This year marked the 20th annual Festival of Politics held at The Scottish Parliament in August every year. There are a number of events organised each year which aim to inspire discussion, provoke thoughts and inform attendees from all over Scotland. I was invited to take part in a panel on sexism in the workplace from the perspective of a young man alongside Claire Reindorp, CEO at Young Women’s Trust and Carolyn Currie, CEO at Women’s Enterprise Scotland, which was chaired by SYP Board member, Alannah Logue MSYP.
Prior to taking part in the panel, I spoke to family and colleagues about their personal experiences to gain first-hand knowledge and understanding about the issue. I found it shocking to learn about the scale of the setbacks and challenges many of them had faced throughout their careers, particularly my mum who spoke about the stigma she experienced when going back to work after having children. These were conversations I wouldn’t have had if it hadn’t been for this opportunity.
Our panel discussion started off by addressing the challenges facing many women and girls at work, whether it is imposter syndrome, a lack of women being promoted to boardroom positions, the gender pay gap or specific industries being dominated by men, such as construction and manufacturing.
I also got the opportunity to speak about my Scottish Youth Parliament Motion which was passed in 2023 and recognises the recent rise in abuse towards retail and hospitality workers. This is a problem that disproportionately affects women and girls who are more likely to work in these sectors.
My Motion proposed at SYP79, which received the support of 94% of MSYPs, read:
“The Scottish Youth Parliament acknowledges the abuse young people can experience in the retail and hospitality sectors and calls for further action by Police Scotland and employers to ensure young people are confident that they are safe whilst they are at work.”
Our conversation then moved on to consider the steps that were necessary to give women a level playing field in the workplace. We agreed that one of the most potential effective steps that could be taken was promoting positive role models – particularly in schools, colleges and universities – to encourage women and girls to enter certain underrepresented professions.
Turning to the problems in workplaces, Reindorp and Currie emphasised the important role men have in tackling sexism as they continue to hold the majority of leadership positions. For example, there are only nine woman CEO’s in the FTSE 100 companies. Therefore, we need strong leadership by the men at the top of these organisations to set the direction of change to break down barriers for woman and ensure outdated attitudes are removed. This can be done by implementing more flexible working patterns, promoting a greater number of women to leadership positions and ensuring there is equal pay across all roles.
While in recent decades there has undoubtedly been significant progress towards tackling sexism, there is still a long way to go. At first, I was reluctant to publicly talk about an issue which is often seen as taboo for men and boys. However, by taking part in this experience, I have learnt that men have a vital role and responsibility in driving the change needed across workplaces. If we aren’t in the room for these conversations, we will never achieve a truly diverse, safe and inclusive workforce for all.
You can watch the full ‘Sexism in the Workplace’ session from the Festival of Politics 2024 below:
