In the Balance: Women and the 2011 Scottish Parliament Elections

Abstract

The victory of Alex Salmond and the SNP in the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections has changed the political arithmetic of Scotland. Yet while Scottish politics adds up very differently, some numbers have remained stubbornly similar. Four elections on, the 'new polities' dream of gender equality in political representation has yet to be realized in the face of political indifference and party inaction. While the SNP has some high-profile women, only around one in four of the victorious SNP MSPs is female. Two of the eight new Cabinet secretaries, Nicola Sturgeon and Fiona Hyslop, are female, as are four of the ten ministers. Women comprise 31.6 per cent of the 19strong Cabinet, compared with 27.5 per cent of the SNP parliamentary party. Overall, women took just 45 out of 129 seats in Holyrood (34.8 per cent) in the fourth elections, compared with previous highs of 39.5 per cent in 2003 and 37.2 per cent in 1999.