"It's really important our councils represents our local communities, and at the moment they don't"
Cosla President and Aberdeenshire Councillor Alison Evison tells Northsound hard work is required over the next year to see a diverse list of candidates in the local elections.
Last updated 28th May 2021
A lot has been made of the diversity of the MSP's elected to the Scottish Parliament earlier this month, but are the same possibilities extended to those hopeful of taking a position in local government?
The President of Council body Cosla, Alison Evison, tells us there are still barriers in the way of local councils matching the kind of representation offered at Holyrood.
She told us:
"It's great to celebrate that our Scottish Parliament is now more diverse.
"We need to do all we can to make our local councils more diverse as well, there are still barriers."
Whilst the Councillor points out several points in which Cosla has opened up barriers, like the introduction of family leave for Councillors and safety guidelines around lone working.
She says there is still work to do:
"Currently only three Councillors in Scotland, out of 1,227, are women of colour
"That is not good enough, that is not representative of our communities."
She tells us work will be ongoing over the next year to encourage candidates to come forward, and finding why some types of people are put off from standing for election.
She said:
"We need to look carefully at what those barriers are to inclusion, we need to look at what people feel in their communities.
"We need to work together to get rid of those barriers.
"I think a lot comes down to that sense of inclusion, a lot comes down to support."