At least half of Scottish Labour's new candidates for next year's Holyrood election will be women, the party's leader has said.

Kezia Dugdale has vowed to seek out new talent to stand in the 2016 vote, pledging that at least 50% will be female.

The move is aimed at bringing a better gender balance to the Scottish Parliament and helping to "shatter the glass ceiling for women in Scotland".

Ms Dugdale has already announced a gender-balanced front bench team for Scottish Labour, mirroring First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's equal gender split in the Scottish Cabinet.

The parties are under pressure to address gender balance next year after the proportion of female MSPs elected to Holyrood fell to just over a third in the 2011 elections.

Women also made up less than 30% of the candidates at that election.

They remained under-represented during the general election in May, with females making up less than a third of candidates for the Scottish seats at Westminster.

Ms Dugdale said: "We have female leaders of the three main political parties in Scotland. That's a great thing and it's something to shout about.

"But we can never make the mistake of thinking that it's job done on equality for women in Scotland.

"I want to attract new talent and fresh faces to Scottish Labour for next year's election. My commitment today is that at least half of Scottish Labour's new candidates will be women.

"There is so much to do to shatter the glass ceiling for women in Scotland.

"Having a parliament that looks like the country we seek to represent is a good start. I hope other parties rise to the challenge as Scottish Labour has."

Ms Dugdale's announcement follows moves by Labour's only MP Ian Murray to amend the Scotland Bill to give Holyrood the power to achieve equal gender balance in the Scottish Parliament with a 50/50 gender split for candidates.

The SNP has also taken steps to improve gender balance.

The party voted in favour of introducing all women shortlists and "balanced" regional lists earlier this year.