Gender policy coherence: annual statement - easy read

Our top priorities

The work we think is most important

Dealing with child poverty

Child poverty means children living in a household where is not enough money coming in from jobs or benefits.

Families in poverty may struggle to pay for housing and basic things like food, clothing or to stay warm.

The work we are doing on this is:

• helping parents to get good jobs so they can earn money
• encouraging businesses to:
  • make sure women get paid the same as men for the same work
  • make jobs more flexible for people who are carers

These things will make it easier for women to get a job and stay in work.

• our funding helps to pay people in the private sector that work in childcare 12 pounds and 60 pence an hour

Women are much more likely to work in childcare than men.

• we give 1 billion pounds to pay for more than 1 thousand hours of nursery and childcare for all 3 and 4 year olds and some 2 year olds

This gives young children equal access to early learning and helps with childcare that is often done by women.

• we give free bus travel to more than 2 million people in Scotland

Women are more likely to use buses than men so this will save women money.

• we give money to mental health services so that women can get help when they need it

• we give a benefit called the Scottish Child payment which helps parents pay for things their children need
• we spend more than 5 hundred million pounds to help unpaid carers

Almost 3 in every 4 unpaid carers are women.

• we are giving money so there are more homes for large families

We will keep working hard so there are no children or women living in poverty in Scotland.

Women in the economy

The economy is:

• how much money Scotland has from:
  • businesses
  • things we sell as a country
  • the jobs we do
• how we spend that money as a country

Women are more than half of the population so our economy must work well for women.

Only the UK government can change laws about work and jobs in the UK.

More than 2 and a half billion pounds of government grants given to businesses and organisations between July 2023 and March 2024 helped support better jobs.

To get this money they must treat all their workers fairly – this helps women.

We are doing work to help women get good jobs or start their own businesses

Women and the climate emergency

Climate change is the way the world’s weather and temperature are changing because there are too many harmful gases in the air.

We are speaking to women’s groups

about climate change so we:

• understand their experiences
• make decisions about climate change in a way that will help women

We are working to help women get new science and technology jobs that will be created.

We are developing Scotland’s first Gender Strategy for Agriculture so women’s needs are central to the future of Scottish farming.

Women and our public services

Like the NHS, schools, housing, the police and more

Women are more likely to use public services and to work in public services.

We made the Women’s Health Plan to help women and girls stay healthy by:

• having Scotland’s first Women’s Health

Champion

• starting the Women’s Health Platform on NHS Inform to make it easier for women and girls to get information about health and healthcare

• raised awareness with healthcare staff about a long-term health condition called endometriosis

Endometriosis can make periods very heavy and painful.

NHS Inform has Easy Read information about periods at: nhsinform.scot

• having a special menopause service in every mainland health board for women who need extra help from an expert to manage their symptoms.

Menopause is when a woman stops having periods.

NHS Inform has Easy Read information about menopause at: nhsinform.scot

• having more contraception choices available at community pharmacies

Contraception is ways to stop you getting pregnant.

We made a new law to make sure that women and girls can get free period products like tampons and sanitary pads if they need them.

We give money to some public bodies so that they can give free sanitary products to people that need them.

We are making a new law to help stop victims of domestic abuse becoming homeless.

Social landlords must put information online about how they support people experiencing domestic abuse that are living in their rented houses.

Women use public transport more than men but feel less safe using it.

Research we have done with women passengers and transport workers will help us to make changes to make women and girls feel safer on public transport.

Women around the world

We work to be a world leader in the way we deal with gender equality by:

• sharing learning with other countries
• funding training for women in countries where there is war and conflict

This supports them to be part of bringing peace to those countries.

We work to improve gender equality in the African countries of Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia.

Women in our future

We have done some of the things that the Advisory Council said we should do.

The First Minister and his staff have agreed to make the work happen more quickly.

We are excited to be working with the Advisory Council and women and girls to develop Scotland’s first Equality Strategy for Women and Girls.

We must make Scotland a place where women and girls are equal to men and boys.