We have come a long way since the prospect of a woman preaching was likened to “a dog walking on its hind legs”, with the added observation that “it is not done well, but you are surprised to find it done at all”.

This judgement by Dr Samuel Johnson was considered the height of wit in the 18th century. Since then the natural right of women to be in the pulpit or the boardroom or the laboratory is much clearer. But I might yet reply to Dr Johnson that I am surprised there is still shock when female leaders succeed or exist at all.

To my mind there are still too many “firsts” – where a woman is the first of her kind to take up a leadership role – not least as it has been hundreds of years since Dr Johnson was around.

I was thinking of this when reading the Herald article about efforts to encourage more girls and women to study STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) subjects in Scottish higher and further education. A recent progress report found that the proportion of women studying engineering and technology subjects at college showed some improvement, rising from 10.9% to 15.8% in the last five years. On the downside, the report showed women pursuing studies in construction and computer science dropped slightly in the same period. So, there is still some way to go.

This month we welcomed the Scottish Government’s Gender Pay Gap Action Plan which outlines more than 50 steps to reduce the disparity between men and women. This includes £5million of funding for a programme to support women returning to work after a career break and the extension of the Workplace Equality Fund. The private sector is also playing its part to unlock more opportunities for women in the workplace and female entrepreneurs. Our recently launched Future Female Business Leaders initiative will provide a wide-range of mentoring, business support and international opportunities. This is critical for Scotland given that less than two-fifths of new businesses are being started by women. If women-led businesses were on par with males, it would be worth £7.6 billion to the Scottish economy.

There is no silver bullet to this challenge. But in this month dedicated to women’s history, we are reflecting on the progress made – an important step in order to move forward. Ultimately, improving opportunities for all in Scotland is beneficial to our economy and society.

Liz Cameron is director and chief executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce.