Seòmar agus comataidhean

Evelyn Tweed is joining us remotely.

That is a really interesting point.

I welcome and celebrate seeing Kaukab Stewart in her new role as minister.

Reflecting on international women’s day, with the theme this year being “Inspire Inclusion”, I think about how ensuring full female participation could be boundless. With women playing equal roles in leadership, innovation and decision-making processes, societies around the world stand to benefit from diverse perspectives that lead to more comprehensive and effective solutions to global challenges.

Inclusion of women in the workforce and in leadership roles has been shown to enhance organisational performance, drive economic growth and foster more equitable distribution of resources.

On a global scale, embracing gender equality and women’s empowerment can lead to more stable and just societies in which human rights are upheld and everyone has the opportunity to thrive—unlike in the horror of war, as has been described to us in the debate.

Inspiring inclusion through international women’s day sends a powerful message to future generations about the value of diversity and equality. It lays the groundwork for a world in which every young girl can dream without limitations, pursue her aspirations and contribute to her community without facing gender-based barriers. The celebration of the day reaffirms our commitment to building inclusive societies in which the voices of women and girls are heard, respected and integrated into the fabric of our collective future.

The fight for female emancipation still goes on. A definition of female emancipation is that it is

“Process, strategy and myriad efforts by which women have been striving to liberate themselves from the authority and control of men and traditional power structures, as well as to secure equal rights for women, remove gender discrimination from laws, institutions and behavioural patterns, and set legal standards that shall promote their full equality with men.”

Intersectionality is a vital aspect of our fight in this area. When I look across the chamber, I do not see it reflecting the Scotland that I see outside. Proportionally, we do not fully represent women relative to the population demographic, but that should be the goal. In that intersectionality, we must include women who have been minoritised as a result of their ethnicity, disability or LGBT identity.

I recognise the work of the Parliament in its gender-sensitive audit board, in which I am honoured to have played a part. I acknowledge political parties such as mine that ensure that there are mechanisms to achieve representation by women. Unfortunately, however, such mechanisms are still controversial to some people, and we hear one comment at a time, from “What about international men’s day?” to “But we had a female First Minister.” We still battle ignorance on the road to full female participation.

It is not just about participation, and it is not just about getting women in here and in other traditionally male-dominated spaces. It is about what we do to make those places fit for female purpose. In institutions that have been led by men for so long, we find that there is an exhausting amount of work to do when we get there. In order to ensure that we truly inspire inclusion on a global stage, we must first ensure that we stand in inspiring spaces and that we get our own house in order.

This week, I had an interview with a university student, in which we spoke about the role that the media have to play in women’s participation in politics. It was grim to go over the old ground of what I have faced, but when I look around this chamber, I see many women across all parties who have been subjected to the most horrific online abuse. Oftentimes, our appearance and our delivery are criticised and considered over the content of what we say. The misogyny that many of us face in broad daylight will not inspire anyone to join us.

I think about all the women whom I have spoken to about getting involved in decision-making roles, whether in a council or in Parliament, but their reasons for not doing so are pretty compelling. I know that because I remember having such reservations. Many women say things such as, “With all my caring responsibilities, I don’t have the time,” or “I don’t think I’d be good enough.” Women have often said to me, “I see what you go through in the media. There’s no way I’d put myself up for that.”

So, when I think about what “Inspire Inclusion” means to me and how I, or we, can do that, I think first about how far we have come as women, with the fight for representation and suffrage, and the movement from being told what our roles were to being able to define what roles we want—being able to choose. I reflect on how I was inspired to be who I chose to be, without fear or favour.

In my speech today, I want to inspire. It is hard to do that given the reality around us, but fighting for our place was never going to be easy, and while we women in the chamber stand our ground, I want to remind women of all parties—I might also remind myself of this—that there are so many women out there who are rooting for us and seeing examples that they might follow.

Diagnosis is an important step on the journey of people seeking support for the diverse range of conditions that fall under the umbrella of neurodivergence, but many other steps come after it. Can the First Minister provide any further information on the steps that the Scottish Government is taking to champion the rights of neurodivergent people?

I welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to increase culture funding by £100 million per annum during the next five years. That additional investment represents a considerable vote of confidence in the culture sector and its role in creating a wellbeing economy. Can the cabinet secretary give further information about how that increased funding will reach rural communities across Scotland?

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the “It’s Our Future” report. I spend much time thinking about the future of my children and grandchildren, all eight of whom have made or are currently making their way through the Scottish education system.

This fully comprehensive report spans 152 pages, but I wish to focus my remarks on the elements that strike a personal chord with me and that I know will strike a chord with many families across Scotland whom I have had the privilege of working with throughout my time in politics. The points that I wish to focus on are about how we can better support children and young people who have neurodivergent conditions to not just get by but fully participate and thrive on their educational journeys.

Recommendation 1, “Change Qualifications and Assessment in the Senior Phase in Scotland”, is very welcome. The report notes that many learners who were spoken to as part of the review reported high levels of stress caused by the overt focus on examinations. I agree that

“change must be carefully planned and resourced.”

We know that stress and anxiety are often one of the major aspects of having a neurodivergent condition. Supporting neurodivergent children in our education system demands a holistic and inclusive approach that not only recognises their unique ways of learning and interacting with the world but their unique ways of showing and understanding their learning. It is about creating environments where neurodiversity is seen as a valuable perspective that enriches our whole system and not a barrier to success.

Allowing for more long-term overviews of the educational progress of children and young people will, in my view, result in a fairer picture of their progress. By fostering that inclusive approach, we can ensure that our education system is not merely inclusive by design but empowering in practice. To allow neurodivergent children to flourish academically and socially, without there being the pressure of what is to come, assessments could be immersive and integrated into learning.

Recommendation 7 states:

“All learners should be offered a broad range of courses including academic, vocational, professional and technical courses.”

That will ensure that our children and young people reach their full potential and are able to do what they need to do in order to have their needs met.

I have had many interactions with children and young people over the years—as well as being a mother and a grandmother, I was a young women’s leader for a few years and ran a local playgroup—and it is obvious, when interacting with a wide range of young children, from many different aspects of life and from different demographics, that one is no more or less worthy than another when it comes to showing either academic abilities or vocational talents. I welcome the report’s remarks on parity of esteem for each learning pathway.

On that point, I look forward to visiting local businesses in my Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency next week as part of Scottish apprenticeship week. Such businesses support many of our local young people through the valuable learning opportunity of apprenticeships.

Our aim should be for young people to leave our Scottish education system with the tools that will help them to navigate their personal and professional lives. More important—this is vital—they should be able to look back at an experience that has had a positive impact on their life. For that to happen, we must ensure that, when building or reforming our education system, we build it not to be modified but in an inclusive way from the foundations up.

Our second agenda item is the final of our budget scrutiny evidence sessions. I refer members to committee papers 1 and 2.

I welcome to the meeting Emma Roddick, the Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees. The minister is accompanied by Scottish Government officials Rob Priestley, who is the head of the mainstreaming unit, and Jamie MacDougall, who is the deputy director of budget, pay and pensions. Good morning to you all.

I invite the minister to provide an opening statement before we move to questions from the committee.

Two members have indicated that they would like to come in with questions. We will go to Annie Wells first, then Kevin Stewart.

As there is no indication that anyone else wants to come in, that concludes our formal business this morning. I thank the minister and her officials for their attendance.

We now move into private session to consider the remaining items on our agenda.

Good morning and welcome to the sixth meeting in 2024 of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. We have received no apologies.

Our first agenda item is to decide whether to take in private item 3, which is consideration of today’s budget evidence. Do members agree to take that item in private?

Members indicated agreement.