First Minister's National Advisory Council on Women and Girls First Phase Two Report: Scottish Government Response

Foreword – First Minister

John Swinney, First Minister of Scotland

I want to thank my National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG) for their Phase Two report. External scrutiny can be challenging for any government, but I am grateful to the NACWG for the insights and reflections they have shared from their First and Second Focuses of Scrutiny, and the further 21 Calls to Action they have made.

The NACWG is essential to the Scottish Government’s ambition to achieving gender equality. Shifting the dial on an issue as deep rooted and systemic as gender inequality requires bold action and the NACWG has consistently pushed us to deliver this across government to reduce inequality for all women and girls in Scotland.

While we have made much progress in this space, we know that the NACWG would like us to go further and faster with delivering the recommendations they have made to the Scottish Government across their various reports. To address this, we will implement a new approach to delivering the recommendations, one which will see us moving faster and more cohesively.

Should my government be returned after the upcoming Scottish Parliament election, we are committed to publishing an equality strategy for women and girls. Work to develop the strategy is at an advanced stage, and I would like to thank the NACWG and the Empowering Women Panel (EWP) for their invaluable work and participation in developing the strategy so far. If my government is returned after the election, those with lived experience and the public sector to ensure we have a holistic approach and agreed approach to tackling gender inequality.