SNP Manifesto 2019: What we’re doing for women

Advancing women’s equality is central to the SNP manifesto, and a strong team of SNP MPs at would champion gender equality at Westminster.

In the new Parliament, we will continue defending and extending women’s rights, fighting the gender pay gap, and standing up for equality.

Here’s our plan.

Ending the gender pay gap

SNP MPs will demand tougher action to close the gender pay gap, including introducing fines for businesses that fail to meet an agreed Equal Pay Standard.

What’s more, we will press for the devolution of employment law so that the Scottish Parliament can protect workers’ rights, increase the living wage and end the age discrimination of the statutory living wage.

Gender balance on public and private boards

Evidence shows that companies and organisations do better when they properly represent society. In Scotland, the public sector is on track to ensure that all public boards have 50-50 gender balance by 2020 due to statutory targets we put in place.

SNP MPs will argue for greater representation of women on public and private sector boards, and support legislation to put UK-wide statutory gender balance targets for the private sector.

Protecting and enhancing rights at work

To ensure workers’ rights across the UK are not diminished as a result of Brexit, we will press the UK government to follow the lead of the SNP Scottish Government by establishing a Fair Work Commission – with representation from trade unions, public sector organisations and businesses.

Fighting the abhorrent Rape Clause

SNP MPs have been at the forefront of the campaign against the Rape Clause, which requires women to prove they’ve been raped in order to receive financial support for more than two children.

We believe that is disgraceful and utterly unacceptable, and SNP MPs will continue to call out the Tory government and fight for the abolition of the two-child cap and the rape clause.

Standing up for WASPI women

We’ll stand up for the women in Scotland, and across the UK, who have been short-changed by the Tory Government due to the accelerated timetable for increases in the women’s State Pension Age.

SNP MPs will continue leading the way in supporting the WASPI campaign in their efforts to secure fairness for the women affected.

Incorporating protections for women in law

We will press for the UK government to ratify the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence to have a clear timetable.

Protecting women’s rights across the world

Building on the experience of the Scottish Government’s partnership with the UN to empower the women of Syria and promote Scotland as a centre for training of female peacemakers, the SNP will continue to support UN Security Council Resolution 1325 reaffirming the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts.

Vote SNP on December 12

This election really matters. At stake is who will decide Scotland’s future – Westminster leaders like Boris Johnson or the people who live here? Now more than ever, it is vital to have strong SNP voices standing up for Scotland.

Let’s put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands, and escape from Brexit. Vote SNP on December 12th.