Campaigners call for more female Scottish Government special advisers
Fewer than a quarter of special advisers in the history of the Scottish Parliament have been women, campaigners have revealed.
Fewer than a quarter of special advisers in the history of the Scottish Parliament have been women, campaigners have revealed.
The Women 50:50 campaign, which is calling for fair representation of women in public life, said women make up 13 of the 59 people who have been appointed government special advisers since the parliament opened in 1999.
The first parliamentary session under Labour MSP Donald Dewar had no female special advisers while during the Labour and Liberal Democrat coalitions women made up six out of 31 of the posts, 19%.
The SNP has had seven female special advisers out of 28 (25%) and a third of those appointed to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon are women.
Talat Yaqoob, campaign co-founder, said: "Having women at every level of politics in Scotland is the only way we can ensure real representation and inclusiveness, but we need them beyond the chamber.
"The influencers behind the scenes are, in the main, men, we need women in these positions influencing policy and decision-making.
"We have women with the interest and with the capabilities to be in these high-profile positions, it is the duty of government and all political parties to eradicate the biases and barriers that stand in their way."
The campaign and Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale are holding a panel debate on the lack of female staff in politics.
Ms Dugdale said: "Throughout my political career I have championed equality and indeed I am one of the founder members of Women 50:50.
"The fundamental principle behind that campaign is to ensure women are equally represented in parliament, councils and public bodies.
"But of course we cannot try and achieve that while at the same time neglecting women's representation in backroom offices where political priorities are set and the policy decisions made which then affect all Scottish women.
"Scottish Labour has a good track record of employing women in its support unit which serves our MSPs and at the moment 36% of those staff are currently women, slightly more than the percentage of women MSPs in parliament.
"We are not complacent and must continue to do what we can to increase those numbers and ensure greater equal representation both behind the scenes and in public-facing roles."
A spokesman for the First Minister said: As with Cabinet appointments, special advisers are appointed based on merit and experience.
Since she took office in 2014, the First Minister has doubled the number of women in her special adviser team.
She also appointed a female Chief of Staff, the Scottish Government's first female Permanent Secretary and a gender-balanced Cabinet - at the time one of only a handful in the world.
But we know there is more to do - not just in politics, but across society. That is why we are committed to using the new powers to legislate for gender-balanced boards on all public bodies by 2020. In doing so, we will provide a positive example for private companies to follow suit.''