There has been uneven progress made for women as political actors and for gender as an issue in post-devolution Scottish politics.
What progress has been made for women’s representation and gender equality in post-devolution Scotland?
Scottish devolution opened up new institutional, political, and discursive spaces for actors to gender mainstream debates and shape broader processes of institutional and constitutional restructuring. Yet, whilst in many respects Scotland has been a successful case of feminist constitutional activism, there have also been setbacks, reversals, and stagnation in both the descriptive and substantive representation of women.
This chapter explores these dynamics through several key dimensions of representation and power over time, focusing on opportunities for change, but also highlighting underlying continuities and resistances. We conclude by reflecting on the uneven progress made for women as political actors and for gender as an issue in post-devolution Scottish politics.