Politics treats women relatively well – but it could do so much better

BEING a woman – particularly a young woman – in politics is not easy. That may sound obvious to many but I think that only epitomises the problem. While we’ve found it easier to talk about the issues we face, we seem to have become numb to them with few, if any, being actively helped by anyone who is not directly experiencing it.

We now accept it as part of political life that being a young woman in politics is hard. And yes, the hours are hard, the issues we deal with are often hard and complex, juggling Parliament and home life is hard. But often the thing that makes it worse is how we are treated and being unable to see a way of making it better.

There are of course the usual issues of having your age thrown at you as if it’s something to be ashamed of, colleagues expressing disappointment in you like you are a small child, being accused of not understanding things or not being somehow capable of engaging in a particular issue, to name just a few I have directly experienced.

I also have a hearing impairment, and when I raised the issue of noise in the Chamber, I was accused of trying to turn Parliament into a church. I’m also by no means the youngest, so I’m sure the behaviours and issues I have described are only amplified for those younger and must put people off standing altogether.

These are also just the behaviours from people who should know better. Some of these have gleefully defended their own party colleague while simultaneously being vile to another MSP in exactly the way they’re defending – and usually in the fairly recent past.

I think many of us are concerned about raising the behaviour of these colleagues for fear of reaction, so we end up speaking about it and how we have to do better in general terms which never solve the problem – and I do speak from personal experience.

I’m sure there isn’t a party that’s immune to poor behaviour from time to time but committing to holding our own colleagues to account will help to make the experience better for all of us.

There is then of course how the outside world treats women in politics. I’m mostly used to the comments I get – that is in itself scary. We’ve come to a point where women in Scottish politics are largely numb to the abuse that we have to face just while doing our job.

Some of the scariest comments I have had to deal with have been in relation to my members’ bill on buffer zones. People feel weirdly entitled to ask you very personal questions about your home life, whether you have kids etc. It’s baffling to me why anyone feels it’s OK to ask a complete stranger that.

I’ve been sworn at, called a whore, a bitch and a whole load of other things by members of the public; we’ve reported threats to the police, and I have a panic button. This level of prying and commentary on our personal lives is what being a woman in politics has come to mean.

We are all here because we want to make things better, serve our communities and do a good job. There has been commentary from a particular journalist about politicians being “not human”. Those comments made me so angry because it gets to the point of why we are treated the way we are – people believing that it is acceptable to abuse politicians because we are somehow not human.

By all means criticise my ideas, my thoughts on policy; I’m happy to have a different opinion to someone and be challenged on mine. It’s a fascinating part of my job to hear why and how people have come to those ideas. What we shouldn’t tolerate is abuse.

I’m also finding it interesting exploring how the barriers we facechange over time. Few of us who were elected in our 20s and 30s will be facing the same challenges throughout our career. Our lives and politics move on, and there is always another issue to deal with.

I was dismayed at some of the comments to Mairi McAllan’s news about her pregnancy in February. I found Mairi’s words about balancing high office and having a family to be really thought-provoking and I thank her for passing on her knowledge.

We need to be better. We need to support each other when someone is facing abuse, whether we agree with them or not. We need to keep talking about what it is like to be a young woman in politics because it is hard but it’s also hugely rewarding.

I have a phenomenal team who give everything to support me and constituents. We are having a tangible impact on policy and legislation and most days, we do manage to have some fun. It’s not all awful but with some more care and thought, it could be so much better.