Engendering Change in Scotland
By Joan Gibson

Scotland is a small country with a population of 5 million. For nearly 300 years we had been united to England and Wales while retaining our own legal and education systems and a Scottish church which was separate from the state. We have an independence movement focused on the Scottish Nationalist Party. The political position of Scotland was akin to the position of women the world over, and Scottish men resented their powerlessness and disenfranchisement.

The Establishment of Engender

From 1987 onwards, Scottish women held a series of conferences, building a consensus for change. Women from Iceland, Ireland, and Scandinavia shared their experiences and inspired us. We were right at the heart of the movement for devolution. We recognized that to improve the position of women in Scotland we needed to change the political culture.

In the early 1990s, against this background of constitutional change, a group of about 20 women established Engender – a research and campaigning organization for Scottish women. With seed funding allowing financial independence, Engender was launched as a public company limited by guarantee on the 75th anniversary of British women gaining the vote in 1918.

Putting Scottish Women in the Picture

Scottish women were invisible in official statistics, so our priority was to conduct a Gender Audit. The first of seven yearly audits, compiled voluntarily by women academics, was published in 1994 and purchased by libraries, academic institutions, campaigning organizations, and government departments. The Audit won respect for its integrity, acclaim for Engender and, in 1996, a European Award. The task of compiling the audit has now been passed to the Scottish Executive. An Engender founder was appointed the first Equality Ombudsman.

“Gender statistics,” Simone Lindsten from Sweden had told us, “are the gunpowder of emancipation”. These statistics revealed for the first time the true situation of Scottish women in all aspects of civil and public life. They showed that Scottish women still had a long way to go to achieve equality and safety. They gave us a baseline from which to campaign for change and to measure progress.

Funding and Development

The development of Engender relied on the voluntary effort of many women and at times its existence seemed under threat. It all began with a shoebox in someone’s attic, then a corner of the office of a women’s organization. Today, Engender rents its own office in central Edinburgh and employs several staff and project workers.

We have core funding from the Scottish Executive and project funding from the National Lotteries and European Community Funds, the Equal Opportunities Commission and Oxfam GB. Engender has set up a Women’s Fund for Scotland with a 4-year grant from the Scottish Executive and matching funds from donors to establish an endowment fund and make grants to any group seeking to support and empower women.

Scottish Devolution: a Great Opportunity

When the Labour Party won the UK elections in 1997 with a manifesto including a referendum for Scottish devolution, the hope of a Scottish Parliament became an achievable goal. Engender joined with other women’s organizations in campaigning and in working through the Scottish Constitutional Convention to shape the future of Scotland.

A 50/50 campaign called for equal representation of women. The UN Charter on the Rights of Women makes provision for ‘temporary special measures’ to redress the inequality experienced by women. However the British Government would do no more than urge parties to ‘have equal opportunity in mind’ , for fear of contravening the Sex Discrimination Act and the European Equal Treatment Directive. Ultimately only the Scottish Labour Party committed to 50/50.

Women into Parliament

The greatest hurdle a woman has to overcome is the first – having enough confidence to put herself forward for selection by her party. Engendering Change courses help to give women the confidence and skills needed to stand for election.

Scottish campaigning resulted in the number of Scottish women MPs sent to Westminster increasing from 5 to 12 out of 72 in 1997. Overall the UK Parliament had 18% women MPs. Celebrations on achieving 37% women Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) overlooked the fact that we had not achieved 50/50. But we had make a breakthrough – we had broken the UK mould, and crossed the threshold of a critical mass of 1/3, which can make a difference to the body.

In elections this year, despite the petering out of the 50/50 campaign and the focus on the war in Iraq, the proportion of women in parliament increased to 39.5%. Traditionally, women’s voices have been stronger at the local level. Local government has a great impact on women’s lives both as service users and employees. Nevertheless only a fifth of local government councillors are women. Efforts are being made to improve the situation in the local elections due in 2007 which, like the Scottish Parliamentary elections, will be by proportional representation.

Consolidation

On our 10th anniversary the two other campaigning organizations for Scottish Women – the Scottish Joint Action Group and Women’s Forum Scotland – amalgamated with Engender, making it the single umbrella organization for women in Scotland, with representation on the Women’s National Commission which advises the British Government, and the European Women’s Lobby. Networking has been at the core of Engender’s activities. We intend to go on engendering change and empowering women in Scotland.

Joan Gibson is a member of the Humanist Society of Scotland. Email:

. See also www.humanism- scotland.org.uk, and Engender’s website, www.engender.org.uk, for information on programmes and the Gender Audit 2000.