Scottish Labour launches manifesto pledge to put women ‘at the heart’ of Covid recovery
Scottish Labour has unveiled a targeted women’s manifesto, which it says will boost job prospects and encourage women into leadership positions in a move that would generate £17 billion for the Scottish economy. party leader Jackie Baillie said that policies such as the party’s job creation scheme would particularly benefit women, who she said were “at the centre of the pandemic”.
The party pledged to implement statutory gender pay reviews across the Scottish public sector – as well as private companies with over 250 employees who benefit from public procurement – and said itwouldprovideone-offcentral fundstopayforhistoricalequal pay claims.
She also said the party would focus on the creation of rapid diagnostic centres for women’s cancers such as cervical cancer and breast cancer screening, which give results within two weeks.thewomen’smanifesto, coming a day before the party’s full manifesto is due to be published, said it would encourage women into leadership positionswithtargetedtrainingand strengthened childcare supdeputy port, designate childcare and social care as key growth sectors and develop a comprehensivesupportstrategyforunpaid carers.
It will also support the growing number of women who are starting new enterprises through a new Entrepreneur Unit,ensuringequalityofaccess to government investment.
Ms Baillie said: “We know that women have been at the centre of the pandemic. They have been the social care workers,thenurseswhohavelooked after us throughout the pandemic. Now Scottish Labour is committedtoputtingwomenat the heart of our recovery.”