Events in Scotland

In this post you will find a selection of up and coming events and programmes relating to gender equality and women's participation in the labour market.

WOMEN IN RENEWABLE ENERGY SCOTLAND (WiRES)

WiRES is a network for women working, or who would like to work, in the renewable energy sector in Scotland. Our aim is to support women's participation in the sector through information, education, and networking opportunities. WiRES is currently hosted by Close the Gap.

Meet-Up for Women in Renewable Energy

These events will give WiRES members the opportunity to meet and network with other women working in renewable energy on a regular and informal basis.

Glasgow Meet-Up will be held at:

Horton's Bar and Kitchen, Glasgow

Save the date: Networking event in Aberdeen

Site visit to The Hydrogen Office & FRIC at Energy Park Fife

ENGENDER

Engender hosts a range of conferences, seminars, round-tables and discussions to explore women’s inequality, and share strategies to challenge it.

Some of events are members only, but all are welcome at their public events.

Inspiring Women: Pornography and new media

The rise of the Internet and increased use of social media has provided millions of consumers with the opportunity to purchase and view pornography almost anonymously, and to share and abuse personal images.

November 15, 2014, 11.00 – 13.00

The Melting Pot, Edinburgh

This session offers an opportunity for Engender members to discuss the implications and consequences of pornography in the digital age.

Only members can book this event. If you are a member of Engender, please sign in now to book.

 

Engender's 2014 AGM

Hidden Voices: Experiences of Violence for Disabled Women

_______________________________________________________________

EQUATE SCOTLAND

Established in 2006, Equate Scotland is Scotland’s expert in gender equality in the fields of science, engineering, technology and the built environment. Based in the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Creative Industries at Edinburgh Napier University we work across Scotland in education and employment.

Helping female engineers and their employers realise their full potential

This Autumn: A free three–day Career Enhancement Programme designed for women working in engineering and advanced manufacturing.

Teacher Building, 14 St Enoch Square, Glasgow G1 4DB

Day 1: 30 September 10am - 4.30pm

Day 2: 30 October 10am - 4.30pm

Day 3: 26 November 10am - 4.30pm

Jointly organised by Equate Scotland and Semta (the Skills Sector Council for Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing), the Career Enhancement Programme is a free three-day course, designed for women working in these sectors.

It provides in-depth career development one day a month over three months, focusing on:

• identifying achievements and strengths
• building skills for effective communication
• unlocking leadership potential

The programme provides opportunities that will benefit both employers and employees from the engineering/advanced manufacturing sectors.

Find out more about the programme

Happy Ada Lovelace Day!

Tuesday 14 October 2014 is Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration of women in science, technology, engineering and maths. Born in 1815 Ada Lovelace is thought to be the first computer programmer. The day aims to highlight the plethora of women in all areas of STEM and ensure there is a bank of visible role models to inspire girls and women interested in pursuing a career in science and technology.

Women in Renewable Energy Scotland (WiRES) is a network for women working or interested to work in the renewables sector. The network’s aims are very much in the spirit of Ada Lovelace Day. WiRES’s work is about inspiring women to work in renewable energy, and it celebrates the many fantastic women who are contributing to the growth of Scotland’s thriving renewable energy sector, while at the same time raising awareness of the barriers women still face in the sector.

WiRES was founded in 2010 by a group of women working in renewable energy who were concerned about the lack of women in their sector. In 2013, Close the Gap was awarded funding from the Big Lottery Fund to develop activity for the WiRES network to support women in progressing their careers in the renewables sector. WiRES is now a thriving network with more than 450 members throughout Scotland, and its mentoring programme has recently been shortlisted as a finalist in the Contribution to Skills Award category at the 2014 Scottish Green Energy Awards.

WiRES’s activity focuses on networking events with inspirational speakers, site visits and expert talks throughout Scotland, along with the successful mentoring programme.

Speakers at networking events have included Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism Fergus Ewing, and inspiring industry icons like Judith Patten and Nina Skorupska. WiRES members have also been on exciting site visits to Whitelee Windfarm, Europe’s second largest onshore windfarm, and the headquarters of Pelamis Wave Power, one of the world’s most advanced wave power developers based in Leith.

Members tell us that they enjoy meeting like-minded women, so that they can share experiences and simply not stand out as the only woman in the room. The attrition rate of women in STEM remains startlingly high, with 73% of women with STEM qualifications no longer working in STEM industries The reasons are complex and well rehearsed elsewhere. One reason is the sense of isolation women feel when working in a male-dominated environment. WiRES hopes to reduce this feeling of isolation through providing a forum for women to exchange experiences, and through networking and mentoring opportunities.

You can read more about WiRES and sign up for free membership here.

Find out more about how to support women in STEM on the website of Equate Scotland.

 

Emily Martin, WiRES Development Officer

Photo credit: WiRES member Anne Stevenson, Senvion, at Muirhall Extension, for Muirhall Energy.

 

Close the Gap newsround (49)

This edition for September and October captures articles related to the gender pay gap and its causes, including pay discrimination and occupational segregation.

Women and work: what next?

After months of campaigning, discussion and debate, what is arguably the biggest political event of a generation is almost upon us. With just over two weeks to go until the referendum, Close the Gap launched a new working paper ‘Women and work: What comes next in a post-referendum Scotland?’ at a Constitutional Café event with Engender, Electoral Reform Society Scotland, and Scottish Women’s Aid on Saturday 30 August 2014.The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the implications for women and work in the context of the independence debate, to describe what needs to happen to effect positive change, and to identify the levers that are available in the event of either outcome.

Whatever the outcome of the referendum on September 18^th, it is essential the women’s movement comes together and uses the momentum of the debate to progress work around women’s equality. With a view to this, there are three main areas for intervention around employment issues: education and skills, employability, and economic development strategy.

The status quo

In the event of a No vote, there are many levers available to capitalise on the desire for change which has characterised both sides of the independence debate, and further women’s equality as a result.

On education and skills, we could call on the Scottish Government to increase its action on gender stereotyping in our education system. Currently, there are only two initiatives, Be What You Want and Careerwise, specifically working on the issue of gender stereotyping and occupational segregation in schools in Scotland. More needs to be done to build girls’ and young women’s capacity and resilience to choose to study non-traditional subjects across the education lifespan.

On employability, we could call on the Scottish Government to meet its commitment to produce an action plan on gender. Employability programmes must be cognisant of the specific barriers faced by women; funding structures should provide support for childcare, and employability pathways must seek to tackle, not reinforce, gendered occupational segregation. Women returning to the workforce after taking a break to have children or deliver care would benefit from particular support to help prevent downward occupational mobility and ensure their skills are effectively utilised.

Across the broad area of economic development, we could call on the Scottish Government to fully mainstream gender across all of its functions, ensuring this translates into effective action to tackle occupational segregation and the gender pay gap. This could include building capacity within key agencies to provide a gender analysis of skills, and key sector development policy addressing the gendered nature of skills shortages. The economic framing of childcare as infrastructure must be further developed to ensure provision continues to be extended, and to contribute to the discourse around recognition of the economic value of domestic labour.

Independence

The structural change that would take place in an independent Scotland offers the opportunity to see gender equality built in from the outset. Scotland’s Future’s proposal for a written constitution would enshrine state obligations on the advancement of equality and see human rights guaranteed.

The Scottish Independence Bill consultation, which provides the constitutional platform for the government of Scotland following a vote for independence, proposes that a permanent written constitution would be drawn up by an ‘inclusive and participative’ Convention. It is essential the process by which this Constitutional Convention would be established is inclusive and participative in itself, and ensures that gender groups are properly represented within it.

There would also be the possibility to effect structural progress within the new institutions and legislation which would be developed and implemented in an independent Scotland, and to develop a new economic measure which counts the unpaid work that women do.

Post September 19th

There are no guarantees under either outcome. What is guaranteed is that in order for women’s inequality in the labour market to be tackled there needs to be action, not simply a commitment to principles.

Whether in an independent Scotland or as part of the UK, what is needed is major structural reform and widespread cultural change, and this can only be achieved through a root and branch review of systems and policies, the engagement of all stakeholders, and long-term adequately resourced action plans.

Measurable and meaningful targets for tackling gendered occupational segregation, policies which reflect the cross-cutting nature of gender issues, and effective gender mainstreaming, are essential to progress true gender equality within the labour market and the wider economy.

Hard copies of our paper ‘Women and work: What comes next in a post-referendum Scotland?’ are available from acallaghan@stuc.org.uk