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Many rural communities are facing complex and long-term population challenges. Schools need pupils in order to be viable, and school rolls rely on communities retaining or attracting families into their area. Many rural communities are dealing with a legacy of out-migration and depopulation, much of which predates the establishment of the Scottish Parliament. Will the First Minister set out what benefits the Scottish Government’s rural visa pilot proposals could offer to schools in our rural communities?

Yes.

Thank you. I agree with those comments—four hours is a good start, but we certainly need to go further, with a more flexible approach. As the member said, the more childcare we can provide for families as a whole, including for men, the lesser the burden of childcare on women will be.

The report states:

“The retention of hybrid and remote systems was seen as increasing flexibility and access, including for those with caring responsibilities.”

In the past few months alone, our hybrid system has allowed me to carry out my duties in the Parliament when I have been unable to be in Edinburgh. However, we must be mindful that whether to allow remote or hybrid participation is often at the discretion of individual parties.

I am proud that my party is invested in supporting more women into politics at every level of government. I am proud that, under Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership, we introduced the first gender-balanced cabinet in the United Kingdom and that, under Humza Yousaf’s premiership, we now see more women in Government than ever before.

We must celebrate that, but we can and must do more, in Government and as a party and a Parliament, particularly on the unprecedented levels of abuse that are faced online and in the media by women in elected politics.

How can I, in good conscience, encourage women to step into any political sphere in the knowledge that doing so will lead to abuse on a daily basis? Many women to whom I have spoken have told me that they have no desire to put themselves in the crosshairs of keyboard warriors, and that breaks my heart.

It was an honour to be a member of the gender-sensitive audit board. I thank the Presiding Officer, Alison Johnstone, and fellow members who sat on the board, namely Maggie Chapman, Monica Lennon, Jeremy Balfour and Alex Cole-Hamilton; the experts who have helped to shape this important report, including Professor Sarah Childs, Dr Meryl Kenny and Professor Fiona Mackay from the universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde; and Susan Duffy and Tracey White from the Scottish Parliament, Catherine Murphy of Engender, and Eilidh Dickson.

As is the case with the pursuit of equality, change is never instant, and efforts to enact change must be continuous. We need political commitment over the long term, not only so that the quick wins and short-term goals are reached, but so that substantial institutional change is reached. Equally, our introspection must not stop here. Assessing a Parliament for its gender sensitivity is not a one-off event. Progress needs to be monitored, data needs to be collected and analysed on an on-going basis, and further changes need to be made as inequalities are identified. I am encouraged by the enthusiasm and commitment of the Parliament’s staff. I fervently believe we will make change for the better, and I look forward to working with all to enact the recommendations of the report.

This year, we celebrate the centenary of the first woman from Scotland being elected to the UK Parliament; I note that my colleague John Swinney has celebrated the remarkable Katharine Stewart-Murray in a motion this week. We have come a long way over the past 100 years, but we still have a long way to go.

Fantastic—thank you, Presiding Officer.

It is a privilege to open this debate and to have the opportunity to discuss our collective efforts to construct a gender-sensitive Parliament. The concept of a gender-sensitive Parliament is recognised by legislatures around the world and is a response to what my colleagues around the chamber will have lived experience of day in, day out. Sadly, women’s representation in Parliament is not reflective of our representation in society, and even here, where the decisions about Scotland are made, women are denied real power.

The Parliament’s gender-sensitive audit, which was launched by the Presiding Officer in 2022, looked at our rules, practices and culture to examine how women are—or are not—included and represented here. The new report, “A Parliament for All: Report of the Parliament’s Gender Sensitive Audit”, which I encourage every member to read, makes a number of recommendations to address the issues that were highlighted by the audit.

Of course, the barriers to entry for women to this Parliament and politics in general are many, and I want to spend a few moments talking about the obstacles that many of my colleagues across the parties might have faced.

In the 2021 election, I stood on an all-women candidate list in Banffshire and Buchan Coast. On many occasions in that election, I was challenged by a small but vocal minority not on my ability, my values or what I could bring to the debate, but on the basis that I stood on an all-women shortlist. For that small yet vocal minority, it did not matter what experience I could bring to bear when discussing the many issues that are faced by people across Banffshire and Buchan Coast.

For them, it did not matter that I was working class, that I was brought up in an LGBT home, that I had experience of translating for my deaf father or caring for my children with additional support needs, or that I had succeeded in many voluntary positions while juggling a degree and being a councillor and single parent to six children. For them, it did not matter that I had the opportunity of bringing those experiences to Parliament and being a voice for so many others like me, who rarely see themselves reflected in Parliaments like this one. All that mattered was that I was on an all-women shortlist, which meant that I had somehow skipped the queue. While we discuss how we support women in Parliament, I hope that I have given every party leader pause for thought on the uphill struggles, misogyny, abuse and harassment that women face on their journeys into this place.

The audit, which was carried out by Dr Fiona McKay, found that there had been fluctuations over time in the number of women in leadership and decision-making roles in the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body, the Parliamentary Bureau and committee convenerships, for example. That suggests that equal representation of women and men is not embedded within Parliament, nor is it guaranteed going forward. We can and must do better.

The audit also found that the number of women and men on committees does not always reflect the gender balance in Parliament. Men tend to be overrepresented in a number of mandatory committees, such as those dealing with finance, audit, standards and procedures and delegated powers. The one mandatory committee where women tend to be overrepresented is the committee that is responsible for equalities, which is the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, on which I sit.

On the level of participation in Parliament, the audit found that women tended to make fewer contributions during First Minister’s questions and were less likely to intervene in debates. It also found that men were more likely to have their interventions accepted by men and women.

To the surprise of no women in the chamber today, the audit found that, although there appears to be a positive shift in attitudes towards women in politics, women members of the Scottish Parliament still encounter sexism. I will not go into full detail here, but I have lost count of the number of times that I have been told what I should or should not say, what I should or should not do and where I should or should not sit. I have lost count of the number of times that I have been spoken over or expected to explain myself, and we know full well that that is seldom the case for our male colleagues. I call on my male colleagues to challenge that behaviour wherever they see it. Only in that way can we change the culture for good.

What are your views on the proposed licensing system for muirburn? Do you feel that it meets the needs of the review’s recommendations?

Good morning, panellists. Following on from Ariane Burgess’s question, does the bill support the full potential of what grouse moors could do to support biodiversity and climate change?

That is helpful. I do not want to put words in your mouth, but could we see the bill as more of a vehicle to get the full picture that we do not currently have?

To go back to adequate safeguarding, Ross Ewing has spoken about vexatious complaints and interference. What would you see as being adequate safeguards?

Education is needed.

My question is for Libby Anderson and Ian Andrew. What are your views on the proposals for a transition period?