WHILE Scottish Women in Sport have a specific lens on women and girls in sport, we appreciate that our work is only a small reflection of the bigger issues that impact on women and girls daily. We are also aware that our strategies will not work in isolation and that if society as a whole doesn’t pull together to ensure gender equality in all areas of young women’s lives, our own work for an inclusive Scotland in sport will be fruitless.

In 2017, the First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG) was formed, chaired by the extremely capable and talented Louise Macdonald, CEO of Young Scot. The NACWG is made up of 16 women and girls who come from a variety of backgrounds, roles and jobs. However, the discussion doesn’t stop with this group; to ensure that they reach out and include everyone’s voices in their reports, they host “circle” events three times a year which are open to all.

For September and October the spotlight is on sport, and they would like to hear from individuals and groups from all communities across Scotland. They are asking three questions. For women and girls in sport, what needs to change to improve opportunities? What needs to change to reduce harmful stereotypes? And what actions should the NACWG recommend to improve gender equality? They are inviting the wider public to form their own wee “circles” to debate this topic.

With my love of all things social media, I have to say that their # is perfect – #generationequal. If you would like to get involved and create your own “wee circle”, details are on their website: https://onescotland.org/equality-themes/advisory-council-women-girls/contact-us/

Over at Shinty everyone is keeping their fingers crossed that single Feel The Power written by musician Gary Innes will appeal to a broad-church of music lovers, shinty lovers and sport lovers, all of whom might be happy to part with £1.00 to download it. All of the money raised through the song will go to the Women’s Camanachd Association, with a goal to reach the top 40.