Mary: Do more to support women

A Labour MSP has called on the Scottish Government to better protect and support women throughout the coronavirus crisis.

Mary Fee spoke out after a report by women’s charity Engender exposed the impact of Covid-19 on women and women’s caring roles.

It found that women have borne the brunt of unpaid caring roles during the coronavirus crisis and that more than 60 per cent of the 1.1million unpaid carers in Scotland are women.

West Scotland MSP Ms Fee welcomed the report and labelled the findings as “unsurprising yet worrying” as the report details the negative impact of women’s equality in the labour market, the economy and in health.

In a motion to the Scottish Parliament, she called on Scotland’s recovery from the pandemic to be based on equality with a focus on the roles of unpaid care, education and childcare to support and protect women.

She said: “Women have long taken on more than their share of caring res p o n s i b i l i t i e s a n d the coronavirus crisis has increased these responsibilities.

“The Engender report is unsurprising yet worrying as it makes clear the inequality faced by women in unpaid caring roles.

“The Scottish Government should pay close attention to the report and its recommendations for tackling the inequality when coming out of the pandemic.

“The coronavirus crisis has resulted in many women taking on more unpaid caring roles as access to social care packages has been made difficult.”