Scotland's Economy

International Women's Day

March 8, 2013 by Angela Constance MSP No Comments | Category Economy

International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women, as well as acknowledge the challenges they continue to face at home and abroad.

In my day to day work as Minister for Youth Employment, I am always struck by the educational accomplishments of the young women that I meet. For example, a higher percentage of girls stay on at school, and young women are more likely to leave school for a positive destination as they are significantly more likely to enter higher education.  Even the number of women participating in Modern Apprenticeships has increased from 27 per cent in 2007/08 to 43 per cent in 2011/12.

All of this is to be celebrated, but it still begs the question as to why women, despite their academic accomplishments, are still underrepresented in key areas of our economy and still in some cases face considerable barriers to taking their full and rightful place in the world of work. We know the issues around equal pay, occupational segregation, glass ceilings and access to affordable childcare. But the bigger question is how we go about changing all of this?

The starting point for me is firstly to acknowledge the importance of the work that women are traditionally employed in. I am a former social worker, a female dominated profession. While the managers tended to be men, it was nonetheless a vocation that I was proud of.  Throughout her working life, my own mother occupied jobs in nursing and social care – long hours and low pay, but work that is crucial not just to our economy but also for our social wellbeing.  And of course International Women’s Day is quickly followed by Mother’s Day so we need to value the unpaid work of mothers and other carers.

As well as valuing the work women are traditionally attracted to, we need to ensure that from an early age, and certainly long before they are making subject choices at secondary schools, girls are aware of the full range of options and choices available to them in areas such as engineering, energy and technology.

At the Women’s Employment Summit last year, the First Minister and I launched CareerWise. This aims to engage younger girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects, and we are investing £250,000 in the project. But this is just the start, not the end of a process. It will be an enduring commitment.

Tackling issues of women’s employment is not just an issue of equality, but is also crucial for our economy. It is in the interests of the future of our country and our economy to be fully utilising the skills, talents and abilities of all our population.

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