The manifesto outlined Scottish Labour’s top five pledges to women.

The first is to improve the flexibility and provision of free childcare offered to working parents in Scotland.

Secondly, Scottish Labour pledge to end the legacy of low paid work for women by introducing a new Scottish living wage of at least £7.15 an hour, starting in the public sector.

Scottish Labour have also made the commitment to fund jobs for 10,000 unemployed youngsters through a new Scottish Future Jobs Fund, ensuring these jobs tackle the job segregation that reinforces women’s inequality and open up new opportunities for women in traditionally male-dominated workplaces.

On health, Scottish Labour will tackle the tragedy of cervical, breast and other cancers by introducing a new right to see a cancer specialist and get results within two weeks by 2015, halving the current waiting time.

Finally, Labour has committed to scrapping SNP plans to ban the use of short prison sentences, which would see half of offenders in prison for domestic abuse walk free, in addition to encouraging specialist domestic abuse courts across Scotland.

This is an election for the Scottish parliament, yet we cannot ignore the impact that decisions at Westminster have on the Scottish electorate. We already know that women are being hit twice as hard by the ConDem cuts. Research by the House of Commons library that shows that of the £8.5 billion raised in the ConDem budget in June 2010 by changes to direct taxes and benefits, £5.7 billion (two-thirds) comes from women and £2.7 billion from men.

This is before we take into account the impact that job cuts in the public sector, where women make up more of the workforce, are likely to have.

In opposition, Scottish Labour has worked to stand up for the interests of women, it was Scottish Labour that secured 7,800 new modern apprenticeship places and secured an apprenticeship guarantee scheme. Scottish Labour established an Alcohol Commission to examine how to tackle Scotland’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol. They have also campaigned to improve inter-agency information sharing child protection and for a national inquiry into Scotland’s child protection system.

Meanwhile, the SNP has also been busy – busy breaking over 100 of their manifesto commitments. They have cut 3,000 teachers and 1,000 classroom assistants from Scottish schools, while they dumped promises on class sizes and on school buildings, leaving 100,000 pupils to be taught in crumbling schools.

The SNP have spent more time grandstanding, posturing and pushing for separation than they have listening to and addressing women’s concerns. It’s hard to listen when all you are interested in is the sound of your own voice.

We cannot create a fairer and more equal Scotland, without addressing fundamental gender inequalities in our society. It is clear that within Scottish Labour we must continue to push that agenda in order to ensure that the Scottish Labour party reflects those we seek to represent and to avoid the gender balance of 1999 becoming a distantly recalled high-water mark.

Scottish Labour is committed to improving the lives of women. As Scottish Labour women, we must retain our active commitment to improving the Scottish Labour party.

Photo: Rupert Ganzer