MSPS have been urged to place women's voices at the "front and centre" of next year's Holyrood election campaign, ahead of a major conference.
The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) – the largest trade union body in Scotland – has launched its "Women Demand Better" manifesto ahead of its annual women's conference.
The manifesto sets out demands for expanding free childcare, ending sexual harassment, scrapping the two-child benefit cap and eliminating gender-based violence and the gender-pay gap.
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It also calls on political parties to include tackling "pervasive" far-right narratives and disinformation in their manifestos for next year's election.
It comes after a "Scotland Demands Better" rally took place over the weekend, with thousands of people turning out to call for improved social security, better jobs, and more investment in areas such as housing and transport.
The demonstration gained the backing of First Minister John Swinney, who said he was pleased to see people marching "for a better, fairer Scotland".
Commenting ahead of the conference on Wednesday, STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said last weekend's march was "only the beginning, not the end, of a mobilised, determined movement that desires change".
She went on to say that the new STUC women's committee manifesto "makes that abundantly clear".
Foyer (above) told The National: "Women in Scotland won’t stand for increasing violence in their workplaces, harassment in the streets, nor inflicted poverty from the inaction of our politicians.
“When workers unite, we’re an unstoppable force for change. We need to ensure that, as we approach the UK Government Budget next month and the Scottish Parliament elections, women’s voices are, without apology, front and centre of the debate.”
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Meanwhile, STUC women's chair Pearl Abernethy said: “The STUC women’s committee won’t sit idle whilst women workers are facing hatred within our communities and violence in our workplaces.
“Our manifesto launched at our conference this week makes demands on eradicating violence against women, ending sexual harassment, and tackling the pervasive far-right who seek to weaponise women’s trauma for their own ends.
“If politicians truly care about our vote next year, then they will care enough about our demands and back our calls within our women’s manifesto.”
The STUC women's conference takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall.
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