A Nation Changed? by Hassan Gerry; Barrow Simon;

Author:Hassan, Gerry; Barrow, Simon;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 4924114
Publisher: Luath Press Ltd
Published: 2017-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

What Has Changed?

It is clear that in significant ways, this has been a decade of change in the presentation and ethos of the party in relation to women. The First Minister’s own political compass has always pointed towards tackling poverty and gender injustice. Her oft-repeated claim that equality for women is at the heart of the SNP’s vision for a fairer Scotland seems to indicate a real paradigm shift since 2007. But in what ways has the nation changed for the women who live here? Beyond the rhetoric, what is the substance of that vision, and where is the evidence of policy and action to justify the First Minister’s claims of progress?

In 2007 the incoming SNP administration sought to prove their capacity and competence in relation to ‘women’s issues’. Their political strategy was to reassure existing organisations and initiatives of continued support and even increased funding. Partnership working with academic and third sector feminist expertise – especially in the context of a minority government – was validated. Key agendas and infrastructures for policy development were maintained, for example ‘Close the Gap’ (an STUC-based partnership project on women’s pay and participation in the labour market) and the explicitly gendered Scottish approach to addressing VAW (which diverged significantly from the rest of the UK, and has been widely recognised as pioneering). ‘Equally Safe’(2014) is the current iteration of this flagship approach. Women’s organisations were able to build new relationships with some unexpectedly strong allies in government.

An immediate change was the sense that the SNP did not have to placate or defer to Westminster, and that the party in government at Holyrood was no junior partner, waiting for instructions from the big boys in London.

There was scope for new ideas and potential for bold thinking – particularly in economic policy. Since 1999 the Scottish Women’s Budget Group had made the case for gender analysis that recognises the links between structural inequality and economic disadvantage as a precondition for effective policy. From 2007, the ‘shift in political emphasis and character of government created new opportunities to reframe the discourse on gender budgeting as central to economic policy.’ Feminist economist Ailsa McKay’s appointment to the Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee as Special Adviser on the Budget sharpened the focus on the implications of budget decisions for women’s economic status, and equality as a driver for growth. Both Salmond and Swinney paid tribute to her influence on Scottish social and economic policy, and her untimely death in 2014 was widely mourned. (Campbell and Gillespie, 2016)

Over the decade, these early auguries have borne some good fruit, and since 2014 actions have certainly gathered pace. The SNP Government has listened to women and prioritised accessible, affordable childcare as one of the most important ways to improve their lives. The recent introduction of baby boxes is one of a range of initiatives to support women through maternity and post-natal years. At national level the Equality Fund has been sustained, three year rolling funding for organisations such as Women’s Aid meets

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