Holyrood sexism report

Women MSPs are less likely than men to intervene in debates in the Scottish Parliament and have a smaller chance of getting their intervention bids accepted by colleagues, a report has found.

Female politicians are also under-represented on important decision-making bodies at Holyrood, according to interim findings of research commissioned by the parliament’s Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone. The audit also found women still encounter sexism in what is said to them and how they are perceived. During a six-week period between April and June this year the research team established that 63% of interventions in chamber debates were made by men compared to 37% by women – despite women making up 45% of MSPs.

The researchers found that 68.9% of men had their interventions accepted, compared to just 52.7% of women. Johnstone said: “The figures are quite stark.”