 Can you please do so quietly here in the chamber? The final item of business today is a member's business debate on motion 1.3.739, in the name of Linda Fabiani, on 100 years of women in policing. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I would be grateful. Members who wish to speak in the debate, please, press the request to speak buttons sy'n osbol. Linda Fabiani will open the debate in seven minutes, please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer, and thank you everyone who signed this motion. I see that we have Graham Pearson, a former police officer with us this evening. I'm sure that although he's not very old, he will be familiar with the struggle that women have had to ensure parity in the police force over the years. The motion states that this year marks a century since Edith Smith was appointed as the first female officer in the UK with full powers of arrest. This milestone is being celebrated by Police Scotland and the Lanarkshire division held a successful event in East Kilbride in June to mark that occasion. It was fascinating and I was enthralled by the memorabilia on display courtesy of George Barnsley of the Lanarkshire Police Historical Society. Of course, I was fascinated by the stories behind that memorabilia. I want to thank to thoroughly modern officers, Chief Inspector Gillian Scott and Inspector Louise Skelton, who were instrumental in the success of that event. Thank you very much to both of them. The history of women policing in Scotland and, indeed, in the UK as a whole is absolutely fascinating. It was in 1883 that the Metropolitan Police employed a female visitor to visit women convicts on a licence and under police supervision. The Women's Police Service itself was founded in 1914 by Nina Boyle, who was a suffragette journalist, and Margaret Damard Dawson, who was an anti-slavery campaigner, and was staffed by volunteers. It was really interesting the way that it came about, because all of those things were controversial. Edith Smith's appointment was controversial. The Home Office advised that women could not be sworn in because they did not count as proper persons in the eyes of the law. In Grantham, however, the Chief Constable and the Watch Committee continued to give Ms Smith their full support, because they thought that her work was vital, given the very particular problems that the town faced as a result of war conditions. It was after the conclusion of war that it was felt that women could start to take more of a part in the police force. However, public opinion and the opinion of the establishment mitigated against that even at that time. There was still huge resistance despite what women had shown during World War I in having to take over many of the roles that men had previously carried out. Even then, it was stated that the duties performed by women should be restricted to those involving females and child victims or complainants. It was up to local police authorities to decide whether women were needed in that area. The Women in Scotland policing timelines are interesting. It was 1915 to 1918 that Emily Miller joined the City of Glasgow Police and Jean Thomas joined Dundee City Police. It was in 1918 that chief constables generally were asked to consider appointing women where necessary. In fact, in 1922, the chief constable of Dundee City was forced to publicly deny that he had a woman working as a constable, even though he did have one. I was fascinated by that. I do not know what they did with her. I managed to hide the fact that she was there. I could not find any further information. There is a job for our former police officer sitting over there. However, times moved on. It was in 1924 that women constables were granted the power of arrest in Scotland. Jean Malloy was promoted to detective sergeant in 1940, becoming the first woman in Scotland to gain rank. We then had a chief inspector in 1954. At the same time, we had the first uniformed sergeants. It was not until 1962 that police women who were attached to the CID were recognised as detective constables. In fact, it was only in 1968 that police women were allowed to remain in post-after marriage. My colleague Fiona McLeod has a problem with that, but that timeline brings me back to the event in East Kilbride, when Christina McKelvie and me were privileged to meet and talk with two smashing ladies, Dorothy Parker, who is still resident in UK, and Barbara McEnally, who is resident in Bishop Briggs, but who served as a sergeant in East Kilbride. I spoke to Dorothy last night just to make sure that I had the story right that she had spoken to Christina McLeod and I about that day. She told me that, in 1972, despite being in the late 60s, as I said, that police women were allowed to stay in post-after marriage, she had to ask the chief constable for permission to stay. I can see Mr Pearson's nodding of ace. He's actually older than we all thought. Dorothy recalled that women officers had different duties from the men. There was only one woman in every shift who was to deal with women and children. Even after passing the full driving course, Dorothy was only allowed to drive if a qualified male was in the car. She also told me that they weren't allowed to wear trousers, and I won't go into the stories of what she used to do when she had to chase felons down the street. On to Barbara McAnally. She was fascinating as well. She was really hitting against that glass ceiling of the time because Barbara was promoted to an East Kilbride as sergeant in the mid-1960s. Then she went to the CID in Shettleston. She had started out as a typist in the police force in Rutherglen in the 50s and then moved into the force itself. She told me that she still has her last payslip from being a typist at the police in Rutherglen, where she got £3 a week. In fact, she used to put two shillings a week in the holiday fund to pay for her holidays every year. When she moved into being a police officer, she was on £7 a week. That included a plain clothes allowance because all the women police officers' uniforms had to be made to measure because there wasn't enough of them to warrant off the peg. From that point, things really moved on. It was in 1976 that police women came to be known as Constable Sergeant, et cetera, rather than WPCW Sergeant. That created a form of equality with male colleagues. 1995, Sandra Hood became the first woman in Scotland to hold the rank of chief superintendent. 2006, Margaret Barr was appointed director of the Scottish Police College at Tally Allen. 2008, Norma Grayham became Scotland's first female chief constable at Fife. Of course, in 2012, Rose Fitzpatrick was appointed as first female deputy chief constable of Police Scotland. Now, across the UK, there are more than 40,000 female officers. Almost 40 per cent of Police Scotland recruits this year our women, which is the highest proportion ever. However, I believe that we have to look back to people like Dorothy Parker and Barbara McInally and all their contemporaries who fought against the system at the time and followed a vocation. We have to recognise the diverse policing roles that women now hold, and the positive role that women officers have played and continue to play in keeping everyone safe in their communities. Many thanks. I now turn to the open debate speeches of four minutes please, Annabelle Goldie, to be followed by Graham Pearson. I am delighted to participate in this evening's debate, marking 100 years of women in policing. I thank Linda Fabiani for bringing this debate to the chamber. Over the past 24 hours, the headlines have been dominated by the tragic death in the frontline of PC David Phillips in Liverpool. As the Prime Minister said, it serves as a stark reminder that there is no such thing as a safe day if you are a police officer. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the men and women who put themselves in danger day in and day out to keep our communities safe, because we are truly indebted to them, and I thank them for all they do. As we celebrate 100 years of women in policing, I am struck that Edith Smith, the first-ever woman to become a police constable, was sworn in during the First World War. I also noted that she was sworn in at Grantham and Lincolnshire, a town not unfamiliar with the achievement of females and, of course, a town that was to produce Britain's first female Prime Minister. 1915 reflected dark and desperately unsafe times, and it was testament to Edith Smith's immense strength and bravery that she led the way, as a first woman, to have policing powers commensurate with those of her male counterparts. That is all the more remarkable, as women did not count, as Linda Fabiani pointed out, proper citizens in the eyes on the early 20th century. Without doubt, pioneering people like Edith Smith have helped to change the discourse surrounding women aspiring to the workplace over the past 100 years. In celebrating her achievements, we should reflect that opening a path for women in the police force was not necessarily synonymous with championing the rights of women. Personally, I am sure that she was committed to doing that, but the very nature of her specialist duties—to which I think that Linda Fabiani was obliqually referring—meant that she was often engaged in the moral regulation of her female peers, such as conducting surveillance on behalf of servicemen with doubts about spousal fidelity. Her appointment was not a feta-comple for female equality far from it, in fact, and it is worth remembering that women were not admitted to policing on the same pay terms and conditions as men until the sex discrimination and equal pay acts of the 1970s. However, it is positive to learn that today almost 40 per cent of recruits at the Scottish Police College are women, and I hope that more women will pursue policing as a career in the future. I do not think that Police Scotland should rest on its laurels because the Scottish Police Authority data shows that, in December 2014, women are underrepresented in senior posts across the single force, and that is not in any way to diminish the achievements to which Linda Fabiani referred. However, if you consider that 17 per cent are superintendents, 10 per cent are detective superintendents, 24 per cent are chief superintendents and 19 per cent are detective superintendents, we cannot feel complacent about those figures. I am not advocating that women should be promoted in anything other than merit, Deputy Presiding Officer, but I think that the figures beg some questions. At least, to some extent, women are now involved in every aspect of Scottish policing, and we must ensure that the environment encourages able female officers to stay so that they can move up the ranks. The survey last week indicated a disquieting element of officers who want to leave the force in the next three years. I think that more women recruits will go some way towards redressing the existing gender imbalance in the future, but the long-term impact will be lost if staff leave. I think that there is a huge obligation on the SPA chairman, Andrew Flanagan, and the new chief constable to be sensitive to the needs of staff and to create a working environment that ffosters long-term careers for all officers, regardless of gender. Women in the police force, as Linda Fabiani has indicated and her motion confirms, have a very distinguished record in Scotland of Service. We need to look at the situation across the board, because I think that we can do it better, and I think that we owe it to try and achieve that. I now call Graham Pearson to be followed by Alison McInnes. Thank you to Linda Fabiani for giving me the opportunity to support her in the motion this evening. I begin by acknowledging the murder of Dave Phillips in Merseyside, leaving behind two beautiful daughters, a wife, family and friends. He made the ultimate sacrifice offered by a police officer who was merely performing his duty. That death comes barely three years since, in September 2012, Fiona Bowne and Nicola Hughes, both police officers were mercilessly gunned down as they, too, performed duties on behalf of the public. For every family and their friends who have suffered personally the impact of a police officer's death and duty circumstances, the distress of this week's news will merely kick off again their own individual tragedies. In that light, it is particularly poignant that we should celebrate 100 years of women in the police service across Britain. Much has been delivered by women officers in that time, but much more as yet needs attention to ensure that policing in Scotland, as elsewhere in the UK, is capable of enabling empowering women to play their full part. In 1970, I arrived at Maitland Street Police Office in Glasgow to begin policing in the north and east end of the city. My shift comprised entirely of men, mostly veterans of the war, many of Highland extraction, all including the Fugim bill, and focus on street duties rather than on administrative duties. A few women operated in the police station as officers. A couple were attached to the CID, and occasionally I caught sight of a policewoman from headquarters where I was told that an entire policewoman's department existed, but I think that it was merely a handful of women. In that time, it was led by a formidable woman whose reputation went before her and no one tangled with her. That department dealt primarily with missing persons, sex crimes involving children, and a host of caring needs responded to by police. In 1974, women detective constables and the very unusual women's sergeants were becoming more visible in the service. At that point, I was transferred to the drug squad to be told that I would neighbour a shorthand in the service for work alongside WDC, a women detective constable. Her name was Brenda Flynn. Being a man in a male-dominated culture working on the streets, I duly felt horrified at the prospect. However, in the coming days, weeks and months, I learned that I was fortunate to have a woman as a colleague and lucky to have one as professional as Brenda. The experience proved that an early lesson to me is not the gender of a person that matters, it is the value, commitment and professionalism that provides their worth to the public. In the intervening three decades, I have met significant numbers of very impressive women operating no longer as women but now part of the mainstream as police officers. The service now relies on women to deliver. Two years ago, women represented 37 per cent of the Scottish police service. It could not operate without women in its ranks. This is a very brief debate, but I could not finish without saying that women still have much to do to maximise the benefits that women bring, and men in the service have much to do to enable that to occur. At promoted ranks, as has previously been said, women fall dramatically in terms of representation from 20 per cent down to 9 per cent as they move up through the ranks. As with the armed service, the police have a chequered history in managing the issues that arise from men and women working together in what had previously been seen as a man's world. Fiona Bowne and Nicola Hughes, along with others, should put an end to the notion of a man's world. Policing is complex and a challenging environment. It needs all the skills that men and women bring to it. I commend Linda Fabiani for raising the issue and hope that women around the country will take a pride in those who represent them in the police service. Many thanks. I now call Alison McInnes to be followed by David Torrance. Thanks very much, and I too would like to thank Linda Fabiani for securing this debate, marking 100 years of women in policing. At the time when the first female officer with full arrest powers was appointed in England, across the UK around 4,000 women were already taking on policing functions as voluntary patrols. However, the appointment of Edith Smith started a new chapter at a time when a lot of opportunities were opening up to women due to the human cost of the First World War. I am pleased to note that one of the first women officers in Scotland, Jean Thomas, was from my region and joined Dundee City Police shortly after Edith Smith was appointed. I am less pleased to note that years later, as Linda Fabiani pointed out, the chief constable of Dundee was forced to publicly deny that he had a woman working as a constable, so times have certainly changed. As we know, at the very beginning, women officers were paid less, were required to leave the force after they had married and had separate service titles to men, but they were there and they were beginning to make a difference. Many things have changed in a relatively short period of time since then. Today in Scotland, we have a female deputy chief constable, Rose Fitzpatrick. As others have said, this year's intake at the Scottish Police College in Tullialan had nearly 40 per cent of women. Just last month in September, Laura Collins was named special constable of the year after putting in a phenomenal 1,200 hours of volunteering. Women are now able to do any job within the police service and are seen as equals to their male counterparts concerning their terms and conditions of employment. Yet, of course, challenges remain. In figures published by the SPA in 2014, only 31 per cent of recruits were women. In a Scottish Police staff survey, which was published just last week, 63 per cent of female respondents said that they felt that they were being treated fairly at work. Of course, that means that over a third of women who responded do not feel that they are being treated fairly at work. That is something that we should be concerned about. Although I recognise that women hold such diverse roles as firearms officers, counter-terrorism officers and investigators, there is still a way to go. The Scottish Women's Development Forum, an organisation that aims to tackle the gender gap within Police Scotland ranks, estimated that in 2014 only 29 per cent of all police officers were women. Only 20 per cent of promoted posts were taken up and only 36 per cent of special constables were women. Those numbers clearly show that we need to do much more to encourage and foster women to firstly take up posts within the police and secondly to help them to rise through the ranks. That means tackling the biases currently in the system. Workplace policies and practices need to be reviewed to ensure that the police service is a fair place to work for everyone. As in other sectors, the need for flexible working is particularly important for women officers with caring responsibilities. It is worth also recognising the importance of civilian staff and, according to SWDF, 62 per cent of this employee group in 2014 were women. The civilian staff brings specialist expertise to allow officers to spend more time engaging with their communities and they provide an important part of the service and have a crucial function in the operation of our police service. It is therefore shocking that, according to figures published by the SPA in 2013, a staggering 87 per cent of police service staff who receive salaries that are less than 15,000 per annum are women. In the meantime, between 60 and 70 per cent of staff members receiving over 65,000 are men. The terms of employment may be equal but the reality is not yet so. It is so important that we make the necessary changes so that women feel they are safe. We need our police force to be reflective of the society that they work to protect and we need to make sure that we have women police officers who can inspire young girls to want to be involved so that we not only have a rich history but also a vibrant future for women in our police force. Many thanks. I now call David Torrance to be followed by Eileen Murray. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank Linda Fabiani for securing this debate in Parliament today in this memorable issue. Every day our police force in Scotland does a remarkable job in protecting communities. It only covers an area of 30,000 square miles but it also successfully managed to commonwealth games in the Ryder Cup last year. On order to do so, it is of great importance that the police force reflects Scotland's diverse society. Looking back in the past, this has not always been the case. Traditionally, police force was a male-dominated institution. Today I want to recount some of the historic developments that have led to greater inclusion of women. I would also like to talk about how far police force has come in endorsing as well as incorporating equality and diversity. As we celebrate 100 years of women in policing, I believe that it is crucial to remember that brave women have set important milestones for future generations. After Ada Smith became the first female officer in the UK, the first two Scottish officers, Emily Miller and Jean Thomason, were appointed by City of Glasgow and Dindey City Police between 1915 and 1918. That certainly marked a remarkable turning point for women. However, segregation was very common within the police force in terms of distinct tasks, rank structure and even separate offices. Nevertheless, from the late 1960s onwards, several important changes have been taking place. Since 1968, police women were granted to remain in their posts after marriage, and since the 1980s, women were allowed to wear trousers as part of their uniform. The Equal Pay Act in 1970 established the principle of equal pay for women. Most notably in 1976, women police ceased to exist as a separate body and went to get it into a general police system. In recent years, an increased number of women have assumed leviacer positions within the police force. Norma Graham was appointed as Scotland's first female chief constable at Fife Constable in 2008. Since 2012, Roseford Patrick has served as the deputy chief constable of Police Scotland. In fact, today I am delighted to say that Police Scotland is fully committed to the principles of equality and diversity. With the formal establishment of Police Scotland in 2013, values of integrity, fairness and respect have assumed a key role in delivering its services. Services that aspire to reach high-quality consistency and accessibility in order to promote justice for all. To monitor how well Police Scotland integrates afford-mentioned values and principles into everyday work of organisation, a high-level action plan in 2013, Equality and Diversity in Police Scotland Port, was created. While allowing Police Scotland to look forward, it enshrines in what way equality and diversity will influence its services. Additionally, a working group of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, the Scottish Women's Development Forum, was formed. One of its main remits has been to advise Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority and the Scottish Government on issues of gender equality within the police service. Its membership is open to everyone. We seek to improve the working environment within the police force to enable all staff members to reach their full potential. Each year's Scottish Women's Development Forum pays tribute to the input, efforts and achievements of its women's officers and staff members. The war ceremony aims to highlight both the diversity of excellent initiatives, as well as the breadth of roles undertaken by women in the police force. In celebrating the 100th anniversary of women in policing, we can proudly look at the recent statistics. In 2014, 29 per cent of police officers were women. An increase of 11 per cent since 2003. Its number is predicted to rise in the future, as nearly 40 per cent of all new recruits are women. In terms of promotion, 20 per cent of promoted posts were given to women. It shows that there is still room for improvement. However, I also believe that the statistics indicate that no rank is now unattainable for women in the police force. I am confident to say that its developments clearly show how far the police force has come, which is transforming organisations towards achieving greater equality. It is an honour to speak about our police force and especially about women in policing today. I would like to conclude by wishing all members of Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority the best of luck in the future endeavours. Our last open debate is Elaine Murray. I, too, start by congratulating Linda Fabiani on securing the debate today. It is notable that the first female officers were appointed during World War 1. How often is it the case that women get opportunities during times of war when men are away, when they would not have been offered to them? At that time, women did not have the vote. We did not even have female suffrage at the time when the first women police officers were appointed. Alison McInnes said that there had already been voluntary police officers. There had been women's police volunteers and the voluntary women's patrols in England at the beginning of the war. Interestingly, they were often headed up by suffragettes. They were part of the demonstration of women's ability to do the same jobs as men, and they are worthiness of being given the suffrage as well. Others have mentioned that Emily Miller joined Glasgow City Police in September 1914 and Jean Thomas, the second woman, joined the City of Dundee Police in 1918. However, there had already previously been a court sister in Aberdeen in 1914. A lot less is known about that lady, but she had many of the same responsibilities as a police officer. She was, by accounts, a very formidable lady. She weighed apparently something like 18 stone and was quite capable of picking up recalcitrant male offenders and throwing them into the dock if that was necessary. There was, as Llyrde Fabio Annie said, considerable public resistance to the idea of female officers. In addition to the chief constable Dundee saying that denying that he had a female officer, the town clerk of Stirling said around that time, something along the lines of, we have no need of them and we do not want them. People did not want to have women officers out there. However, things are much better on 100 years on and on 100 years of women policing was celebrated in June. They comprise around a third of the force. In Dumfries and Galloway, there were two events to celebrate this centenary, one in Port Rody in Strunrar and the other in Cornwall Mount in Dumfries. As it happened on 26 June, I had a meeting arranged with re-divisional commander Mike Leslie. When I arrived at Cornwall Mount, Mike said to me, he would be interested in this exhibition that we have on. He asked Sergeant Nicola Robinson who had organised the exhibitions to show me around the exhibition. It was absolutely fascinating and particularly fascinating to be shown around by serving police officer and to speak to other police officers. There was a lot of memorabilia from the legacy Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary Museum with photographs showing women police officers in knee-length skirts. When I observed them, I thought how difficult it must be to undertake some of the duties of a police officer while wearing a knee-length skirt. There were all sorts of pieces of equipment as well. There is also a photograph purporting to be of the court's sister in Aberdeen, the one who used to hurl people into the dock. She was sitting down in a long dress smoking a clay pipe. I certainly would not have crossed her had I met her anywhere near a court. There was also an array of different pieces of equipment. Some of them, when you pick them up, are pretty heavy. You have to be pretty fit. You no longer have to be tall. You could probably be a police officer and be my height nowadays, but you have to be fit, as well as being, of course, very courageous. The exhibition was well attended. One of the intentions was that former female police officers would be able to come back and meet their colleagues and have a chat about their time in the force. As others have said, we must not forget that women are underrepresented, particularly at senior levels. I think that it is important that role models of women police officers, particularly senior women police officers, are promoted. I know that, of course, there is a chief constable of Police Scotland's post up for a filling. I just suggest to ACC Kate Thompson that she should put her hat in the ring. Kate comes from Dumfries and Galloway and she did not say that she would not. I am hopeful that she is going to apply for that particular job. We do want to see more girls. I do wonder still how many little girls early stages in life say that they would like to be a police officer. Obviously, later on people are, but I would like to see that sort of gender equality said that young girls, just as much as young boys, might aspire to be a police officer. Many thanks. Can I now invite Annabelle Ewing to respond to the debate? Minister, seven minutes social police. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I would like to start by paying tribute to all our police officers who provide such a sterling service to each and every one of us in our communities day in and day out. In that regard, I too, on behalf of all colleagues, would wish to offer sincere condolences to the family and friends and colleagues of PC David Phillips. I thank Linda Fabiani on securing this debate this evening on this very important milestone of 100 years of women in policing, and I do thank all members for their very interesting contributions. I, in fact, had the privilege of speaking at a passing out parade at Tally Allen at the Scottish Police College in June, where we did celebrate 100 years of women in policing, and I also am aware that each of the 14 divisions in Police Scotland have also held their own local events to celebrate this landmark year. We have heard of the events, for example, in Linda Fabiani's constituency in East Kilbride, where they held a very successful event in June of this year. The history of policing shows that the integration of women into all aspects of the profession has indeed taken many years, as many members have highlighted. While new recruits to Police Scotland enter a completely different service to their volunteer counterparts 100 years ago, we have heard that it is not that long ago that female officers were still being restricted to wearing skirts and carrying handbags. That was dating back to the 1980s, so progress has indeed been slow and not without obstacles. One of the interesting statistics that I do not think had been mentioned by members tonight was that female officers, police officers, were barred from taking fingerprints until 1937. That was another thing that caught me as being very odd. Of course, we had the curious case, which I think we really need answers to, as to why the chief constable of Dundee in 1922 denied the very existence of his female constable. Why was that? We need more information about that. We heard from Elaine Murray that the disturbing fact that it was not just Dundee, Sterling was at it as well. I do not know what was going on there, but, hopefully, by the time that Graeme Pearson started his service in 1970, in Glasgow, I believe, we had moved on some 48 years, so at least we were recognising the role of women police officers at that stage, albeit that there were still quite a number of significant restrictions as to what they could actually do. I know that Police Scotland fully supports diversity in its workforce and aims to embed equality and diversity into every aspect of the service, allowing all female officers to have the same opportunity to develop and progress in the service. As a result, we do thankfully now see women playing a pivotal role in all aspects of policing, albeit that I accept that more requires to be done. That progress has been largely due to women themselves challenging the status quo, and we should pay tribute to those female officers who have taken personal and professional risks to stand up for their rights and the rights of other women, at point referenced by Annabelle Goldie and, indeed, by David Torrance. Over the past century, women have increasingly taken on the range of responsibilities and demands of policing and have sought greater access to specialist roles and the freedom to seek promotion to the highest ranks. Whether through sheer determination and persistence or through court challenges, we should recognise that the freedoms that female officers enjoy today have indeed been hard-won. Police Scotland recognises that to gain the full potential from new recruits and to deliver a service that truly reflects the diverse communities that it serves, it must have accessible recruitment options and working practices, which, indeed, as Alison McInnes highlighted, allow flexible working and access to all aspects of its work. There are now in that regard three women in the Police Scotland executive team, and women have the opportunity to join any of the specialist units in enhancing opportunities for growth, development and promotion in the service. At the praise that I attended in June, 37 per cent of the new recruits that day were female, and there are currently around 5,150 female officers in Police Scotland, which makes up at this point approximately 29 per cent of serving officers. Police Scotland also recognises the challenges that it faces within our communities, but its commitment to mainstreaming equality matches the Scottish Government's commitment to work within our powers to help women to fulfil their potential in the labour market. In the last year, we have seen female employment in general reach record levels in Scotland and female employment here is now, I believe, the second highest in the European Union, but, of course, we are not complacent. We know that there is much work to be done to tackle occupational segregation in the workplace and, indeed, the continuing pay gap, and we are committed to tackling inequality in all its shapes and forms in Scotland. Indeed, harnessing the potential of everyone in society makes us not just stronger but also a much more successful society. We will, as a Government, continue to take action to ensure that more women are able to make informed choices about careers and to pursue those careers successfully throughout their working lives. In conclusion, I would just like to recognise, in particular, the efforts of Ms Fabiani's constituents, or at least one of them, the current constituent Dorothy Park and Barbara McInally. Indeed, the stories that they were able to tell of their time in the force and the actions that they had to take to ensure that their progression in the force was something that happened as opposed to something that did not happen, albeit that their existence was not being denied, at least by their senior officers. They still had to take much action to make their way in the force. I commend them for the service that they both provided to our communities. I would like to recognise the enormous contribution that women have made in policing over the past 100 years. I thank again Linda Fabiani for ensuring that this milestone has been duly recognised by the chamber. I have absolutely no doubt that, as we go forward, women will continue to make a very powerful contribution to Scotland's policing in the years ahead. We will see many more women progressing to the very top where they should be, in my opinion, as Minister for Women's Employment, among other things. We see them where they should be at the top of Police Scotland. I am sure and confident that we will see that happen in the years ahead. Many thanks, minister. That concludes Linda Fabiani's debate on 100 years of women in policing. I now close this meeting of Parliament.