Chamber and committees

The member raises a very important point. I encourage anyone who is interested in applying for the various funding streams—there are many organisations involved in that field—to continue their engagement. If there are specific organisations that need assistance, I encourage the member to ask them to get in touch with me.

Women remain underrepresented in the creative industries and are disproportionately in lower-level positions. The sector is known for unpredictable freelance work, which makes participation in it difficult for women with caring responsibilities, health conditions or disabilities.

The Scottish Government is committed to fair work first, including taking action to tackle the gender pay gap. We are establishing a culture fair work task force, which will provide recommendations on further implementing fair work, which is crucial to achieving greater diversity.

Creative Scotland has produced a wealth of resources for employers and freelancers, including illustrated guides, to support better working practices.

We want to increase opportunities for everybody, from every background, up and down the country. I am happy to meet Beatrice Wishart after this session to listen to her suggestions.

The creative industries are an important growth sector, and the number of people that the sector employs is forecast to grow by 4 per cent by 2026. The workstreams that are outlined in the recently published “A Culture Strategy for Scotland: Action Plan” aim to develop the conditions for inclusive growth of the sector. Aligned with the priorities in the national strategy for economic transformation, those include promoting fair work, developing a strategic approach to skills and publishing our international culture strategy, which will support the international ambitions of the sector and ensure that such activity plays a full role in its long-term development.

I recognise the enormous impacts that our creative industries make on our economy, our social health and our wellbeing. There have been communications regarding the tax breaks that can be offered. I wrote to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport asking for permanent tax relief for our orchestras, theatres, museums and galleries, so I welcome the announcement on that.

Screen Scotland has advised that the visual effects industry tax credit increases could be positive and significant, as they will allow the United Kingdom to keep more work in the United Kingdom. It could be an incentive for London-based companies to grow their UK-wide presence, including in Scotland.

Collette Stevenson is quite right to raise the effects of Brexit. It has had, and continues to have, a devastating impact on the sector. Freedom of movement throughout Europe supported Scottish artists’ international mobility, and the creation of costs and administrative barriers post-Brexit makes international working increasingly difficult.

I agree that we would be better placed to grow our creative industries as members of the EU. I wrote to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lucy Frazer, on 5 March, outlining positive steps that could be taken in the spring budget, including seeking talks with the EU about rejoining the creative Europe programme.

The Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture also wrote to the Home Secretary on 7 March, raising concerns about the Home Office’s handling of visa applications for creative professionals. A meeting of the interministerial group on culture is planned for later in the year, and I expect EU engagement and mobility to be discussed.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that we have a free and democratic press. We believe that public interest journalism plays an important role in our society at all levels, including holding governments and other organisations to account.

Following the establishment of the public interest journalism working group, we convened a round table, at which a steering group was formed to deliver an independent Scottish public interest journalism institute. Implementation is for sector representatives. However, we will continue to engage with the industry to hear about its on-going work while respecting the independence of the institute and its work.

I am happy to explore that option with the member. He should get in touch and we can talk about it further.

When people are moving around, it is easy to slip through the system, but I hope that our equally safe strategy captures the situation for such women.

We must push forward to ensure that women’s and girls’ rights are at the heart of everything that we do at home and abroad. Our global perspective complements domestic equality policy, and the Conservative amendment is right to draw attention to the unacceptable practice of female genital mutilation, which is the physical manifestation of a deep-rooted gender inequality. FGM is illegal in Scotland and is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It is important that we work collectively to prioritise both protection and prevention.

Globally, there is growing momentum towards adopting a feminist approach to international policy considerations—one that is fair, intersectional and based on human rights. In Scotland, we are committed to taking a feminist approach to all of our international work. As part of that, we will continue to strive to give people who are most affected by structural inequalities and injustice, conflict, climate change and environmental damage a platform to speak for themselves, influence and make decisions.

Our commitment to invest in women and girls as advocates for human rights is clear. We have invested in the Scottish human rights defender fellowship programme and, as part of that, in 2023-24, we are supporting three women from the global south to undertake fellowships in Scotland on gender and the environment.

Since the programme was established, in 2018, we have welcomed 17 human rights defenders—the majority of whom have been women—from 16 different countries to participate in the programme, and we support them to further develop their skills and networks in safety.

We also fund the women in conflict 1325 fellowship programme, which is delivered by Beyond Borders Scotland. The United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 was the first Security Council resolution on women, peace and security, and our fellowship programme has, to date, helped 362 women peace builders by providing training and building their capacity in the prevention and resolution of conflict.

I am pleased to announce today that we have just awarded the contract for our new international development women and girls fund. Following a competitive process, the fund is the first new programme to be launched as part of the equalities programme, following our 2021 international development review. We will deliver the fund in partnership with Ecorys, in collaboration with the Forum for African Women Educationalists in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia. In line with the UN sustainable development goal, the main aim of the new £3 million women and girls fund is to support the advancement of gender equality and the rights of women and girls in our African partner countries.

We recognise the lack of funding for women’s rights in the global south. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in 2021, less than 1 per cent of global bilateral overseas development assistance for gender equality and women’s empowerment went specifically to women’s rights organisations and movements—the very organisations that are the key drivers of change in addressing gender inequality. When gender equality remains one of the greatest human rights challenges globally, that simply is not good enough, and the fund puts feminist principles into action.

As we begin phase 1, taking a grass-roots, participatory approach, the focus and delivery mechanisms will be designed by Malawian, Rwandan and Zambian women and girls. Through that process, local women and girls will be empowered to define and meet their priorities. They will have the decision-making power. The aim is to challenge and shift typical structural inequalities by moving beyond simply hearing the voices of women and girls to ensuring that their voices actually influence the actions that are taken. Reflecting our commitment to equalising power, the fund will provide direct funding to organisations led by local women and girls to support them to advocate and advance the rights of women and girls in their cultural context.

I am pleased to note that a guidance note outlining our approach to mainstreaming gender equality across our international development portfolio was published a few weeks ago. That aligns with our commitments to do no harm and to build more gender-responsive programmes. The new mainstreaming approach will, equally, apply to our new health and education programmes, which we will also launch in 2024.

It is important to recognise that women are not a homogeneous group—we exist in all our wonderful multifaceted diversity. We must remember that achieving gender equality does not involve just one glass ceiling being smashed. For many women, that metaphor does not illustrate the complexity of their experience when facing unique and compounding intersectional inequality. I know that, even if we break the glass ceiling and step into positions of influence, we then face glass walls. We continue to encounter prejudice, to not have our voices heard and to be overlooked when it comes to decisions that affect us.

In order to truly tackle structural inequality, therefore, gender inequality cannot be considered in isolation from other forms of discrimination. That is why we must ensure that intersectionality is at the heart of the feminist approach and that the voices that are amplified are as diverse as the communities that are impacted by our interventions.

By investing in women’s organisations, feminist networks and grass-roots movements, as advocates for human rights, we can support those who are speaking out for structural change and amplify the voices that are too rarely heard.

I am clear that inspiring inclusion requires a participatory feminist approach that invests in women and girls in the pursuit of transformed national and international systems that work for people and place.

I am pleased to move,

That the Parliament welcomes the 2024 International Women’s Day theme of “Inspire Inclusion”, which recognises that, when people understand and value women’s inclusion, they forge a better world; acknowledges that, at a time of increasing conflict affecting civilians around the world, the specific impact on women and girls can be profound; recognises that achieving gender equality is more vital than ever and remains one of the greatest human rights challenges globally; marks International Women’s Day and the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, and welcomes the efforts of organisations and communities working tirelessly in pursuit of peace, inspiring inclusion, pushing forward on gender equality and amplifying the voices of women and marginalised groups, and notes the Scottish Government’s investment in women as advocates for human rights, and initiatives such as the Warm Scots Future, Women in Conflict 1325 Fellowship and Human Rights Defender Fellowship, and its commitment to a feminist approach to international relations.

It is a privilege to open the debate and make my first opening speech to the Parliament as the Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development. I am delighted to support a Cabinet in which the majority of members are women—indeed, it is believed to have the highest proportion of women of any Government in the world, which clearly demonstrates our commitment to equality in action.

Joining the ministerial team is an honour, particularly as I am the first woman of colour to hold a ministerial position in Scotland. I am proud to be that first woman, but I am determined that I will not be the last. Women of colour are leaders in their communities in Scotland and around the world and should be reflected in the leaders we elect to serve us. I look forward to working with colleagues from across the chamber.

It is a privilege to speak to the motion to mark international women’s day, whose theme this year is “Inspire Inclusion”. That serves as a reminder that gender inequality affects everyone. Resourcing and amplifying the voices of women, girls, other marginalised groups and advocates for human rights, particularly in the global south, is a vital lever for advancing gender equality in the pursuit of a fairer world.

We meet at a time of increasing global conflict, as our concerns continue to grow about the impact on all civilians who are affected by violence. We know that conflict disproportionately affects women. We see that in devastating reports from non-governmental organisations in Gaza that show that there has been an increase in the number of miscarriages and premature births. Pregnant women are having caesarean sections without anaesthetic, and others are being forced to use scraps of tents in place of period products.

The evidence is clear. UN Women reports that a peace agreement that includes women is 35 per cent more likely to last 15 years or more. Despite that, of 18 peace agreements that were reached in 2022, only one was overseen by women representatives.

When I represented the Parliament at the 66th Commonwealth parliamentary conference in Ghana, a clear thread among the remarkable and inspiring parliamentarians I met was that human rights are not just for some but for all. We must do more to ensure women’s full involvement in achieving and sustaining peace and stability.

Last week marked the second anniversary of Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine. I know that every member of the Parliament is shocked and appalled at the resulting violence and the humanitarian crisis that continues to unfold. Providing support and sanctuary for displaced people from Ukraine remains the Government’s priority. Since the war started, 26,000 people have come to the United Kingdom with sponsorship by a Scottish host or by the Scottish Government. Sixty per cent of all arrivals have been women, but we are particularly concerned that the UK Government’s visa changes will make it harder for families to be reunited in the UK.

We are investing more than £100 million in 2023-24 and more than £40 million in 2024-25 in the Ukrainian resettlement programme to ensure that people continue to receive a warm Scots welcome and are supported to rebuild their lives in our communities for as long as they need to call Scotland their home.