Has devolution delivered for women? Scottish Parliament Welsh Assembly

Publications / Reports

Has Devolution Delivered for Women?

24 May 2010

This 2010 report reviewed women's representation in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly a decade after devolution. The report concluded that the battle for women's equal representation in Edinburgh and Cardiff was far from won, and that urgent further action was needed to ensure that the progress of the previous decade would be sustained in the next.

The establishment of the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly was accompanied by hopes of a 'new politics', involving, among other things, significantly higher women's representation than at Westminster. In the first elections to the devolved legislatures in 1999, 37% of seats in Edinburgh and 40% in Cardiff were won by women. But in the 2007 elections, the proportion of women in the Scottish Parliament fell to 33%, and even in Wales the number of women constituency candidates declined. By 2010 there were concerns that the 2011 devolved elections would see progress stalling further.

In light of these trends, British Council Scotland commissioned Has Devolution Delivered for Women? to reflect on women's representation in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, ten years after the devolved legislatures were first elected and 20 years after the report of the Hansard Society Commission on Women at the Top. The report, by Joyce McMillan and Ruth Fox, investigated trends in women's representation in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, analysed drivers of and obstacles to progress, and explored women's impact on policy and the culture of politics in Scotland and Wales.

Key findings

Voluntary action by political parties is not enough. The progress it delivers is vulnerable both to change within key parties and to the shifting balance of power between them. There is therefore a case for reopening the debate about whether equal representation of women should be guaranteed by constitutional and electoral law, rather than purely by action within parties. An inquiry similar to the Speaker’s Conference on Parliamentary Representation held at Westminster in 2008-10 is needed in Scotland and Wales to look in detail at the issues and make recommendations.
Given the apparently strengthening media tendency to present politics as a theatre of conflict and personal destruction, a case can also be made for a new ‘King Report’ on gender and the media in politics, along the lines of Sir Anthony King’s Report on the BBC’s coverage of the devolved institutions, to explore how current assumptions about newsworthiness affect perceptions of women politicians and their work.
There has been a change in culture towards a ‘new politics’ in Edinburgh and Cardiff, in terms of less confrontational and less party-bound ways of working. But there is a growing perception that Holyrood, in particular, is increasingly reverting to Westminster-style confrontational politics. The debate about how to avoid this needs to be reopened.
The dramatic increase in women’s representation at the dawn of devolution was achieved through strong, well-organised campaigning across a range of parties and organisations. The time has come to start rebuilding these alliances within Scotland and Wales, across the UK and internationally. To support a new campaign there is a need especially for structures and institutions which enable dialogue among women across the generations – for example, the idea of a Women’s Centre close to the Scottish Parliament was proposed in 1999 but did not come to fruition, and should be revisited.

Preface
Introduction
Part 1: Changing Numbers: Women's Representation in Scotland and Wales
Part 2: Changing Politics, Changing Culture: Women at Work in the Devolved Legislatures and Civil Society
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Election Results 1999-2007
Appendix 2: Seminar Attendees - 25 January 2010

Latest / Highlights

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 24-27 November 2025

Chancellor Rachel Reeves presents the Budget. MPs conclude their consideration of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. The Lords is set to finish Committee Stage of the Chagos Islands legislation. Peers will also consider the Sentencing Bill, the Crime and Policing Bill and the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Michael Prescott, author of the report on BBC bias, appears with BBC chair Samir Shah and board member Sir Robbie Gibb at the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. And MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee hold a special joint meeting with their counterparts from Ukraine, Poland, Finland and the Czech Republic.

News / Is the House of Lords going slow on the assisted dying bill? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 116

In this episode we look at the latest Covid Inquiry report addressing the lack of parliamentary scrutiny during the pandemic and the need for a better system for emergency law-making. With the Budget approaching, we explore how the Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, might discipline ministers who announce policies outside Parliament and why a little-known motion could restrict debate on the Finance Bill. Sir David Beamish assesses whether the flood of amendments to the assisted dying bill risks a filibuster and raises constitutional questions. Finally, we hear from Marsha de Cordova MP and Sandro Gozi MEP on their work to reset UK–EU relations through the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

Blog / The assisted dying bill: Is the number of Lords amendments a parliamentary record?

The assisted dying bill has attracted an extraordinary number of amendments in the House of Lords, prompting questions about whether the volume is unprecedented. This blog examines how its amendment count compares with other bills in the current Session, and what the historical data shows about previous amendment-heavy legislation.

Blog / The assisted dying bill: Will it run out of time? The parliamentary options explained

Over 1,000 amendments have been tabled to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Lords. This blog examines the progress of the Bill at Committee Stage in the House of Lords so far, explores the likelihood of a procedural impasse and what options exist if more parliamentary time is needed.

News / Assisted dying bill - special series #18: A conversation with the Bill’s sponsor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 115

In this episode, we are joined by Lord Falconer, the Labour Peer steering the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill through the House of Lords. Although he has attempted to legislate for assisted dying several times before, this is the first occasion he is working with a bill that has already cleared the House of Commons. In a wide-ranging conversation, he explains why this issue has driven him for more than a decade and assesses the Bill’s prospects of becoming law. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.