Scottish Government

IMPROVING THE POSITION OF WOMEN IN SCOTLAND: AN AGENDA FOR ACTION

SECTION TWO

KEY POLICY ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED

This section sets out the key policy issues identified by the group, and lists objectives, and action points for change, that should form part of an overall strategy for gender equality. These key issues are:

• Employment
• Childcare
• Caring (for older people and people with disabilities) and personal assistance
• Poverty and Exclusion
• Violence and Safety
• Influence and Decision-making.

The objectives and actions listed may be immediate, medium, or long term. The table on page [56] provides a summary of these, and indicates Scottish Executive departments and other bodies who have a part to play in making change happen.

EMPLOYMENT

There are a number of over-lapping aspects of women's position in employment that require to be addressed. These are:

• Equal Pay
• Low Pay, Job Segregation and Unemployment
• Promoting diversity in the workplace.

Equal pay

The issue: despite the fact that the Equal Pay Act has been in force since 1975, the gap between men and women's average pay has been very slow to reduce. Women on average earn only 81p for every 1 earned by men when hourly earnings are compared; they on average earn only 76p for every 1 earned by men when weekly earnings are compared (men tend to work more hours per week and receive more overtime, bonus and shift premium payments). While interruptions to employment for childbearing and rearing contribute to the pay gap, this is not the only factor. For example, EOC research found that in 2002 women leaving higher education with the same qualification in the same discipline entering the same occupations as men earned 15% less after 5 years. Only a minority of employers in the UK are currently taking action to address the gender pay gap through conducting pay reviews - 18% of large employers, and 10% of medium sized employers.

Factors that contribute to the gender pay gap include the impact of gender segregation by industry and by occupation; discrimination; interruptions to employment for childbearing and caring; the effect of part-time work on women's pay and career prospects; and lack of flexibility in working hours. The pattern of gender inequality varies within different sectors of the economy, and in some areas there is more progress than in others.

Campaigns such as the Close the Gap campaign in Scotland have promoted the use by employers of the EOC's equal pay review kits and have provided training and advice for employers, trade unions and employees on equal pay issues. The EOC have backed a number of recent high-profile equal pay claims at industrial tribunals and all economic development and job training projects backed by European Structural Funds money have to demonstrate how they have promoted equal opportunities. But without further action being taken, reduction of the pay gap is likely to continue to be slow, and this therefore necessitates a long term strategy, with a range of actions designed to tackle the range of factors contributing to inequalities in pay.

Objective: to reduce the gender pay gap

Action points:

A strategic plan for reducing the gender pay gap

The Scottish Executive should develop a strategic plan for reducing the gender pay gap, identifying a range of actions, and the respective roles of government, employers, and trade unions in achieving this.

The strategy should include the following actions:

1. Set a target for the reduction of the gender pay gap

A target should be set for reduction of the gender pay gap for this Parliament, and for the longer term, based on a review of the evidence on the gender pay gap across the Scottish economy and within different sectors. We suggest that the target should be at least that all public sector organisations in Scotland and 25% of businesses (large and small) should have carried out a pay review by the end of 2005 and 2006 respectively. In particular pay agreements such as the Single Status Agreement in local government, and the new health services agreement on pay, which aim, amongst other things, to reduce the gender pay gap, should be evaluated for their success in achieving this. Consideration should be given to obliging public sector bodies, including non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), as part of their conditions of grant to demonstrate that they are fulfilling their obligations under the Equal Pay Act 1970 and other equal opportunities legislation and are promoting equal opportunities in line with best practice.

2. Prioritise sectors for action on equal pay

Particular sectors should be prioritised for action. Criteria for selection should include those sectors in which change will have the most beneficial effects for the greatest number of women; those where the pay gap is greatest, or where inequalities in grades and pay are particularly persistent such as Finance and Higher Education.

3. Promote the conduct of pay reviews

The Scottish Executive should require public bodies to conduct pay reviews to identify whether there are systematic inequalities in pay between men and women, and to devise schemes to remove such inequalities (building on pay reviews that have already been carried out, e.g. the Scottish Executive completed its own pay review in April 2003). We welcome the planned guidance to local authorities recommending that they carry out pay reviews in order to comply with their best value duties and the impact of this should be evaluated. Private sector organisations should be encouraged to conduct similar pay reviews, using the targets set out in the Kingsmill Review of Women's Employment and Pay, commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry ⁵ i.e. 50% of large employers and 25% of smaller companies to carry out reviews within 3 years . This would build on the Close the Gap campaign. It should be emphasised that carrying out pay reviews can contribute to a company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, where companies have one. CSR reports cover such matters as a company's ethical trading policies, its concerns for the environment, the way it treats its own staff, and its investment in community or charitable activities. The European & External Relations Committee of the Scottish Parliament recently conducted an enquiry about CSR and there is increasing interest in it from shareholders and the general public.

4. Public sector procurement policies and compliance with equal opportunities

The Scottish Executive should investigate how the procurement policies of public sector bodies might improve equal opportunities. Scottish Executive suppliers are informed that failure to comply with Race Relations legislation may render them ineligible to bid for Scottish Executive contracts. This should be extended so that all public sector bodies are required to adopt a policy that they will only buy goods and services from companies that themselves are equal opportunity employers and have a commitment to carrying out equal pay reviews demonstrating their compliance with the Equal Pay Act .

5. Promote flexible working arrangements

The imbalance between women's and men's average working hours should be tackled by active support for more flexible working arrangements, and by challenging the long hours culture present in many organisations. The Scottish Executive can lead by example, can commission research to demonstrate the business case for flexible working, and enlist the support of key Scottish employers in promoting this. It is recognised that large employers often find it easier to introduce such arrangements, and in recognition of the significant proportion of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Scottish economy, it is recommended that the Scottish Executive discusses with DTI a means to support SMEs in introducing more flexible working arrangements and in proactively taking forward equality legislation and related practices for both large employers and SMEs. This could include support and advice services and investigating practical ways of improving SMEs' access to temporary staff to cover for absences of permanent staff.

6. Set up programmes to tackle gender segregation

Programmes should be set up to tackle gender segregation in occupations where there is a particularly large gender imbalance, along the lines of initiatives such as those encouraging women into engineering and science. Sectors and occupations which might be included in such schemes could be construction, and professions such as surveying and architecture, which are very male dominated; and work in childcare, primary teaching, nursing, and secretarial jobs, which are very female dominated.

7. Increase the numbers of women decision makers in business and economic development

The Scottish Executive, the UK Government and the private sector all need to do more to encourage the appointment of more women to boards of private companies; and to encourage the appointment of more women to public bodies concerned with economic and industrial development.

Low pay, job segregation and unemployment

The issue: women make up the majority of the workforce in sectors where low pay is prevalent such as retail and care work. For example, women make up around 80% of employees in both the bottom ten lowest paid manual and non-manual occupations, and 70% of those who benefited from the introduction of the national minimum wage in the UK were women. Low value is often attached to many areas of traditional women's work leading to low pay. Furthermore, the bulk of part-time work has tended to be available in areas of low paid employment - the combination of lack of childcare and choice for women compounding the job segregation in these areas of work. Women in low paid work are also more likely to move in and out of employment: the "low pay, no pay" cycle. Disabled women and minority ethnic women experience higher rates of unemployment.

As well as the segregation of male and female employees into different sectors of the economy, within sectors where women work beside men they are likely to be in lower paid occupations, and therefore encounter occupational segregation.

Objectives:

• To decrease the proportion of women in low paid work
• To improve the distribution of women (and men) in employment across all sectors and occupations

Action Points:

1. Remove barriers to women pursuing particular careers

Barriers to women pursuing particular careers range from straightforward unlawful practices (such as denying women work placements for spurious reasons and making them sit tests not required of men) to the more subtle pressures which influence attendance at school, subject choice at school and career choices, such as lack of confidence, peer pressure, and established societal expectations about gender roles. The EOC should consider conducting more investigations in order to tackle unlawful practices. Some parents keep their children, especially girls, off school in order to carry out adult responsibilities and this practice has to be more effectively discouraged by schools and any other agencies that come into contact with these families, such as social workers. The Scottish Executive Education Department should set up a short life working group for schools so that these gender issues are not overshadowed by the understandable focus on boys' underachievement.

2. Encourage more women and men into non-traditional areas of work

A range of bodies should develop actions to encourage more women and men into non-traditional areas of work and to ensure that job stereotyping is not reflected in modern apprenticeships and other training programmes. These bodies should include the Scottish Executive Education and Enterprise, Transport & Lifelong Learning Departments, Scottish Enterprise (SEnt), Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE), Jobcentre Plus, the New Deal and Welfare to Work Taskforces, employers' representatives, professional bodies and trade unions.

3. Carry out training audits

The Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport & Lifelong Learning Department (SEETLLD) should consider the usefulness of encouraging employers to carry out training audits.

4. Provide better in-work training opportunities

Better in-work training opportunities should be provided for women in low paid low skilled jobs to enhance their job prospects. Research is required to show where this is already being done and how this can be taken forward. We suggest the SEETLLD working with SEnt, HIE, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Federation of Small Business (FSB) and STUC should come together to showcase good practice in this area.

5. Extend mentoring schemes

The SEETLLD should consider extending existing mentoring schemes for women starting up their own businesses to women in other types of work.

6. Develop public sector strategies on equal and low pay

Local authorities, NHS Scotland and other public sector employers should consider specific strategies to tackle the concentration of women in the lowest paid areas of work and to ensure equal pay for work of equal value.

7. Provide careers guidance and advice for older women

The SEETLLD should ensure that Careers Scotland can cater for the needs of women who want to enter training or employment later in life and for women living in rural areas where job and training opportunities may be more limited.

Promoting diversity in the workplace

The issue: There are legal, moral and business cases for promoting diversity in the workplace, but too many employers are still ignoring them. Many employers are assuming that because women are now qualifying for and entering more professions that this will automatically mean that the senior levels of those professions will in time become more diverse. This assumption may mean that they fail to tackle institutional discrimination that is preventing and will prevent this from happening. For many employers legislation on sex, race, disability discrimination, flexible working and maternity and paternity leave are still perceived to be a regulatory burden. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) find it particularly hard to identify labour to cover for absences and meet the financial cost of dealing with absences for both leave or training. Some companies can demonstrate a strong case that good employment practice and policies such as good work/life balance policies, for example, make a difference to the bottom line.

Objective: to increase the number of companies/employers in Scotland who promote diversity in the workplace through recruiting a workforce that reflects the population, and which ensures equal opportunities in promotion.

Action Points:

1. Make the business case for diversity

All Scottish Executive departments, the EOC and other agencies with contact with employers, including the Enterprise Networks and employers' organisations such as the CBI and FSB, should inform employers at every opportunity about the business case for encouraging diversity at work, as well as the moral and legal case for doing so. The diversity case, which argues that if your customers are diverse you will benefit from being diverse too, should be promoted. Recent research that suggests that employees are increasingly attracted to companies because of their ethos should be disseminated. The benefits of different leadership styles should be promoted, for example, the multi-tasking skills acquired by mothers.

2. Consider providing subsidies and incentives for SMEs

The Scottish Executive should raise with the UK government the need for greater state subsidies to help employers to meet the costs of maternity and paternity leave, as is done in some other EU countries. The Scottish Parliament and Executive should explore powers within their scope to offer more incentives for SMEs to assist them meet regulatory requirements, for example, schemes to support temporary labour to cover flexible working, maternity etc. The Scottish Executive's Enterprise, Transport & Lifelong Learning Department should commission research into how other countries are already taking such partnership arrangements with business forward.

3. Promote the benefits of flexible working opportunities

The Scottish Executive should undertake research on the costs and benefits of flexible working opportunities for large companies and SMEs, as anecdotal evidence suggests that it increases efficiency. The overall working culture needs to change to allow both women and men to carry out other responsibilities and pursue other interests.

4. Develop good practice on flexible working in the public sector

More work is needed with the public sector to promote the better application of flexible working and policies to improve work-life balance and to ensure that the future pool of employees does not shrink as the Scottish population ages. The Scottish Executive, together with COSLA and the STUC, EOC and other equality bodies should bring forward examples of positive practice and recommendations.

5. Link the promotion of gender equality to forthcoming legislation on age discrimination

Employers need to promote age diversity in their workforces in order to prepare for changes in legislation in 2006 regarding age discrimination and to cope with demographic trends.

6. Link the promotion of gender equality to the Fresh Talent initiative

The changing demography of Scotland indicates an ageing and declining population. In response to this the Scottish Executive has launched an initiative called "Fresh Talent" to attract people to Scotland. The need to engage the talent of women fully in the economy should be part of this initiative.

CHILDCARE

The issue: although men are now more involved in childcare than they were previously, the division of labour between men and women in childcare remains very unequal. This unequal division of labour, which means that women continue to carry out most unpaid caring work, is a key factor contributing to women's disadvantaged position at work in terms of promotion and pay. Childcare provision is therefore a crucial factor in reducing gender inequality. Furthermore child-caring and childcare work continue to be undervalued. The traditional assumption that it was women's role to carry out unpaid caring work while it was men's role to be bread-winners, continues to influence attitudes to valuing childcare work. Cultural attitudes in Britain have often limited opportunities for parents and children to enjoy recreation and social time together, in contrast to many other European countries, and cultural change is required to make Scotland a more child-friendly society.

While improvements in the availability of childcare, such as the provision of free part-time pre-school places for every 3 and 4 year old whose parents wish this and extra funding for the development of childcare in some disadvantaged areas, are very welcome, not all needs are currently met, and further improvements are required. There is insufficient flexibility in the system of provision to meet the needs of parents who work out of normal working hours, whose working patterns are not traditional, whose hours cannot be adjusted easily, and/or who require support in the event of childcare arrangements falling through. Parents - mainly mothers - on traditional working patterns have difficulty in finding childcare during school holidays and often have to use holiday entitlement or take sick leave to fill the gap.

There are particular issues for women with disabled children in finding accessible, affordable and available childcare. And there are particular issues for lone parents. For example, childcare may be available for lone parents or women with disabilities whilst on a further education (FE) or higher education (HE) course but not available when they come to look for a job if their children are older than 4 years. In general policies should aim to make it easier for lone parents to work by improving cross cutting problems such as childcare and transport, and by not removing childcare when a parent moves from education or training to work. The balance between allowing parents to choose whether to work or not and forcing them to work should be reassessed. Current policies are not flexible enough to support lone parents who want to look after their children themselves.

There are particular difficulties also for women in rural areas, where formal childcare provision may be very limited or not viable, yet relatives, friends and neighbours who provide childcare cannot be funded through the system of child tax credit benefits.

Objectives:

• Provision should meet the requirements of parents in terms of quality, affordability, and flexibility. Childcare should be available for all parents who wish it, in such a way that it enables women to take up the work and education opportunities that they aspire to, and provides good quality care for children to ensure long term benefits to them and to society in general.
• The value of unpaid childcare should receive proper recognition, and childcare workers should be better paid. Unpaid childcare should be shared fairly between men and women.

Action points:

1. Increase provision and set targets on childcare

Provision should be increased generally by the Scottish Executive and local authorities, both in terms of the numbers of children who can be given places, and in terms of hours of provision. Building on the success of the provision of part-time nursery places for 3 and 4 year olds, specific targets should be set for increasing provision for both pre-school and school age children. Provision should be sensitive to the needs of specific groups, such as those of rural communities, and minority ethnic communities.

2. Improve funding mechanisms

Funding mechanisms that support sustainable childcare should be further developed by the Scottish Executive, for example for after-school provision (where better use should be made of school premises); for communities where a culture of use of formal childcare provision is not well established; and to enable women to make transitions from training to work, or to continue in work when children move from pre-school provision to school.

3. Develop community based childcare and pilot projects

More community based provision should be developed by the Scottish Executive, local authorities and the voluntary sector, including better use of existing school premises and purpose built childcare centres, which co-ordinate a range of forms of childcare to provide flexibility for parents, and which support parental involvement. A number of pilot projects of community based childcare provision should be set up targeting particular groups e.g. deprived urban communities, rural communities, minority ethnic communities.

4. Support childcare through social economy initiatives

Women organising childcare in communities and childcare organisations may be assisted by initiatives which seek to grow the social economy. The Scottish Executive should consider how work around the social economy can be harnessed to address some of the issues faced by women and childcare organisations. For example, it is difficult for community based childcare organisations to move from SIP (Social Inclusion Partnership) funding to independence. They spend too much time chasing alternative funding and lottery money, and if their efforts are to no avail it is not only extremely discouraging to those community activists, but is also damaging.

5. Encourage employer support for childcare

Employers should be encouraged to provide support for working parents in a range of ways: flexible working arrangements; information about local childcare services; work place crèches.

6. Enhance the quality and value of the childcare workforce

A key factor contributing to good quality childcare is the workforce. The Scottish Executive should aim to develop a childcare workforce that is well qualified, well trained and well paid. As a part of the strategy on Equal Pay, the pay and conditions of childcare workers in the public and private sector should be reviewed, and revalued in line with the job evaluation criteria of pay schemes such as the Single Status Agreement for local government.

7. Better liaison with UK Government

There should be better liaison between UK Government Departments and Scottish interests to ensure that the impact of UK employment and benefits policies on lone parents takes full account of Scottish circumstances.

8. Value properly unpaid childcare work

Childcare work should be recognised and valued in a number of ways. A value can be put on the unpaid childcare work carried out by women and men using the model of ONS data on Time Use and Household Satellite Accounts. While this value does not mean that any economic reward is available for such work, it is important in affording recognition to the contribution that childcare makes to the economy and to society, and that women in particular make in this way. The Scottish Executive should provide figures for Scotland based on this data.

9. Encourage fair shares in childcare

Men should be encouraged to take on a fair share of care and policies advancing this should be put in place. This would include better paid paternity and parental leave, encouragement for men to take on flexible working arrangements, including career breaks, and part-time work, and to reduce their working hours. It would also include the encouragement of a more child-friendly environment where it is easier for either mothers or fathers to share leisure and social time with children outside the home. The Scottish Executive should examine its scope for action and develop an action plan and awareness raising campaign.

CARING (FOR OLDER PEOPLE AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES) AND PERSONAL ASSISTANCE

The issue: a greater share of providing unpaid care for older people and disabled adults requiring care falls on women than on men. Of the 600,000 carers in Scotland, 62% are women. Around half of all carers combine caring and employment, and many find it difficult to juggle work and unpaid care for ageing parents or other adult family members. Not only are the majority of unpaid carers women, but the majority of employees providing care for adults are women. As with childcare both unpaid and paid caring work requires to be appropriately valued.

Given women's greater longevity it is also the case that the majority of older or disabled adults who require care are women. As the proportion of older people in Scotland's population grows the issue of supporting the needs of carers and those being cared for will increase in significance. We welcome the Scottish Executive's commitment to improving the support available to carers and seeking the views of carers and care recipients and to increasing the amount of home care services provided to adults who live alone.

Disabled people do not necessarily want to rely on family members and/ or friends to meet their assistance needs. Indeed, the term 'care' is not always appropriate in that it has emotive connotations, when what is required in straightforward practical assistance. Opportunities for disabled people to exert control over their own lives, and over the nature of the support they receive in order to do this, are to be welcomed.

Objectives:

• Professional support for relatives and friends providing informal care for adults should meet the requirements of both carers and care recipients and be provided in such a way that it enables women to take up the work, education and leisure opportunities to which they aspire.
• The value of unpaid care of adults should receive proper recognition, and care workers should be better paid. Unpaid care should be shared fairly between men and women.

Action points:

1. Increase support for carers

Provision should be increased generally by the Scottish Executive and local authorities, both in terms of the numbers of carers who receive professional help in caring for other adults, including respite care, and in terms of hours and quality of support. The momentum generated by the Scottish Executive's 'Strategy for Carers in Scotland' and the new rights for carers introduced by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act should continue. Provision should to be sensitive to the needs of specific groups, such as those of rural communities, and minority ethnic communities.

2. Encourage employer support for caring responsibilities

Employers should be encouraged to provide support for employees who provide care for other adults through flexible working arrangements and information about local carer support services.

3. Better liaison with UK Government

There should be better liaison between the UK Government Departments and Scottish interests to ensure that the impact of UK employment and benefits policies on carers takes full account of Scottish circumstances.

4. Value properly unpaid care work

As with childcare, unpaid care work for adult care recipients should be recognised and valued.

5. Ensure choice in caring and personal assistance

Caring must also be a choice for carers and cared for parties. For example disabled people might prefer to employ personal assistants rather than rely on family members, as might family members, and policies should reflect this.

POVERTY AND EXCLUSION

There are two aspects to be considered here:

• Poverty and Social Exclusion
• Difficulties in access to services, including in rural areas.

Poverty and social exclusion

The issue: it is widely recognised that women are at greater risk of poverty than men, and are likely to remain in poverty for longer periods than men. Two groups particularly vulnerable to poverty, and which are predominantly made up of women, are lone parents (90% of lone parents are women) and pensioners Women from minority ethnic communities and disabled women also experience higher levels of poverty and social exclusion. Only around a third of women with disabilities are economically active compared with around three-quarters of non-disabled women.

It is also widely recognised that women's disadvantaged position in the labour market, due to domestic and caring responsibilities (and having to meet the costs of those responsibilities) contributes to their poverty, both while of working age and when they are older, since interruptions to employment and low pay mean that they are unable to build up an adequate pension in retirement.

There also needs to be a recognition that poverty is not always area based, and that strategies that tackle deprivation in particular areas need to be complemented by strategies that provide support to particular groups of people. For example women on low incomes in rural areas may have very limited access to transport facilities, and this limits their capacity to undertake paid work, or to get access to services.

Women often play a significant role in regeneration in deprived communities, though this may not be adequately recognised in regeneration strategies in terms of women's access to decision-making bodies, or in the extent to which issues affecting women are prioritised.

Objective: To reduce women's share of poverty as part of the general reduction in poverty levels, through encouragement of more participation in the labour market, and adequate support for those unable to do so, or who are retired. This support should include a minimum level of income, and good quality public services, which contribute to better levels of health and well-being.

Action points:

In general the Scottish Executive should ensure that gender is effectively mainstreamed in its social inclusion strategies. In particular this should include the following:

1. Report on gender awareness as part of social inclusion work

There is a range of issues which affect women and men experiencing poverty. It is important however that measures taken to address these are gender sensitive, and where possible information about the respective positions of men and women should be collected. These include: maximisation of incomes through take-up of benefits; access to money advice and financial services such as credit unions; programmes for unemployed people; housing and the environment, and health impacts of these. When reporting on the progress on social inclusion, the Scottish Executive should ensure that a gender perspective is given. It is also important that the position of different groups of women should be reflected in reports e.g. minority ethnic women, disabled women, women in rural areas.

2. Provide support for projects that are particularly beneficial to women

There is a range of types of project from which women in particular are likely to benefit, and support for such projects should be ensured as part of the social inclusion strategy. This includes: childcare provision and support to parents and good quality recreational facilities for children and young people; women's training projects; women's enterprise projects; childcare training projects. In addition, there should be a particular focus on teenage girls from low income households, who often leave school with few qualifications and low aspirations. Projects should challenge gender stereotypes in employment.

3. Ensure that women's voices are heard

It is crucial to ensure that women's voices are heard in community regeneration projects and strategies and that their contribution is recognised. Consultation exercises by the Scottish Executive, Communities Scotland, local authorities and others should ensure that issues for girls and women are separately identified from issues for boys and men, as well as those that affect people irrespective of gender. Decision-making bodies should likewise ensure that their membership includes women, that girls and women's voices are heard, and that their views have an impact on formation of local strategies. It is vital that in any dialogue, the specific needs of different groups of women are considered. To this end specific activities with women from ethnic minority communities, disabled women, lesbians, older women and women with different faiths should be developed.

4. Raise awareness about the links between poverty and age

Awareness about these issues, and particularly the link between poor pension provision and poverty, should be raised with the UK Government by the Scottish Executive.

Difficulties in access to services, including in rural areas

The issue: not all women have problems in accessing public services and in some policy areas, such as free local off-peak bus travel for pensioners and disabled people, there have been welcome improvements. The issues concerning public services and gender inequalities or differences are not necessarily those of inequality of access per se. Indeed it is often claimed (with some justification, e.g. in relation to health) that women make more use of public services than do men. This is for a number of reasons: women are more reliant on public services in a number of respects e.g. women headed households are more likely to be in social housing, women use public transport more than men, women are more likely to be dependant on state benefits than men, and women are more likely to require social care when they are old and more women are disabled than men. Women also have contact with public services in taking care of their children e.g. childcare, education, health and leisure services.

However, women's more frequent use of services does not mean that these services are easily accessible physically or at times that are most convenient for working mothers for example, nor does it necessarily mean that women's needs are taken adequately into account. Location, timing, and childcare facilities are all factors that contribute to good quality services. Frequency, reliability and safety of public transport are very important to women because so many of them rely on public transport to get to work, visit family and friends and to access other services.

People living in rural areas experience particular difficulties in getting access to services. Almost a fifth of Scotland's population live in rural areas, and the majority of rural residents have to travel further to access services. For those on low incomes, or who have no or limited access to private cars, the problems of access are intensified.

Another important dimension of service provision is the attitudes of service providers. These should be non-judgemental, and should not stereotype users on the basis of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, age or class, and should be sensitive to different religious and cultural requirements. Further important aspects of public services are representation on decision-making bodies and consultation with users. Both aspects should ensure that women's voices are heard equally with men's.

Objectives:

• easily accessible and user friendly service provision that can meet the varying needs of different groups within the population and which is sensitive to difference and diversity, between and amongst women and men.
• Good pay and conditions, including flexible working, for public service workers.
• An equal share in decision-making and policy making in public services for women and men.

Action points:

1. Review gender awareness in public services

The Scottish Executive and local authorities should review to what extent strategic planning for public services takes account of these gender issues e.g. any evidence of consideration of gender differences in need, in barriers to access (particularly infrequency, unreliability and lack of direct public transport links), in usage, in target setting and data gathering, in decision-making, and in consultation. The particular problems experienced in rural areas should be taken into account.

2. Improve the position of women workers in public services

Women are the majority of public service workers - many of them low paid and part-time. Improvements to women's position as workers is likely to contribute to better quality service provision, and this should be a priority within the equal pay strategy. They should also be consulted by services providers for their views on how to improve services - they have been working at the sharp end for long enough to know what would make a difference.

3. Better use of community resources

The Scottish Executive and local authorities should consider whether better use can be made of schools as community resource centres to deliver welfare services and provide information and increase the opportunities for women.

4. Fairness in resource allocation

There is evidence of a need to ensure greater fairness in the allocation of resources, to meet rural needs and to address poverty and deprivation whether it exists in a hamlet or a housing scheme. The Scottish Executive should consider the feasibility of applying different policies/rules for registered childcare providers in different rural and urban areas so that grandparents and other relatives could be recognised childminders in areas where access to childcare is limited either because of remoteness, lack of public transport or lack of sufficient places, and discuss related taxation and benefits issues with the UK Government. The Scottish Executive should also consider whether more work should be carried out on assessing the different cost of providing services in rural and urban areas leading to a re-allocation of resources (as was done in the Arbuthnott report on resource allocation for health services). There is a particular need to recognise the relative deprivation of some areas and to note that Glasgow remains the most deprived of all areas.

VIOLENCE AND SAFETY

The issue: in general women are less likely than men to be both the victims and perpetrators of crime, but there are two areas in which crime impacts particularly on women. The first is in the area of domestic abuse, where around 90% of police recorded incidents of domestic abuse involves abuse against females perpetrated by males, and 1 in 5 women experience domestic abuse during their lives. Domestic abuse is part of a spectrum of violence perpetrated by men against women and children, including rape and sexual assault, sexual harassment and child sexual abuse. Recognition of the gendered nature of the majority of domestic abuse, while not denying that it also occurs in other contexts, has been an important step in addressing the issue is Scotland. Disabled women, those from minority ethnic communities and those experiencing violence in same sex relationships have specific needs in relation to accessing support to deal with domestic abuse. Experiencing the abuse of their mother can also have devastating consequences for children and young people who require services in their own right. In households with children where domestic abuse has occurred, children are in the same or next room in 90% of incidents.

The second main concern for women, in particular girls, older women and minority ethnic women, is that they do not feel safe in their own environments, particularly when walking or using public transport in the evening. In 2000, 40% of women felt a bit or very unsafe when walking alone after dark, compared to only 14% of men. These 'fear of violence' issues, particularly fear of racial harassment, prevent some women from making full use of public services and accessing other amenities.

Since 1998, much effort has been put into raising awareness of violence by men against women and improving support for women and children who experience it by the Scottish Executive, local authorities, the police, voluntary organisations such as Women's Aid and Rape Crisis, and many others. The Scottish Executive, in conjunction with a range of partner organisations, is implementing the Action Plan in the National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland, and is pursuing actions to protect women from and prevent domestic abuse and other forms of violence. Work has also been done on improving community safety. We welcome this work and support its continued development.

Objectives:

• The eradication of domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women from Scottish society.
• For women to feel safer in their communities.

Action Points:

1. Maintain momentum on tackling domestic abuse against women

The excellent work that has been done by the Scottish Executive and its many partners to date on domestic abuse, the development into considering all aspects of violence against women, and the more recent work on improving community safety, including safety in the streets and on public transport, should continue. This partnership approach should be used in other areas, e.g. childcare. The three-year Action Plan of the National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland should be reviewed and consideration given to extending it, with its wider remit, for a further period.

2. Consider needs of particular groups of women

To ensure that the provision of support is available to women from minority ethnic communities, disabled women, older women, women in rural areas and those in same sex relationships, the Scottish Executive should consider whether the current work on domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women is addressing their needs.

3. Tackle all hate crimes

Assaults that are racially motivated or which incite religious hatred are treated as aggravated assaults; the Scottish Executive should consider extending this to assaults (and harassment) on the basis of the victim's gender, disability, age and sexual orientation.

INFLUENCE AND DECISION-MAKING

The issue: overall women's representation in political and public life has been increasing in recent years, but progress remains slow and uneven. While women are now 39.5% of MSPs, they are only 15% of Scottish MPs at Westminster, and only 22% of councillors in Scotland. The Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002 allows political parties to adopt positive measures to improve the gender balance of candidates, but few have so far used it. ⁶ Women remain under-represented across many areas of public life. For example, they hold only 36% of public appointments made by Ministers, and remain under-represented in senior decision-making positions across a range of bodies.

Objective: equal representation of men and women in political institutions, in public bodies, in the judiciary, in decision-making in business, in trade unions, and in voluntary and civic organisations. Equal representation may be defined as 50:50, or following the Scandinavian model a situation where the proportion of either men or women on relevant bodies should not fall below 40%.

Action points:

1. Increase women's political representation

Women's representation should be increased amongst Westminster MPs, MSPs, MEPs, and councillors. UK legislation has enabled political parties to take positive action measures to increase women's representation, and the steps being taken by parties should be monitored on a regular basis. Given that this is a matter for political parties, and not for government to enforce, this monitoring should be independent from government, and could be undertaken by the Women's Convention (as long as this does not jeopardise the charitable status of any women's organisation) and/or the EOC. Targets and timescales could be set by political parties for increasing representation, for example: 15% of Scottish MPs at Westminster are women - at the next election this should increase to at least 25%; and 50:50 representation should be aimed for in the next Scottish Parliament. Also targets should be set for minority ethnic women representatives.

2. Ensure that reform of the electoral system for local government contributes to the increased representation of women

The Scottish Executive has given a commitment to reform the electoral system for local government. Given the recent lack of improvement in the proportion of women elected, this should be a priority area for the Working Group on Local Government Reform which is looking at widening participation. The extent to which different electoral systems are likely to contribute to increases in women's representation should be reviewed and publicised as part of this process of reform. The review should take into account the experiences of other countries that have a higher level of women representatives.

3. Increase women's representation on public bodies

New targets for the increase of women's representation in public bodies should be set by the Scottish Executive, both for members and chairs . As well as monitoring and reporting on progress of these, the Scottish Executive should take active steps to encourage women to apply for public appointments, through mechanisms such as seminars, targeting information about public appointments at women and women's organisations, and support for mentoring schemes. It should also review publicity materials, application forms and job descriptions, and recruitment procedures, to ensure that these do not act to discourage women from applying. It should conduct research on the barriers to women in applying for and obtaining public appointments, and should examine in particular the position of groups such as younger women, minority ethnic women, disabled women, and women from different social backgrounds.

4. Increase women's representation in the judiciary

The number of women applying for and being appointed to the judiciary has increased significantly in the last decade, albeit from a very low base. Around 17% of sheriffs are women and 3 out of a total of 32 judges are women. The Judicial Appointments Board has been tasked with considering ways of recruiting judges and sheriffs who are as representative as possible of the communities they serve, whilst still adhering to the overriding principle of appointment on merit. The Scottish Executive should consider putting the Board on a statutory footing with a commitment to continue its work of encouraging a wider range of applicants. The legal profession should also work more actively to support the many female entrants to the profession to move to senior positions.

5. Increase women's representation in decision-making in business

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in the UK government has taken steps recently to encourage diversity in the composition of non-executive directors on company boards. This should be actively encouraged in Scotland by the Scottish Executive, and data on the composition of the boards of top Scottish companies should be regularly collated and published.

6. Increase women's representation in decision-making in trade unions, voluntary and civic organisations

Trade unions, voluntary and civic organisations, should be encouraged to increase women's representation in decision making bodies where necessary. Research that would provide data on the current position, and which would identify examples of good practice, and form the basis for guidance would be most useful here, given that changes will rely on voluntary action.

7. Continue Scottish Executive support for consultation with women

The Scottish Executive should continue to support consultation mechanisms to compensate for under-representation, and to enable women to contribute their views to the policy making process. The Scottish Executive is already supporting a number of such mechanisms, of different degrees of formalisation. Adequate sustained support is necessary for consultation with women through the Convention, and through support to women's organisations who are contributing to the development of women's networks and to capacity building. The Scottish Civic Forum, also supported by the Scottish Executive, needs to account for how well it represents women's views and how much it addresses women's and gender issues, and should be invited to do so by the Scottish Executive.