THE percentage of women represented in the newly elected Scottish Parliament remains the same as 2011 – despite a rise in the number of those standing.
Five years ago 269 women stood for election, securing 45 seats then. On Thursday that figure rose to 326 women standing, yet the number elected remains static at 34.9 per cent.
The peak for female MSPs occurred in 2003 when 51 women secured 39.5 per cent of the seats.
That was a rise of three on the first elections in 1999, but the number dropped six per cent to only 43 in 2007. Women made up 50 per cent of Scottish Labour MSPs and 42.9 per cent of SNP MSPs in 1999.
Nicola Sturgeon (SNP), Ruth Davidson (Scottish Conservatives) and Kezia Dugdale (Labour) lead three of the five political parties in the chamber.
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