Scottish Parliament publishes Gender-Sensitising Parliaments Guide to share best practice with Legislatures
Following recommendations from CPA/CWP, The Scottish Parliament have launched a new publication which aims to improve equal participation and representation of women in Parliaments around the world
Following recommendations from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network, The Scottish Parliament have launched a new publication, ‘Gender Sensitising Parliaments: A Practical Guide’, which aims to improve equal participation and representation of women in Parliaments around the world.
The Guide outlines the actions taken by The Scottish Parliament and introduces the process of gender sensitising a Parliament or other elected political institution. The new Guide also sets out a six-step process to evaluate and enhance gender sensitivity in Parliaments. It draws upon the work of international organisations, Parliaments and academics who have engaged in this work and summarises the core principles and practices of Gender Sensitising Parliaments (GSP).
The new Guide references the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network which is an active advocate for women's representation in Parliament, seeking to ensure Parliaments are gender-sensitive institutions. The CWP also published its GSP Guidelines to help Parliaments through the gender-sensitisation process.
The Scottish Parliament’s Guide follows a gender sensitive audit in 2022 which looked at the Legislature’s structures, rules and culture, examining barriers to equal representation and participation. A cross-party board of MSPs, experts on equal participation and parliamentary staff oversaw the audit and made recommendations for improvement in 2023. A further objective was to develop a Guide for Parliaments to share the findings of The Scottish Parliament.
The Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer, Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP said:
“Research shows that the strength of democracy is improved by having greater diversity in our Parliaments. When a Parliament better reflects the communities it serves, better decisions are made. This guidance includes lessons from our Gender Sensitive Audit, which itself was informed by ground-breaking work from organisations across the globe. I hope it is useful and look forward to hearing of other Legislatures’ experiences as they work towards equal participation and representation.”
The development of The Scottish Parliament’s GSP Guide was led by University of Edinburgh academics, Professor Sarah Childs and Professor Meryl Kenny.
To download a copy of the Scottish Parliament’s new GSP Guide please click here.
For CPA Branches who are interested in undertaking a Gender Sensitising Parliaments (GSP) Audit of their Legislature please contact the CWP Coordinator, Benite Dibateza for further information via hq.sec@cpahq.org.
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The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) was founded in 1989 to increase the number of female elected representatives in 180 Parliaments and Legislatures across the Commonwealth and to ensure that women’s issues are brought to the fore in parliamentary debate and legislation. The network campaigns for gender equality in all spheres. For media enquiries, please contact communications@cpahq.org.
