A REPORT published today revealed the extent to which women remain underrepresented in positions of power in Scotland. According to Engender’s Sex And Power 2020 report, there are 562 women “missing” from positions of influence, ranging across politics, the media, public sector, justice and business. That is the number of women it would take to reach equality with men, who currently occupy 68 per cent such power roles in Scotland.

While this is an improvement on Engender’s 2017 report which found “703 women ‘missing’ from positions of power in Scotland”, it represents only marginal rises in some areas, and stasis or backsliding in others. “Not enough change is happening,” the report says, “and not quickly enough, to redress the gender imbalance in Scotland’s corridors of power."

Emma Ritch, executive director of Engender said, "Sex And Power 2020 shows that positions of power in Scotland are still overwhelmingly dominated by men – controlling decisions over legislation, convictions, the media we consume and the healthcare we receive. Three years has seen just 4 per cent change in the overall representation of women in top positions, and several sectors such as the judiciary actually move backwards."

"But there is cause to be hopeful," Ritch said. "In politics where consistent pressure has been applied from groups like Women 5050, the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, and the Equality Network, we have seen a change. Scotland has equal representation in our MEPs, in our Cabinet, and in local authority chief executives. But much more needs to be done to ensure we see 50% of positions of power in Scotland held by women, and that these women represent the true diversity of Scotland. We want to see our democratic bodies, courtrooms, business boards and art galleries filled with women of colour, disabled women, lesbian and bisexual women, trans women, and all other women who are so often ignored.”

Speaking in advance of the launch, Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie said: “I welcome this report which highlights the continuing gap between men and women in positions of influence in Scotland. It is everyone’s responsibility to address this gap. The Scottish Government has taken action to improve women’s representation and to advance women’s equality in a broad range of areas. In 2018, we introduced the Gender Representation on Public Boards Act to improve the representation of women on listed public boards in Scotland. Women have the capacity to be great leaders, and we need to make sure that they are being given this opportunity.”

One of the areas of greatest improvement, however, is in politics. There, the report says, “efforts by Scottish Government, action by political parties, and pressure from the general public has seen significant gains. 50% of Cabinet Secretaries, the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body, and Scottish Members of the European Parliament are now women”.

However the report describes the pace of change for women elected to local council as “glacial”. Women are still only 29 per cent of councillors and 23 per cent of council leaders.

The report reveals a list of spheres that have less than 20 per cent women’s representation. These include the heads of transport bodies, temporary judges at the Supreme Court and trade union Scottish Secretaries. There are also no women as CEOs of Scottish-based FTSE 100 and 250 companies and only two women out of the 50 people heading up top Scottish companies.

Only 19% of CEO positions across Scotland’s national governing bodies for sport are held by women. “Women’s sport," the report says, "is categorically undervalued and marginalised in Scotland, resulting in a lack of visibility that has an impact on women and girls’ activity in schools and beyond.”

At present only 26.5 percent of Scotland’s most senior judicial office-holders are women, representing a decrease since 2017, only two senior police officers are women, and 70% of all police officer posts are currently held by men. “Greater gender diversity," says the report, "is needed across Scotland’s judiciary and police force to increase women’s access to justice, and to tackle endemic violence against women.”

The report also noted that “Scotland has only one woman as editor of a major national newspaper, one woman as political editor in a major newspaper, and one woman as head of a national broadcaster….” However, that one editor, Catriona MacInnes on the Dundee Courier, has, since the snapshot report was put together, retired. Libby Brooks and Jan Patience of Women in Journalism Scotland responded to the report with the following statement: “At a point when the political landscape has never been more fast-changing, and with the trial of a former first minister on multiple sexual assault charges imminent, it is crucial that women’s voices and perspectives are represented in reporting.”