Women in Glasgow have their say on report claim Study says city is second worst place in Scotland for girls to grow up in
GLASGOW ladies have had their say after figures portrayed the city as the second worst place in Scotland for girls to grow up in.
Research conducted by Plan International UK focused on child poverty, life expectancy and the Neet status – Not in Education, Employment, or Training – of 1000 girls across the country, revealing that Glasgow is second in-line to Dundee as the worst spot to grow up in as a young girl.
The children’s charity has warned that its findings should serve as a “wake-up call” for politicians to understand that current policies don’t stretch far enough to beat gender inequality.
However, Glasgow ladies of all ages have been slamming the report; telling the Glasgow Times “there’s far worse places to grow up in than Glasgow”.
Cara Scott, 15, from Rutherglen tells us: “I think Glasgow is a great place to grow up in – we have so many opportunities here as the biggest city in Scotland and so many things to do – there are definitely far worse places to grow up in than Glasgow.”
Meanwhile, Marisa Thomson, 23, from Cambuslang, highlighted that Glasgow has a “bad reputation”. She said: “I think Glasgow gets quite a bad reputation for being a hard city and it doesn’t deserve that – I loved my upbringing in this city and never had any issues.”
Mary McAveety, 72, from Townhead, recognised that times have developed since she was a young girl and that there are now more opportunities within the city for women to do as well as men.
She said: “I had a great upbringing in Glasgow but times have come along since I was young – women can now work in the same office as men and get paid the same as men. “
Margaret McGruer, 68, Possilpark confessed she from never faced any disadvantages as a young girl growing up in the city.
She said: “I never faced any disadvantages growing up. But it was a different age when I was younger than to what it is now – there are probably a lot more opportunities for young girls now. But I love Glasgow, we’re all very friendly and welcoming. I would recommend this city to anyone”.
Old leader of Glasgow City Council, Jean McFadden from
Kelvinbridge, said: “I don’t feel hard done by at all from growing up here. Anyone that says otherwise doesn’t know the place – I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”
The report has outlined a series of recommendations to tackle challenges that young girls may face, including stopping street harassment, ending stigma around menstruation and remodelling girls’ experiences of school.