Sturgeon's rise is a watershed for women

For those of us less interested in where she bought them and merely astonished that anyone could strut the stage in stilts, those shoes were a symbol of more than Ms Sturgeon's sartorial style. They were like the flag Armstrong and Aldrin planted when they landed on the moon and claimed their place in history. Though it was a less macho gesture, Ms Sturgeon's heels were a sign the country's most influential and important role is held by a woman, who has staked her claim.

I doubt the significance of Ms Sturgeon's appointment has fully sunk in, nor could it be expected to. For the first few weeks, having her at the helm will be a novelty. But once this has worn off, it will be taken for granted. Or so it ought to be. Ms Sturgeon has won her place because of who and what she is, not for her complement of chromosomes. Yet her achievement is remarkable. And it is about more than her, or her party, or our government. Her elevation represents a snowball that is gathering momentum, a long overdue and welcome trend that we might call the feminisation of Scotland.

Until the last half century ours has been a rigidly and at times aggressively male culture. The ceiling has been made not so much of glass as of steel, and padlocked for extra security. In part this is a legacy of the industrial past, when heavy labour was men's work, and women had little option but to keep the domestic front in order. Even before the heyday of shipbuilding and mining however, women were always deemed less fit for authority. We can thank the Old Testament for that, its misogyny drilled in as if it were scientific fact, and to defy it was to risk damnation.

Women of every generation prior to my own have thus been born knowing their place before their first day at school. When some resisted convention and appeared in danger of stepping out of line or getting above themselves, they were quickly slapped down, sometimes literally. Those who persevered regardless of the struggle deserve to be honoured because it is to them we owe the hard-won acceptance that women are the equals of men, in law if not always in practice.

In the early days, women's advance onto male territory tended to be in so-called "soft" areas such as the arts or teaching or medicine. Even then it wasn't easy. Makar Liz Lochhead has spoken of how strange it was, in the 1960s, to be the only female poet in a world kept almost sacrosanct for men. She was treated with courtesy and affection, but those in less civilised circles were far less fortunate. Stories abound of the humiliating treatment women faced in less sophisticated professions or workplaces, where their presence was resented by male colleagues, who did not bother to hide their feelings.

Despite having to fight their corner - or maybe because of it - women have increasingly found their vocation, and their voice. In turn, companies and institutions have gradually recognised it is not gender that matters but ability. The old ways of doing business, in the bar or on the golf course, are dying out. And, as enclaves of testosterone have been breached, the toughest jobs have slowly become accessible. Witness Ruth Davidson and Johann Lamont leading their parties; or Louise Richardson being appointed Principal of St Andrews University, one of the most masculine and medieval bastions in the country.

So there has been progress, of that there is no doubt. Yet when one looks around, positions of power are still dominated by men. Whether it's in banking or business, technology or the media, the boss's office more often smells of Brut than Chanel. Whatever change is taking place, it's at a geological pace.

One's hope is Ms Sturgeon's tenancy of Bute House might hasten that process, though she need do nothing more than her job. All girls and women and employers should simply take their cue from her. As First Minister she has already shown there's no job in the country beyond their reach.