Nicola Sturgeon pledged to improve gender equality and increase opportunities for women as the penultimate weekend of campaigning for the Holyrood election got under way.

The First Minister and SNP leader spoke as she joined women from across the country to highlight her party's manifesto commitments aimed at breaking down gender barriers.

Ms Sturgeon - the first woman to lead the Scottish Government - said she wanted every girl to know that "if they work hard they will have the same opportunities as anybody else".

Ms Sturgeon unveiled the SNP's manifesto on Wednesday in front of some 1,400 party members in Edinburgh and described the policy package as her "job application" for the role of first minister.

On Saturday, she highlighted the support she said a re-elected SNP government would provide to women in Scotland.

The manifesto includes pledges to encourage more girls and women to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) related subjects to help fill skills gaps in key economic sectors.

The party pledges to legislate for 50:50 gender equality in public-sector boardrooms by 2020.

They also vow to consider a system of penalties for local authorities that have not settled outstanding equal pay claims, or are still not paying equal pay, by April next year.

Ms Sturgeon said: "We will double free childcare to help parents return to work and we will increase the numbers of people earning the living wage - helping many women on low pay.

"Women are increasingly visible in public life - but we want to break down barriers even further and ensure that women have equal opportunities and receive equal pay for their work.

"We'll take action to increase women's representation, to support female entrepreneurs and put pressure on any local authorities that are yet to settle outstanding equal pay claims.

"I want to continue the incredible progress made by previous generations - and I hope that the next generation of women grow up in a world where the fight for equality has been won."

Scotland's other main political parties have been concentrating on active travel and taxation.

Representatives from the Greens, Liberal Democrats, Labour, the Conservatives and SNP joined the Pedal on Parliament event in Edinburgh.

The event saw thousands of cyclists converge at Holyrood to campaign for 10% of the Scottish Government's transport budget to be invested in active travel, with improved safety and access for cyclists.

Among those taking part were Kezia Dugdale, leader of Scottish Labour, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie and Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Greens' co-convenor.

Mr Rennie has pledged to increase the active travel budget by £20 million, and implement a plan to help meet the target for 10% of everyday journeys to be made by bike by 2020.

Addressing the gathering, he said: "We need to improve the amount of cycle lanes, segregated and otherwise, to make sure that we can reach that 10% target because there are simply not enough just now. We're at 2% and if we are ever going to reach 10% we need to invest more.

"It's going to cost but we need to make it happen."

Labour's Sarah Boyack said: "The cycling target of 10% of all journeys by 2020 cannot be met without more investment. It cannot be met without more dedicated cycling schemes. If we were elected that would be one of our top priorities but the key thing is making sure we actually have the money to spend.

"Scottish Labour says no to austerity. We want to have more money in the Scottish Parliament so that we can invest in public health and education and active travel. But what we also want to see is more integrated travel."

The Scottish Greens intend to commit 10% of the transport budget to active travel.

Mr Harvie said: "Investing in cycle infrastructure and road maintenance is far better for local businesses and our economy than ploughing extra millions into massive new road projects.

"Research shows it creates far more job hours, so we should be focusing on fixing and improving what we've got rather than adding even further to the cost of maintaining our road network."

Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson visited Dumfriesshire to stress her case that Scotland must retain competitive tax rates if it is to prosper in future years.

She warned that the south of Scotland stands to be particularly affected if tax rates are lower across the border.

She said: "The SNP, Labour, LibDem and Greens have used this campaign to see who can pick the pockets of Scotland's working people the most. They appear to have given no thought whatsoever to what might happen as a result.

"Liz Cameron - one of our most respected business figures - has now made it clear what will happen: not surprisingly,we'll see an exodus of talent and we'll find it harder to attract skilled people to come and work here.

"The South of Scotland would be hardest hit - why would firms choose to set up just North of the border when a few miles further South would give their employees a better deal?

"We need to put jobs and a strong economy first - not reckless election tax grabs from politicians determined to out-flank one another."