By Dame Sue Bruce, Electoral Commissioner for Scotland
IN February, we marked the centenary of the right to vote being given to some women aged 30 and above. And I say marked, rather than celebrated, as young women had to wait a further 10 years before they realised the right to vote on the same terms as men. We owe a debt of thanks to the women’s suffrage movement in Scotland – the “Guid Cause” - for their hard-earned victory.
Now our young women, and men, can vote from the age of 16. Given the importance of the first voting experience in determining whether someone will become a habitual voter or not, we carry out research after every election to better understand attitudes to voting and identify potential barriers to participation.
There are some reasons to be cheerful. Young women aged 16 and 17 were significantly more likely to say that they had voted in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election – 88 per cent compared to 66 per cent of their male peers. This may be related to the fact that young women were also much more likely to report that their friends had voted (61 per cent vs 44 per cent of males of the same age). This suggests that young women are talking to their friends about voting and we know that when young people discuss voting with others, they are more likely to vote themselves. The lesson we can take from this is not to be afraid to keep talking to young people about politics and voting, whether at home, in school or youth groups.
But it’s not enough just to get young women to turn up to vote. If we want them to continue voting then they need to have a positive experience of participating, and this includes being confident that they understand the issues involved. In this regard, our research flags some concerns for young women’s participation. Following the Scottish council elections last year 27 per cent of men said they knew a great deal about the elections compared to only 13 per cent of women.
While there is clearly a debate to be had about whether male voters actually had more knowledge than female voters, or just professed to have, there remains an issue about young women’s confidence in participating in politics.
In the hubbub of all the activities to mark the centenary of women achieving the vote it is easy to miss another significant centenary – the passing of The Parliament (Qualification of Women Act) 1918. This gave women the right to stand for election to the UK Parliament from the age of 21 – the same as their male peers – despite the fact that women could not vote until they were 30. The opportunity to stand in the December 1918 general election was grasped by 17 women. Progress in the 100 years since the passing of this Act has been slower. Women still don’t hold anywhere near 50 per cent of the seats in any parliament or assembly in the UK. It is incumbent on all of us; national and local government, political parties and wider society to understand and address the reasons for this. A good place to start will be by talking – and more importantly. listening – to young women.
Today, the “guid cause” continues as we redouble our efforts to support young women to participate confidently in democracy. To do this, we need to draw on the experiences and ideas of people across Scotland. The First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls is doing just that. They are asking people to share their views on how we can make Scotland a more inclusive and fairer society and your evidence will be fed into their independent report. Make sure you have your say.
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