The First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG) was created as a catalyst for change to tackle gender inequality in Scotland.
It’s made up of 16 members of varied ages and diverse backgrounds, and provides bold, strategic advice to the First Minister.
NACWG is dedicated to hearing everyone’s voices and hosts three mass participation events each year, inviting Circle members - 950+ allies and supporters of all genders and those who don’t identify - to feed into the discussion on #GenerationEqual.
Our younger NACWG members, Katie Horsburgh, Suki Wan, and Amina Ahmed, actively ensure that more young people are engaged in making systematic change in Scotland by hosting Youth Circles.
“The voices of young people should never be undervalued or underestimated, we are the experts of our own experiences, and those experiences are what drive us to make change for ourselves and for others.” - Katie Horsburgh, NACWG
The most recent Youth Circle explored our 2019 annual topic Policy Coherence – how is policy made and do policies work against each other… through a Zines workshop. There was interesting discussion on diverse topics, including representation and participation of women and girls in sport, representation of women and girls in the media, and the Gender Recognition Act.
Young campaigner and Rape Crisis Scotland Communications Officer, Brenna Jessie, delivered a passionate, relatable keynote speech. One participant said it was “one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard” as Brenna spoke with frankness, humour and humility about her fight for gender equality.
Youth Circles are an integral part of NACWG’s strategy and allow us to hear the lived experience of young people, as well as providing the space for them to have an active role in making the change they want to see in the world. Our Circle events provided us with final insight ahead of our 2019 Report and Recommendations to the First Minister.
Last year’s 2018 report was bold and ambitious, recommending 11 systemic changes in the quest for #GenerationEqual. The Scottish Government formally responded, accepting all 11 recommendations.
“Gender inequality affects everyone and will continue to affect everyone unless we make bold, courageous, ambitious change. Our recommendations aren’t just for us now, they're for future generations. My ambition is that they will look back on history with curiosity and ask, 'what is gender inequality?” - Katie Horsburgh, NACWG
If you are aged between 11-18 or know someone who would be interested in attending our next Youth Circle in March 2020, register your interest via [email protected]
You can join our Circle and stay in touch by following us on social media @NACWGScot
Bi-monthly we put a Spotlight on issues that affect women and girls, asking three questions to gather your feedback. Join the conversation by hosting your own Spotlight Wee Circle (open to all genders and those that don’t identify) where you have an informal chat and then let us know your thoughts. We’ve made this easy for you by providing a toolkit which you can access here.
The Spotlight topic for November and December is carers. You can find out more about hosting your own Wee Circle and you can have your say here.
