Gender policy coherence: annual statement - easy read

Leadership

The Advisory Council told us:

• we need to have leaders that make sure that everyone thinks about equality for women and girls

• we need more leaders who are women and girls so they have the power to make change happen

Most people in leadership like council leaders, newspaper editors, senior police officers and judges are men.

To try and get more women and girls into leadership:

• we have given money to groups that help women get elected

One organisation helped 54 women in politics and 27 of them became local councillors.

• we made a law that says that half of all members of public boards must be women

Public boards are groups that make important decisions for public bodies.

Public bodies provide services we all use like schools, hospitals and councils.

It is very important that half of the members of public boards are women so that women’s ideas are heard.

• we have given money to organisations to help young women into leadership

They help young women share their ideas and experience with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament.

• we have created the Directorate for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights

They are a group of people working in the Scottish Government to help make Scotland:

• fairer and more equal
• a place where everyone is included and has their human rights protected

• we are changing the way we think about:
  • where we get our money from
  • how we spend it
  • how this affects men and women differently.

This is called gender budgeting.

• we are training staff to think more about women’s equality when they make decisions

• we are trying to make the information we collect about women and girls better

We need better information about women and girls from different equality groups like disabled women or black women.