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Kezia Dugdale makes quotas appeal for gender equality

Scottish Labour Party Kezia Dugdale wants to set quotas to combat gender inequality.
Scottish Labour Party Kezia Dugdale wants to set quotas to combat gender inequality.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has called for Holyrood to be given the power to set legally-binding quotas in a bid to tackle gender inequality.

Ms Dugdale – who is Scottish Labour’s third female leader – said that while women had been given the vote almost a century ago, the “fight for women’s equality is not over”.

To help increase the number of female leaders in public life, she called for the UK Government to change its Scotland Bill to devolve power to set quotas to MSPs.

Ms Dugdale made the comments ahead of a gala screening in Edinburgh of the new film Suffragette, which tells the story of those who campaigned for votes for women.

The Labour leader said: “The launch of this film gives us an opportunity to consider how far we have come in the past 100 years.

“The Pankhursts fought for equal representation and succeeded in gaining votes for women. We should celebrate their lives and the achievements of the many women who stood with them in solidarity.

“However, over 100 years later there is still work to do. The fight for women’s equality is not over.

“There are still not nearly enough women in public life, whether that is in our Parliament or in our public bodies. There are still too few women on the boards of our top companies.

“That is why the UK Government needs to bring forward changes to the Scotland Bill so that Holyrood can introduce legally-binding quotas.”

Ms Dugdale added: “Scottish Labour is committed to gender equality. 50% of our new candidates in the Scottish elections will be women and, if the Tories listen to Labour and pass more powers over equality to the Scottish Parliament, we will push for even stronger provisions.”

Labour shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray has already put forward an amendment to the Scotland Bill to give Holyrood the power to achieve equal gender balance in the Scottish Parliament, and to make it the law for public bodies to have equal numbers of men and women on their boards.