AN ambitious 10-point plan to tackle major issues women are facing in Scotland including poverty, discrimination, and medical misogyny has been unveiled.
Engender, a feminist advocacy organisation, has launched its manifesto for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election today with 10 key policy areas highlighted for political parties to respond to.
The manifesto, entitled "Investing in Women, Transforming Communities," focuses on improving the lives of Scotland's most marginalised women, including unpaid carers, LGBT+ women, survivors of male violence, disabled women, and women with no recourse to public funds.
The manifesto comes as research shows that by 2027, the most economically marginalised women in the UK are projected to have endured a 21% reduction in living standards since 2010, with single mothers, Black and Asian women, and disabled women most severely impacted.
Catherine Murphy, executive director of Engender, said: " Too often, government policy and decision making simply doesn't understand or consider women’s specific needs, particularly marginalised women. That desperately needs to change.
"The next Scottish Government must be bolder and braver in defending equality for all and we are keen to work with new and returning parliamentarians to achieve this.”
Highlighting the urgency of action, the manifesto outlines how:
- Women are almost twice as impacted as men by decreased life expectancy resulting from austerity measures.
- The deep poverty rate for unpaid carers is 60% higher than for those who do not provide unpaid care, with the vast majority of unpaid care carried out by women.
- Women in the most deprived areas of Scotland experience good health for 25 years less than women in the most affluent areas.
- 73% of families with no recourse to public funds supported by local authorities are female-led single-parent families.
Lucy Hughes, policy and parliamentary manager of Engender, said: “When we speak to women and girls, they tell us that they need change to happen faster and on a more ambitious scale. We need our next parliament to step up and take urgent action to tackle the deep-rooted inequalities women continue to face.”
Murphy added: "Gender inequality is not inevitable. The recommendations in our manifesto are realistic steps Scotland can take to improve women's lives. Policy that meets the needs of the most marginalised in our communities, ultimately works to benefit everyone.”
The 10-point plan to tackle gender inequality calls for:
- Establish a "women’s equality fund" to provide crisis financial support for unpaid carers, survivors of abuse, women with no recourse to public funds, and disabled women.
- Reform social security to end misogynistic design, mitigate the two-child limit, raise the Scottish Child Payment to £55, and introduce individual Universal Credit payments.
- Improve Carers Support Payment and launch pilots of a Minimum Income Guarantee for unpaid carers of all ages by 2029.
- Modernise abortion law by removing it from the criminal justice system and replacing the Abortion Act 1967 with a health and human rights-based framework.
- Deliver the next phase of a women’s health plan, focusing on marginalised women and closing health gaps linked to poverty.
- Develop a national action plan to end women’s homelessness and embed women’s needs in all housing policies.
- Reform the Public Sector Equality Duty in partnership with equalities organisations, with new regulations in the next parliamentary term.
- Recognise childcare and social care as key economic infrastructure and prioritise the care economy in Scotland’s growth strategy.
- Create a dedicated fund to support women and underrepresented groups to overcome barriers to political participation.
- Commission a third phase of the national advisory council on women and girls and fully implement its recommendations.
