Increasing Opportunities for Women

As an amendment to motion S4M-10829 in the name of Angela Constance (Increasing Opportunities for Women), leave out from "recognises" to end and insert "notes the new research that shows that 270,000 Scottish jobs are dependent on trade with the rest of the UK and that nearly 100,000 of these are held by women; believes that key issues such as the economy and the currency will determine the opportunities available to women in Scotland in the future; further believes that lack of certainty around the Scottish Government’s plan B on currency puts women’s jobs and future aspirations on the line; expresses disappointment at the Scottish Government’s continued failure to stack up its costings for its plan to increase female participation through childcare, even after the First Minister’s New Statesman lecture in March 2014, in which he asserted, without evidence, that the policy paid for itself; regrets the lack of explanation as to why the Scottish Government continues to defy the will of SNP members and ministers in the Parliament that was expressed in motion S4M-05521 on 31 January 2013, which said that child benefit should be increased for people earning more than £60,000; regrets that the Scottish Government decided to follow up its professed policy that 40% of members of public boards would, in future, be women by making nominations to the next body, the Fiscal Commission, of just 33% women; believes that overcoming gender stereotypes across the board, but particularly in science, technology, engineering and maths, is in everyone's interest and will help Scotland thrive; further believes that the loss of highly trained women from the workforce is not only a loss of opportunity to individuals but also represents a major quantifiable loss to the economy and society; notes the report of The Royal Society of Edinburgh that concluded that the doubling of women’s high-level skill contribution to the economy would be worth as much as £170 million per annum to Scotland’s national income; welcomes the UK Government’s measures to promote equal opportunities and working practices, such as shared parental leave; further welcomes the UK Government’s increase in the income tax threshold to £10,000; considers that the increase in the threshold has supported people on low and middle incomes, many of whom are women, and believes that being part of a United Kingdom with broad economic shoulders and a stable currency is the best future for Scotland and for all of the people of Scotland."