NICOLA Sturgeon has said she is still subjected to "mansplaining", even as the First Minister of Scotland.
Interviewed by The Herald to mark International Women's Day, Sturgeon spoke on subjects including the way female politicians are treated.
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She said: “Even as First Minister I get men trying to explain politics to me. I like to think most guys mean well when they do it, but it’s definitely still a thing.
"To be fair lots of guys are much more conscious now of how they behave but – dare I say it – there’s still a lot of dinosaurs out there.”
Sturgeon, who is Scotland's first female First Minister, also spoke about whether the rise of movements such as #MeToo mean society is set for a major shift in attitudes.
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She said: “I hope so, but I think it’s too early to say. There’s been a powerful movement over the last few months that has sometimes been quite difficult to live through as a woman. All of us have been facing up to things we’ve accepted for too long, realising that we can’t go on accepting them.
“But I also feel we’ve got to watch out that we don’t get into a situation where too much of the responsibility for changing society is put on women’s shoulders.
"Having suffered some of this behaviour for so long the responsibility seems to be on women to come forward and talk about it, relive it. Women should be supported in doing that, but they shouldn’t be criticised for not doing it.
“This is about men’s behaviour. Not all men, but largely men. The responsibility should be on men to change. Men have to be part of the solution.
"I don’t think it’s going to change immediately, but it has to translate into a fundamental change and a watershed moment, otherwise what a lot of women have experienced over the last few months will have been for nothing.”
The "huge responsibility" of her role was also one of the topics discussed, as Sturgeon spoke about the many women and girls who had contacted her after she became First Minister to say what it meant.
She said: “Suddenly you’re aware that the mistakes you make, the things you get wrong – and obviously you will get things wrong – there will be people out there who point to that and say it tells you a woman can’t do the job.
“But this is a very special position to be in. And one of the best bits of my job is getting to talk to wee girls and encourage them to be what they want to be.”
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