Honour the women who changed history
Once again, I had a very busy week in the Scottish Parliament, but the highlight was definitely the celebration to mark 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage.
In 1918, the UK Parliament passed the Representation of the People Act which, for the first time, gave all men and some women the right to vote.
As I looked around me in the chamber at all of the intelligent, thoughtful and determined female parliamentarians who I can call colleagues and friends, it seemed crazy to think that just over 100 years ago allowing women to have a say, and cast their vote, was such a controversial topic.
And it certainly would have been unfathomable to have a female politician.
I have always been surrounded by strong women – my gran, a mill lassie in Ferguslie Mill, my mum, and, of course my sister, Renfrewshire councillor Jennifer Adam McGregor – so I can’t imagine a time when women could not go to the ballot box .
We are lucky enough in this country that 100 years on the act of voting feels like a basic human right, but the battle that women had to fight for this right was complex and hard-fought – this deserves to be remembered and honoured.
In Paisley alone, we have a rich history and tradition of strong, influential women.
The first woman to stand for and be elected to a public board was a Buddie.
Jane Arthur was elected to the Paisley school board in 1873 and not only did she support and campaign for Woman’s Suffrage, she used her position to set up bursaries and a fellowship to aid the medical education of women.
Only a few weeks ago, the Scottish Parliament passed the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill which will make gender balance on all public boards a legal requirement.
Although it has taken more than 100 years since the first appointment of Ms Arthur to the passing of this Bill, I am delighted to be part of a Scottish Parliament committed to delivering equality and closing the gender gap.
Regardless of political position, I am proud that as a society we have both a female First Minister and Prime Minister, and many of today’s most powerful and successful leaders are women.
However, there are many changes and developments that still need to be made, and we all need to make sure that we continue to challenge gender inequality so as to honour the many women who boldly stood up 100 years ago.