When speaking about Scottish Green Party policies, I have highlighted key priorities that aim to demonstrate real commitment to tackling both gender and wealth inequality in Scotland, as the two are closely linked.
Scottish Greens support the introduction of a Gender Equality Bill. Gender inequality
is deeply entrenched in Scotland’s economy, politics and culture.
There has been some progress, but diverse groups of women, including disabled women, refugee
women, unpaid carers, older women and lone parents still experience
discrimination, poverty and insecurity. A Gender Equality Bill would help to drive progress for
women’s equality.
We recognise the damage wealth inequality is having on Scotland's people and communities. The tax proposals from the Scottish Greens are put forward to both raise revenue and reduce the wealth gap between the richest and poorest in society. This involves a higher rate of tax of 60p in every pound for those earning over £150,00. Those earning less than £26,500, which is more likely to be women, pay less. Those who can afford it, like our MSPs, will pay a bit more in the pound to protect and invest in the public services we all care about and use every day.
There is also a commitment to improve the lives of women through valuing
paid and unpaid care work - traditional women’s work that
is often unpaid, always underpaid and under valued. Care work is
essential for our society and economy. Better conditions are needed
for both professional care workers and unpaid carers attending to
family and friends. We must seek wider recognition of
Scotland’s carers and push for increased financial and practical
support.
Social
care workers do hard and vital work in people’s homes, care homes
and every community. They are employed in one of the lowest paid
sectors, which fuels the gender pay gap. To bring about the much needed change, all care and support
workers should be paid significantly above the Living Wage. Scottish Greens are proposing a living wage plus of £9 an hour minimum
wage for people who are employed as social care staff. Not only will this
improve the lives of people in the care sector, it will also help to
improve the quality of care provided to people.
We are also pushing for
a 50% increase in carers allowance to improve the lives of
unpaid Carers, again often women. We need a better deal for carers. Power to
increase Carers Allowance will soon be devolved to the
Scottish Parliament and Scottish Greens are campaigning for a
50% increase in payments to £93.15 per week.
Also, there is a commitment to create a new ‘Women
in the Media’ watchdog to tackle sexism and stereotyping
of women and girls. The
new body is needed to stop the profoundly negative impact of how
females are portrayed in the media.
A
better Scotland, and a better Scotland for women, needs a bolder
Holyrood.
Useful link:
Scotland Can Achieve Gender Equality -
