This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Minister urges more action on women's equality
24/03/2004
Communities Minister Margaret Curran
today urged private business, the public sector and even
her own colleagues to do more to give women equal status to
men.
She was responding to a report,
sponsored by the Executive and published at the end of last
year, which shows that inequality remains a widespread and
persistent feature of contemporary Scottish society.
A team of prominent Scottish women,
including Joan Stringer the Principal at Napier University
and Susan Rice CEO of Lloyds TSB Scotland, took a strategic
look at the issues facing women in Scotland and made over
80 recommendations for action.
Ms Curran, as minister responsible for
equalities, responded by accepting and agreeing to consider
all of the recommendations directed to the Executive, which
relate to areas such as employment, childcare, poverty and
exclusion.
She urged all organisations to read
the report and work together to create opportunities and
give greater recognition to the contribution that women
make to Scotland's economic and social well-being.
Ms Curran said:
"This report highlights the action required in key
areas and it is directed at anyone who can influence the
equality agenda. We should all take note and do much more
to understand and promote women's issues.
"We must dispel the myth that women
have achieved equality. Power is not shared and
opportunites are not even. Women still occupy the lowest
paid jobs, are amongst the poorest in our communities, make
up the majority of lone parents and are under-represented
in senior management.
"Issues like sexual violence,
childcare and jobs are 'old news' for some, but they are
deep-rooted problems still faced by women that have not yet
been solved. We have made progress and this must be built
upon."
She announced £300,000 for projects to
support women and acknowledge their achievements. Projects
in the Highlands, Glasgow and Edinburgh to get women into
work, will receive some of the cash. A helpline for Muslim
women in Glasgow will be extended to offer a freephone
service across Scotland. Support will also be given for
more work on tackling the gender pay gap and for the first
ever dictionary acknowledging Scottish women achievers by
Edinburgh University Press.
The report highlighted the pay gap
between men and women, particularly in sectors like higher
education and in the financial services industry, and
recommended more childcare provision. Ms Curran
acknowledged these issues but pointed out that these were
areas in which the Executive was already taking action.
Ms Curran said:
"We must close the pay gap. Employers in the public
and private sector must face up to their responsibilities
and should undertake equal pay audits. Childcare is a key
issue for mothers, because they do twice as much childcare
as fathers, and we are aiming to provide affordable,
quality childcare for under 14s in all neighbourhoods."
She highlighted the groundbreaking
achievements of the Executive in areas such as domestic and
sexual abuse and the continued focus, in conjunction with
the UK government, to eradicate poverty with initiatives to
help women and their children such as tax credits and the
minimum wage.
She continued:
"The issue of women's equality is key to improving
our economy, to regenerating our communites, to tackling
poverty and deprivation and to delivering better services
and improving all our lives. We are already working on this
agenda and I urge others to work collectively to drive this
action forward."
The Strategic Group on Women was
established by Margaret Curran in February 2003. Group
members are detailed at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/2003/02/SESJ169.aspx
The report
Improving The Position of Women In Scotland: An
Agenda For Action can be accessed at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/social/ipwsaa-00.asp
The response is available on the
Executive website
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/FCSD/MCG-NW/00018500/Strategicgroup.aspx
Detail of the allocations of £300,000
funding:
Close the Gap, across Scotland - 30,000 -
to raise awareness of the gender pay gap and encourage
employers to carry out equal pay reviews.
Women Onto Work, Edinburgh - 50,000 for
2004/05 - to support 70 trainees through employment
training courses and help with childcare.
Women@Work, Inverness - 50,000 for 2004/06
- for support work across the Highlands to get women into
business, management and public life.
Meridien, Black and Ethnic Minority Women
Info and Resource Centre, Glasgow - 24,000 for 2004/05 -
this project has already helped nearly 200 women achieve
qualifications in computer and office skills.
BMEEG Black & Minority Ethnic Elders
Group Scotland - 10,000 for 2004/05 - to develop a CDRom
for housing, health and community care professionals to
work with ethnic minority pensioners.
Amina Muslim Women's Resource Centre,
Glasgow - 95,000 for 2004/05 - for a freephone helpline
service across the whole of Scotland.
GlasgowCaledonianUniversity - 50,000 for 2004/06 -
earmarked for research into gender balance in management in
Scotland.
EdinburghUniversityPress Biographical Dictionary of Scottish
Women - 9,000 for 2003/04 - for a book with biographical
details of around 750 Scottish women achievers.