'Pats on head' for women at Holyrood

WOMEN ministers have slammed the civil service and the media in a new survey on their experience in power, claiming they have had to put up with being "patted on the head" by officials and asked about their views on erotic films by male journalists.

The report was based on interviews with eight female ministers in the former Labour-led Scottish Executive.

They were asked to reflect on how they found being at the top of government. The group, including Wendy Alexander, former health minister Susan Deacon and former justice minister Cathy Jamieson, were thrust to the forefront of public life following devolution.

The survey reveals a lingering anger over their treatment by the press and parts of the civil service, where they claim they were treated with barely concealed sexism.

All eight former ministers complained about the male-dominated press, saying they were often only given plaudits if they were seen to be taking the fight to their opponents, rather than getting results.

The report, written by Susan Dalgety and Danny Phillips for the Active Learning Centre, a body which supports democracy and human rights, said the "perceived misogyny" in the political coverage was "as unexpected as it was hurtful".

Not much better, say the women, was the attitude of the civil service, which had never before had to deal with female ministers in charge. The report concludes: "There was a tendency among the senior civil service to patronise them, verging at times on a refusal to take them seriously."

The views given by the ministers are quoted anonymously in the paper. Along with Jamieson, Alexander and Deacon, the women interviewed were Sarah Boyack, Jackie Baillie, Patricia Ferguson, Margaret Curran, Rhona Brankin, Johann Lamont, Elaine Murray and Mary Mulligan – all from the Labour benches.

One of the women told the survey that she was asked during a press interview when was the last time she had seen "an erotic film".

Another interviewee added: "I am a woman who behaves like a woman. If you have got a smile on your face, you are judged as ineffective. The media judge women by male behaviour. You can work your butt off, you can be hugely effective behind the scenes, but if you don't have the killer line in a four-minute debate, you are not a good politician."

The civil service was also criticised by the interviewees, the majority of whom agreed that it was "male dominated ".

One interviewee said that "in government a softer approach is often looked down on by civil servants" while another described how some senior civil servants "would quite happily pat you on the head."

Other women found it hard to penetrate the male networks that senior civil servants took for granted.

The report says that the influx of female ministers has had a major impact on policy. They include traditional feminist causes such as domestic abuse, and family matters, where improved childcare was championed by women ministers.

The ministers said they were now concerned that the impact made by women at Holyrood was receding.

Whereas 37 per cent of the parliament's 129 seats were occupied by women in 1999, that number has now fallen to 33 per cent.

Last night, former Labour leader Alexander said: "The frustration with the media is that there are lots of reports about fights but not that much about getting things done. It was Margaret Thatcher who said if you want something said, ask a man, but if you want something done, ask a woman."

Alexander said the civil service had changed markedly in its attitudes since the early days of devolution. "The senior management group at the old Scottish Office never had a woman on it. When all these women under the age of 40 came in as ministers after devolution, I think it was quite a shock," she said.

Of the SNP government's 16 ministers, four are women: health secretary Nicola Sturgeon, culture minister Fiona Hyslop, environment minister Roseanna Cunningham and public health minister Shona Robison. The Cabinet is also attended by the Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini.