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IMPROVING THE POSITION OF WOMEN IN SCOTLAND: AN AGENDA FOR ACTION
FOREWORD: CONVENOR
"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat."
Rebecca West, Irish author, 1913
Some people say that women have now achieved equality with men. That simply is not true - the position may have improved enormously since Rebecca West made her famous observation in 1913, but evidence shows that women still have lower levels of earnings, pensions and other income, fewer opportunities and less power and influence than men. Some people think that even if women are not equal, they are at least as equal now as they are ever going to be, or as equal as they should be. I, and the other members of this Group, do not agree that women somehow do not deserve to have the same chances in life as men.
"Feminism", as the way of describing the desire of both women and men for society to be fairer and more tolerant, may not be used as much now as it was before, but the sentiments behind it are still valid. This report focuses on the key issues - equal pay, job opportunities, childcare, poverty, violence, influence and decision-making - that are important to most women and makes recommendations for improving the position of women in Scotland in these areas. It does not set out to cover every issue that is important to women, and it does not look in detail at how different groups of women, such as older women, women from minority ethnic or faith communities, disabled women or women who are lesbian, bi-sexual or transgender, are affected by the key issues in different ways. We were asked to focus on key issues and priorities but we have indicated where we think more work needs to be done to take account of the different needs of different groups of women and registered our view that we expect that this will require further consultation.
In our discussions we kept returning to a number of principles or reasons for our recommendations. The principles underpinning this report are that:
- women contribute - both through paid and unpaid work - as much as men to the economic and social well-being of the country which is why they need to get fair treatment and recognition for their contribution;
- social, economic and cultural frameworks should not hinder women from reaching their full potential;
- women should be able to make their own choices and live independently, without dependency on other people, if that is their choice;
- services, whether in the public, private and other sectors, should fit women's lives instead of women's lives having to fit around the services that they are offered;
- recognition that women are not all the same; that the way society is structured and widespread attitudes cause additional barriers for some women who are disabled, lesbian, bi-sexual or transgender, from a minority ethnic or minority faith community, because of their age, ability to speak English or where they live; and
- attitudes that limit what women and men aspire to and attain need to continue to change in the interests of both men and women and future generations
The members of the Group have between them an enormous range of experience and knowledge from their involvement in paid and unpaid work and from activity in the community- far too much to try to summarise here - and I would like to thank them for contributing their time, energy and expertise to the production of this report.
Joan Stringer
November 2003
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