Scottish independence: Women’s needs on the agenda

By FIONA MACGREGOR
Published on 04/03/2013 00:00

SPEAKERS at a major conference marking International Women’s Day will this week urge both sides of the independence debate to make clear what they will deliver for women.

Condemning both sides for failing to engage properly with women’s needs, Dr Marsha Scott, convener of Engender, the country’s principal women’s rights organisation, will tell delegates Scotland’s approach to gender disparity is “different” from that in England, and say future administrations must address that – whatever the outcome of the 2014 referendum. Those attending the event in Edinburgh on Friday will be invited to sign up to the Barcelona manifesto, which calls for a pro-women approach to the current economic crisis.