Scottish Election result 2021: Increase in women winning seats held by men

The Scottish elections have already seen a high proportion of seats previously held by men now taken by women in a bid to increase representation in parliament.

As the count continues, nine women have already successfully increased representation in parliament as they are elected into a position previously held by a man:

Jackie Dunbar for Aberdeen Donside,

Jenni Minto for Argyll and Bute,

Scottish Election result 2021: Increase in representation as woman win seats previously held by men

Siobhian Brown for Ayr,

Karen Adam for Banffshire and Buchan Coast,

Marie McNair for Clydebank and Milngavie,

Michelle Thomson for Falkirk East,

Natalie Don for Renfrewshire North and West

Evelyn Tweed for Stirling

Stephanie Callaghan for Uddingston and Bellshill.

All these regions saw a female MSP step forward to take their place in Parliament.

According to a report by Engender, Sex and Power in Scotland, in 2020, 36% of the Scottish Parliament were women.

Women made up 29% of local councillors, 23% of council leaders and 50% of MEPs.

Ruth McElroy, director of organisation Change the Chat said: "It's been great to see an increase in the number of women elected to Holyrood.

"We applaud most of the parties for taking the first essential step of seeking to rectify the huge deficit in numbers, but the numbers aren't everything.

"We're seeing women of colour, queer women, women with disabilities coming through and it's critical that we continue to move forward to a place where the intersectional experiences of women from a diversity of backgrounds are brought together to make Scottish politics better for all women."

The Scottish Parliament elections took place on Thursday, May 5 with the count being held over two days due to coronavirus restrictions.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.