5.7% and that's the second lowest of any part of the UK There have been other areas of positive advancements in business too In various areas glass ceilings have been broken and talented women have won through The most recent women in work index report by PWC said that Scotland is performing part of the UK in terms of gender diversity in the workplace but International Women's Day isn't just about celebrating it's also a call to action for accelerating gender parity wherever we can In 2017, the UK Government made it compulsory for companies with over 250 employees to report their annual gender pay gap Last year's figures revealed that every sector in the UK paid men on average more than women and the construction and the financial sector reported the widest pay gaps There is always more we can do and more progress has to be made Scotland still struggles in encouraging girls into science, technology, engineering and mechanics or STEM subjects As reported in June last year just 9.1% of STEM modern apprenticeship starts are female Moving forward at this rate there will be longer term problems in getting women into senior positions within the STEM sectors The underrepresentation also prevents women from developing and influencing new attitudes amongst others within these sectors Education is vital in driving towards gender balance here in Scotland and throughout the world Each year International Women's Day focuses on a different theme As the motions and others have mentioned this year's focus is on balance for better campaign which will run throughout 2019 Asking all members of society to drive for gender balance around the world This campaign emphasises that everyone has a part to play, not just women and at all times Gender balance is essential for economies, communities and societies to thrive and gender balance is improving In politics we currently have our second female Prime Minister and a female First Minister Our current and previous leader here in the Scottish Conservatives are both women and I know the hard work of those involved in our women to win initiative will improve female representation in these benches in the future There are many aspects of this issue that are improving and so many that need more attention As we mark International Women's Day let's welcome and celebrate the improvements but let's also recommit to call to action to bring about gender balance throughout our society and beyond the wider world A balanced world is a better world Just one final point I read this recently and I think that it's very appropriate for today You're a woman so that alone makes you pretty remarkable Sorry about that I'm full to McGregor followed by John Mason Mr Mason will be the last speaker in the open debate I'm delighted to participate in today's debate ahead of International Women's Day As a day when we celebrate Yes, your microphone helps if it's upright Thanks very much It's a day when we celebrate women's and girls' achievement in their social, economic and cultural contribution to society but it's also an opportunity to come together and continue the conversation as to how we ensure our society is more equal We have so much work left to do and we still do not see gender equality across society but with a shared commitment that's certainly achievable and I would encourage everybody to reassess what they can do to help make society equal whether that is business owners, the media, members of Parliament or for all of us as members of society I want to spend my time speaking about my campaign on four weeks paternity leave or shared parental leave and I want to mention that I'm very honoured to speak at an event tomorrow on International Women's Day about how dads impact on gender equality It's in Edinburgh starting at 10 o'clock and I can give any members the details who would maybe want to come along to that and I also just take this opportunity before I go on to speak about that to thank the work of Gillian Martin and Ivan McKee in the shared parenting cross-party group of which I've recently become the convener and I want to thank members for that group for agreeing at the recent meeting of pursuing this area further Presiding Officer, as you might be aware just now in the United Kingdom and Scotland fathers get up to two weeks to leave which the dad can take from birth of the child and some employers, including the Scottish Government do offer a wee bit more up to four weeks but the general standard is two weeks with one week being paid and the other week unpaid but this situation only reflects in reinforces culture assumptions about traditional gender roles where the father is a breadwinner and the mother is a primary carer and we all have a duty Presiding Officer to challenge that head on The University of Slovenia, Sweden, Finland and Norway offer between 10 and 12 weeks to paternity leave and research from these countries indicates very strongly that where there is higher paternity leave higher levels of gender equality are reported and that's the key balance is better and statistics show that fathers are doing more of the childcare than ever before still not as much as mothers do and I know probably the research is probably about half of what mothers do that is clearly still not a quality far from it but it is progress and there is evidence that it's moving in a generational manner and that people of my generation perhaps are doing more than maybe our fathers and their grandfathers and so on but if we want true equality we must break down the barriers that are in place so on international women's day it is good that it is no longer just assumed that it will be the mother that will do all of the childcare and I was going into intervening in Annie Wells earlier and it's simple to say that I've spoken out against the UK Government shared paternity scheme and here before yes it has its benefits and I know that it works for some families and I think that its intention was sound I would have to say that but I agree with many stakeholders who are now speaking out about it and even a recent paper from North Lanarkshire Council that basically says that the scheme is fundamentally flawed that's because in essence it results in parents having to work out how to split the same period of leave on financial grounds and it sends a message really that any time that's taken from the mother spend attaching with her child is her responsibility and that perpetuates the cultural assumptions that I've spoken about and does not take into account possible power and balances there that could exist within relationships so there should be a separate paternity leave policy for fathers and I'm working with Fathers Network Scotland and others about launching her campaign on the power to this Parliament in that area and it is a fact that increased paternity leave benefits everyone as a society as a whole allows fathers to spend more valuable time with their children, lowers rates of postnatal depression for women, allows for a quicker return to work and helps us men very importantly helps us men to reflect and challenge implicit attitudes about mothers being the primary caregivers and I can see that I'm running out of time and yes you're right there you can see it so you can sit down I called John Mason and then we moved to closing speeches Mr Mason, four minutes. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer and I do appreciate the opportunity to speak today I think it's important that we have men's voices on this topic Firstly, thinking as vice convener of the Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee I think we have been trying to make the role of women part of our inquiries in topics we've looked at like Scottish Enterprise, HIE, business gateway and previously as I think Gillian Martin mentioned we did a report on the gender pay gap and while it's good that organisations are now having to publish data the reality is we're not making as much progress in this regard as we should be I thank Engender for their briefing for today's debate and they talk about an average pay gap of 14 per cent while for part time workers it is 30 per cent they also point out that 63 per cent of workers on poverty wages are women clearly Scotland's not alone in having an unacceptable gender pay gap and I think the committee was surprised when we heard that there is still quite a serious problem in Sweden which many of us would see as one of the most progressive countries that's not to excuse our failures here but I think it does show that some of these problems are very deep rooted and around the world The economy committee's current inquiry is on the construction sector which has been mentioned already and it is very clear that women are seriously underrepresented when we look at the number coming into apprenticeships we had nine young apprentices at committee on Tuesday two of whom were women but clearly peer pressure, family expectations and perhaps even stereotypes around a word like construction meaning things are not changing very quickly there are some glimmers of light I accept and some individual organisations are perhaps doing slightly better than others just this morning I met TSB and their new CEO is to be a woman Debbie Crosby who I think will be the only woman heading up a major UK bank and she was also I believe the first woman to sign a Scottish bank note another piece of positive news has been the settlement at last in the Glasgow City Council equal pay dispute men and women must be paid the same for work of equal value and of course this applies to other organisations and ASDA is one which I believe is currently going through a dispute but sadly this still leaves the problem of the organisation being paid less than man in another organisation for work of equal value moving on to a different topic and gender also reminded us that 65% of MSPs are men while 71% of councillors in Scotland are also men I think my own party's thinking has changed in this over the years we saw talented individuals like Nicola Sturgeon Fiona Hyslop and Shona Robinson rise to the very top and I think for a while we assumed that members of women would just come through automatically however this has proved not to be the case and I wholeheartedly agree that it has been right to make the cabinet 50-50 and take other positive action to move things forward of course a slight downside to this is that in the back benches we now have a predominance of men could we ensure a 50-50 split of men and women here in the Parliament I think there are options that should be looked at including using the list system to create a balance or we could go as far as saying that half constituencies should only have women candidates from all parties and the other half only men candidates and that would probably ensure 50-50 I don't know if people would want to go that far Finally a different topic last Friday as some may know was the world day of prayer and that used to be called the women's world day of prayer but it has been widened out and some men are now allowed to go although it is still organised by women and this year it was organised by women from Slovenia one of the women from Slovenia she said I am a researcher in a scientific institute I wish however that the balance between family care and work would be more favourable to families and less restrictive to women in their working place in spite of the full legal equality women still have to bear a double burden I think this emphasises why it is an international day we are marking because women all around the world have not had a good deal and that is both disappointing but it can be encouraging in that we are not alone but we are working with people around the world to improve things Thank you very much Thank you very much This has been a really positive debate with many interesting contributions from both men and women and as Anas Sarwar and John Mason said men should be supporting women in their struggle for equality and whilst I know what Maurice Corry said our male colleagues solidarity is very welcome In closing for Labour I join with other members in celebrating women's achievements and I welcome the Scottish Parliament's commitment to making progress on women's representation at every level of public life we rightly celebrate women who inspire each other their families and their communities and Annie Wells mentioned a great many examples of women doing that and I too like Annie want to wish a happy international women's day to my mum Moira she is inspirational to me as a school teacher, a champion swimmer a mum and a grandmother so I take the opportunity to do that However, of course it's not enough to simply celebrate or increase women's representation the voices of women need to be heard and acted on and that was a point made strongly by Rhoda Grant and also by Angela Constance and Ruth Maguire in the debate we know that that will result in better policy stronger laws and a more equal society recently in women's health women themselves are tackling inequalities whether that's mesh survivors who we heard of earlier this week thyroid patients or endometriosis sufferers and they are making parliamentarians and governments listen to them and support them cross-party groups are also taking up issues affecting women and that was a point made by Gillian Martin yesterday at the cross-party group Women's Enterprise which she chairs Fiona Matovo of a company called Radiant and Brighter who support migrant communities and their specific needs addressed the meeting and Gillian Martin pointed out that Fiona is in the gallery Fiona spoke about challenges faced in finding work and setting up business after experiencing years of unemployment as a result of immigration controls and gaps in employment support provision and she emphasised how important it is to listen to these communities and work with them in developing the most appropriate services needed which in the main are actually not there several members also mentioned the fact that BME women are more likely to be out of work on lower wages or in households living in poverty and we need to acknowledge that and take responsibility as a parliament for changing it also for women living with disabilities as mentioned by other members the statistics tell a tale of greater discrimination pressure and stress at work higher unemployment and few opportunities to maximise their potential only last year the HRC Scotland report is Scotland fairer concluded that women and disabled people were more likely to experience severe material deprivation the speakers from the MS Society at yesterday's CPG on women's enterprise reminded us that we are not getting it right yet whether that be employers business support services or governments too many women with disabilities are out of work or they are struggling to get by and debilitating health conditions such as MS miscomplications and endometriosis predominantly affect women as mentioned by Shirley-Anne Somerville and Annie Wells last year marked the centenary of some women in this country getting the vote of course since then there's been significant progress made in women's representation in the chamber itself among staff who work in the Parliament and the members of the public could come in to engage this is a Parliament we shouldn't forget with a crest facility and understand in the world to facilitate engagement and it's a Parliament that legislates on violence against women on childcare and on breastfeeding and we should be proud of the differences made to women's lives but we also need to recognise as did those women campaigning for the vote that we still have work to do and I very much agree with the point that Ruth Maguire made about male privilege in that regard with rising numbers of children living in poverty and those growing up in households with at least one adult in work and disproportionately high poverty levels amongst households headed by women increasing still more amongst the BME population and women with disabilities and pleased that the Government has in opening used this International Women's Day debate to renew a commitment to take more action so in closing I would like to remind members International Women's Day has its origins on trade union movement which recognises the strength of collective voice and collective action Collectively I think that we can do better for women in many of the areas mentioned in this debate health, poverty, enterprise for BME women and for women with disabilities and for the very last word I'd like to go back to Fiona speaking at the CPG on women in enterprise yesterday she said in Africa we have a saying if you want to go fast go alone but if you want to go far go together Scottish Labour will support the motion tonight Thank you very much I call on Rachel Hamilton to close for the Conservatives Ms Hamilton seven minutes please Thank you In closing for the Scottish Conservatives I want to wish everyone a happy International Women's Day and take this opportunity to reflect on the excellent contributions from across the chamber The simplicity of the strap line that we've heard today balance for better has been touched on from the value of female contribution and representation in this place in media and work place in life and in society and although the start to the statistics that the minister set out really did reveal the true inequality that women face but we have heard today that a good balance benefits our economy and enriches and enhances every aspect of our society and that's what we must focus on because the global inequality is fairly depressing I want to pay tribute to a group of people from the borders called CEDA and CEDA stands for children experiencing domestic abuse and recovery and they run a therapeutic educational programme for children, young people and mothers and this group picked up an award last year it's a violence against women award last year and I congratulate them on their incredibly powerful work on these benches we are very proud to have launched Women to Win in Scotland which mentors and nurtures and supports women into politics and last year we also announced a diversity commission led by Nashina Mabarak to increase the number of females and BME candidates selected and elected most people in this chamber realise that we don't support mandatory quotas but to be honest we are a pretty blunt instrument and we have had that debate before but we do believe in recognising that many women count themselves out before they even get to the selection or recruitment process we need to address these obstacles not put a sticking plaster on them of course Ruth Maguire I recognise that there will be valuable work that you are doing in encouraging and cajoling and mentoring but if that doesn't work will you be prepared to wait to have equal representation on your benches? I thank Ruth Maguire for that intervention obviously working up to 2021 we want to see more women selected and elected and that will probably be our benchmark but looking towards education which many have agreed today that women and girls can realise their potential and aim for the top which is so vitally important so that we have a balance in the workplace which Ruth Maguire has highlighted across society and many members have spoken out about STEM subjects today no subject whether physics, computing studies or chemical engineering must be out of bounds for girls at school STEM subjects are the key to how our future economy and girls at school should be encouraged to participate in these subjects without hesitation nevertheless we know that this is not the case presently Cabinet Secretary very grateful for the opportunity I would hope that given the number of times that this has been referenced by the Conservatives that they would welcome the STEM strategy which I launched as higher and further education minister with a special responsibility for STEM specifically to tackle those because I absolutely recognise the points that Rachel Hamilton is making Rachel Hamilton I thank the minister for that intervention and support the work in STEM by the Scottish Government we have to look at the statistics though and the minister knows that the percentage of women studying a STEM degree only makes up 24% of the total and in computer science the growth in the number of female graduates was far behind the growth in the number of male graduates 3.1% versus 9% respectively and Annie Wells highlighted a really stark statistic that just 15.1% of engineering undergraduates in the UK were women compared to 30% in India and perhaps there are international models that we should be looking at too empowering women and girls through education is certainly one way in which we could help improve this statistic through greater female participation well go on then very grateful just a minute I have to call you I have a little job, Gillian Martin thank you for saying that just to say that the graduate numbers are not the only thing we should be looking at we should be looking at how many women stay in engineering because there is a leakage of women coming out of engineering as well and I think that that is just as important I thank Gillian Martin before you speak I don't need your assistance Mr Rumbles, step too far Rachel Hamilton I thank Gillian Martin for that really relevant point because that is absolutely what we should be doing we should be looking at women returner to work programmes and indeed if a woman has trained as a graduate in engineering very often home life or caring for somebody else actually takes over and there isn't a way to get back into that so we must be nurturing and getting those women back into those roles Rhoda Grant actually mentioned that the types of jobs and females do and I wanted to highlight a stat that I found from British Gas which showed that 70% of girls they thought that they were most suited to careers in beauty, child minding nursing or education and whilst these careers are certainly rewarding and indeed we need carers, we need people working in social care and nursing but it highlighted that putting more women in what ordinarily would be a male choice of apprenticeship could actually bridge that gender pay gap Alex Cole-Hamilton spoke about work practice in the workplace and we have to get it right for women in the workplace Julian Martin spoke of the gender pay gap and it's still at 17.9% which is too high but we know that the Scottish Government are looking at this and the UK Government are working to narrow that gap and the Government Equalities Office has published a what works guidance for employers on the progression of women and help to close that gender pay gap in my constituency I'm hoping that the south of Scotland economic partnership agency which will be set up next spring will address some of the issues that we do have with the gender pay gap Presiding Officer I think that I've taken too many interventions because I've got so much to say but I wanted to go in No time to say it I just want to make one little point about childcare yesterday we highlighted some of the flaws in the expansion of the childcare provision flexibility is absolutely key to allow women to return to work after having children and parents should have the ability to choose a setting that suits their children and I'll sit down there because you've given me the look Thank you Presiding Officer I don't know what you're referring to Ms Hamilton and I call on Christina McKelvid close to the Scottish Government thank you very much Presiding Officer and I thank everyone for their contributions across the chamber this afternoon and wish you all a happy International Women's Day I am incredibly pleased to be closing today's International Women's Day debate for the Government and my role as minister for older people and equalities as many people in this chamber will know for my 11 plus years as an MSP I have been an advocate for all of these quality issues and some would maybe say I'm outspoken one and maybe just spoken in just about every International Women's Day debate we've had in this Parliament and very proud to do so this has meant that International Women's Day has held a very significant special place for me in years gone by it used to be one of the few opportunities to find space to discuss women's equality and to raise awareness of systemic change required to achieve women's rightful place in society we have many many examples of how we can do that and many many examples of the work however I see a Scotland now where women and girls and men and boys are making space to discuss these issues on a daily basis in schools and colleges, workplaces their homes and of course on social media the debate on women's equality can no longer be contained to just one or even 16 days it's now a debate for everyone every day and our debate this afternoon has been very far ranging the breadth and depth of all of the topics but I want to pick up some of the points it was really great to hear Angela Constance talking about Mary Beard because Mary Beard reminding us through the lovely accent of Miss Constance that women's place has been undermined throughout the entire state of history and how we should campaign for the freedom of others I loved meeting Mary Beard when I went along to the Women's Caucus in Dublin recently and met with some of the amazing feminist activists from Ireland who have been in the news recently and Rachel Hamilton touched on and highlighted on the work of local groups to minimise domestic violence and she will know that the Scottish Government is committed to tackling domestic abuse through enactment of the new domestic abuse offence and working with justice partners to ensure readiness for its implementation the act will come into effect in the first of April 2019 and we'll send a clear message that domestic abuse will not be tolerated and can be dealt with under our law it's vital that we take these necessary measures to ensure that the justice system is ready, prepared and equipped to deal with cases involving coercive control and behaviour and the Scottish Government has provided funding to Police Scotland to support the development of training for 14,000 police officers and staff and just last week, Presiding Officer at Seadol, the oral examination of the UK by the UN Seadol Committee was just 26 February Scottish Government were represented in Geneva as part of the UK delegation and gender attended alongside with the UK NGOs and the committee will publish its report soon and we'll be all happy to hear what they've got to say about Scotland Elaine Smith raised a very important issue about health inequality when it comes to women and who would have known how successful the period poverty campaign had it not been for women working together in this place but the other side of that is the menopause campaign that she will know I'm involved in and I'm determined that the Government improves its position for women affected by the menopause we funded the Scottish Women's Convention to hold a conference on menopause last month and heard directly from women about their experiences and what action they wanted this Government to take I heard from many, many women that want more clinical research on menopause workplace policies to support women rather than discipline for struggling with their symptoms, increased awareness raising and a consistent health response across the country I'm sure we all want that Can I just touch on some of the points that many people raised in the chamber today because there was so many Annie Wells, Alison Harris and Rachel Hamilton all raised the issue about apprenticeships and they may have seen that we have committed to 30,000 apprenticeships by 2020 the commitments in the STEM strategy and I would hope that they would be looking out very soon for some up-to-date progress on the STEM strategy and at this point can I just welcome the amazing work of Equate Scotland and what they do to ensure that we fix that leaky pipe and keep those women in those jobs Rhoda Grant raised the issue about respect and consent, something that we have debated a lot over the past year in this chamber and that we have discussed in schools Equally safe, the whole schools approach working with our causal partners to roll out this and tackle the issues that both boys and girls face in school environments I would hope would go some way to tackle some of that Andy Wightman, Anas Sarwar and Fulton MacGregor all talked about men's as allies Anas Sarwar described as real men are feminists and I agree with him and the responsibilities of fathers that we do is the issue of intersectionality so whether it's your race, your gender your disability, whether you're facing as a woman, you're a victim of racism Islamophobia and anti-semitism we've still got a job of work to do and ensuring we tackle that Alex Cole-Hamilton reflected on the point of the need for better gender balance in political parties the global society and how we treat women differently, the pink tax universal credit and I'm sure he'll welcome our campaign on split payments for that Martin, Alison Harris and John Mason all raised the gender pay gap and the work that we need to do on that especially the work that we need to do on equal pay and I'm sure that they will all welcome the gender pay gap action plan which will be published very soon too I was absolutely delighted to hear Morris Corry make a commitment to gender quotas even although I think it shocked his front bench but I'm sure women 50 50 are looking for a conservative member of their group and I'm sure he'll welcome Morris should he want to do that Morris Corry, I'm not sure your microphone's on Mr Corry, is it? Sorry, I'd like to just correct that slightly that I also, what I meant to say probably to caveat it was that we very much believe in based on skill and what that job or position requires and of course we encourage as many people many women forward to come forward after all I'm a father of three daughters so I'm no optioner to say that Christine McElvie Morris Corry's just wiped his smile off my face cos I thought we'd made real progress with the Conservatives this afternoon so I'm looking forward to maybe continuing to change his mind Presiding Officer Ruth Maguire reminded us of the words of Philip Halston and the rate clause and how that was written by misogynists and like Anas Salwar called for better balance and representation in this place which includes women from all of our diverse groups Elaine Smith called for this as well because we see some women's representation across the board as a key element to the work that we need to do Presiding Officer, I'm sure that my ministerial colleagues across the chamber or women across the chamber or male allies across the chamber will be really keen to keep working on how we take forward the issue of women's equality in all of the areas that we do because as we know that we do that progress, we do that work very very locally so we all have a responsibility for the issues that create that inequality Presiding Officer, last year I took part in this debate from the back benches and this year along with Cabinet Secretary I'm incredibly proud to be leading the Government's work in tackling gender inequality and as was referenced earlier this includes overseeing our response to the recommendations made by the First Minister's National Advisory Council on women and girls we have come such a long, long way along the path, I thought we'd taken the Conservatives along a bit further and I really look forward to taking that next step on Scotland's journey to equality. Thank you very much minister and that concludes our debate on international women's day 2019. Before we come to the decision time we have a committee announcement and I'm pleased to call Jenny Marra, convener of the public audit and post legislative scrutiny committee to make an announcement on post legislative scrutiny of the freedom of information Scotland act. Jenny Marra. I want to bring to members attention that our committee will now be taking forward this important piece of work and that a consultation inviting written views to inform our scrutiny of the act was launched last Friday. As members know it is not the first time that we have done this but it is not the first time that we have done it. It is not the first time that we have done it. As members know the act provides the public with the right of access to information held by public bodies and it has proven to be a valuable tool in that respect. However given that the bill for the act was passed in 2002 the committee wishes to examine in detail whether there are any issues with how freedom of information works in practice and if so how such issues should be best addressed. Whether the act can be improved or modernised to increase transparency in Scotland's public services. It is expected that our committee will report its conclusions towards the end of this year. The committee is keen to hear a wide range of views on the act and I know that many members will have experience of using this legislation so we'd be keen to hear about your own experiences both positive and negative. We'd also be grateful if members could bring the inquiry to the attention of their constituents or other contacts who may wish to help to form the inquiry. I will circulate further information about the call for evidence to members shortly. We turn now to decision time. The first question this evening is that motion 16170 in the name of Kate Forbes on local government finance Scotland order 2019 be agreed. Are we all agreed? We'll move to our division. Members may cast their votes now. The result of the vote on motion 16170 in the name of Kate Forbes is yes, 58, no, 21. There were 27 abstentions. The motion is therefore agreed. Our final question this evening is that motion 16171 in the name of Christina McKelvie on international women's day 2019 balance for better be agreed. Are we all agreed? That concludes decision time. I close this meeting.