WOMEN will make up 50 per cent of boardrooms by 2020 if the SNP have their way at Westminster, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon pledged yesterday.
The First Minister’s announcement received “wholehearted support” from a leading Scottish Business Group as she vowed “action on gender inequality”.
Sturgeon said the Scottish Government’s 50:50 pledge will “challenge all public, private and third-sector bodies” to commit to gender equality in the boardroom, hoping to achieve 50/50 gender splits on boards by the end of the decade.
The First Minister promised that the SNP would use any power they had in Westminster to push the cause of women’s equality across the whole of UK.
The First Minister said: “Holding the balance of power at Westminster, we can go further. The SNP will push for action on equality at UK level – calling for UK Government action to ensure 50 per cent female representation on public boards and work with the private sector to encourage more female representation at senior level.”
Alison Henderson, president of the Association of Scottish Businesswomen, said she “wholeheartedly supports” the pledge made by the First Minister, saying it is the “right thing to do”.
Henderson said: “Anything that raises the profile and seeks to get more women involved at board level, and boardroom equality in general, is the right thing to do.”
“I would wholeheartedly support what it is Nicola Sturgeon is trying to do to get gender balance in boardrooms. Whether it is private or public sector I think it is right to look for role models, but also to encourage and raise the awareness of the issue in general, so that women do begin to put themselves forward for board positions, and begin to be taken seriously and are accepted into those positions.”
However, Henderson said there were some “very mixed” responses when the group recently asked members if they believed quotas were the right direction to travel in.
She said: “Some of our members felt that they didn’t want quotas to come in so women do not become token members to make up that 50:50.”
Emma Rich from campaigning group Women 50:50 said: “Having women high on the political agenda in this election is to be welcomed. Women across the UK are undervalued and underrepresented. In Scotland only 28 per cent of the candidates are women, and we have a long way to go before women will see themselves in equal numbers in our legislatures.
“Nicola Sturgeon recently pledged her support for the Women 50:50 campaign and backed the legislation of quotas in the Scottish Parliament and local councils. Introducing these measures would make Scotland a shining example to encourage the rest of the UK and beyond. That is a legacy worthy of any leader,” she said.
Speaking in Midlothian, the First Minister also attacked the current UK government’s cuts, saying they “hit women hardest”.
She said: “Tory cuts have consistently hit women hardest – and ending austerity can help us to invest in the economy, create jobs, services and improve the provision of childcare.
“The Scottish Government is making progress on equality – with female employment the highest of any UK nation, the Living Wage lifting thousands of women out of poverty and our commitment to increasing childcare hours helping more women back to work.
“Our plans for a modest increase in public spending will allow us to invest in new and better jobs in Scotland, and our call to boost the minimum wage to £8.70 by 2020 will ensure these jobs deliver a fair day’s pay.”
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