Graphic showing a pound coin floating in a puddle with the Saltire and a map of Scotland in the background, with text that reads To invest in women & transform our communities, we need to build a Scotland where: 1. Women live free from poverty & financial inequality. 2. We value the unpaid care women provide in our communities. 3. We value & invest in women’s participation in the economy.

The evidence is clear that investing in women’s equality & improving the lives of marginalised people massively benefits our communities. This election is a chance to ensure that policy & public investment translate into real change for women in Scotland.

www.engender.org.uk/news/blog/ho...

Graphic showing women experiencing financial inequality, with text that reads Holyrood 2026 Will your local candidates invest in women & transform our communities? Use our website to email them and find out.

Will your local candidates commit to investing in women?

Ahead of the election on 7 May, we need your help to call on candidates to transform women’s lives by tackling women’s deep financial insecurity head-on.

👉🏻 Head to our website now to email your candidates: www.engender.org.uk/news/blog/ho...

We could not do this without you, thank you.

We produced briefings, evidence & analysis highlighting 14 vital areas for women's equality.
We collaborated with 130 different organisations.
We contributed to 22 advisory bodies, sharing our expertise & advocating for change.
We hosted 28 in-person & online events, conferences & webinars.

We've engaged with 100s of women, including through workshops across the country, where we heard powerful testimonies & feedback:

"Diverse, respectful, & inclusive workshop space", "Felt heard, valued, & respected", “really excellent event & well run”, “amazing, so engaging & freedom for chat”.

It's been a busy year...

We’ve worked across issues including women’s poverty, health, reproductive rights, safety, equal representation in politics, media & culture.

We’re grateful to the hundreds of women from across Scotland who have responded to our consultations & surveys or who joined our workshops in person. Your support & engagement enrich our work, help us understand the challenges women face, & what the priorities for change need to be - thank you.

Image shows a photo of women overlaid with text that reads We're working to build a Scotland where all women & girls thrive. The Engender logo is a white circle with an equals sign in it.

Earlier this month, our membership came together for our AGM & to consider our Annual Report.

It gave us a rare opportunity to take stock of our work & what we’ve achieved over the last year.

We'd like to say a huge thank you to our members, followers, & everyone we've collaborated with 🧵⬇

Faded photo of women working at a polling place next to a ballot box with text that reads Register by Monday 20th April to vote in the Scottish Parliament Elections www.gov.uk/register-to-vote, with the Engender logo in the top right-hand corner.

The Scottish Parliament elections are on 7 May. Key dates:

Register to vote by 20 April
Apply for a postal vote by 21 April
Apply for a proxy vote by 28 April

If your details being on the electoral register could put you at risk, you can register anonymously.

Register: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

The graphic shows a purple background with a screenshot of a news article from The National website. The headline reads Exclusive Scottish Government must be 'braver' on equality, says organisation. The article is by Beth Templeton and is illustrated by a photo from Engender's Delivering Equally Safe conference

The graphic shows a purple background with white left-aligned text quote that reads "When we speak to women and girls, they tell us that they need change to happen on a more coordinated and ambitious scale. Too often, decisions on policy are made in areas like the justice system, housing, the design of towns and cities, and transport, that undermine what the national strategy is trying to achieve on women and girls' safety..". The quote is attributed to Catherine Murphy, Executive Director, Engender. In the top right-hand corner of the graphic there is the Engender logo.

ICYMI, we recently held our annual conference on primary prevention of VAWG in Scotland.

We need to see strong leadership on gender inequality & VAWG in the next parliament, & parties must ensure policy is well designed & delivered for women & girls.

More here: www.thenational.scot/news/2595486...

The graphic shows a photo of women doing yoga, one is wearing a hijab overlaid with a translucent filter and dark purple left-aligned text quote that reads "Everything is connected. What we need is a strategy that thinks about us in the whole, not as separate minds and bodies.". The quote is attributed to Linda Gask, retired psychiatrist and Engender member. In the top right-hand corner of the graphic there is Engender's logo, which is an equals sign in a white circle.

We know that our mental & physical health are intertwined, so why does the Scottish Government approach tackle them separately?

In this guest blog, Linda Gask explores the need for a coordinated approach to women’s physical & mental health.

Read it here: www.engender.org.uk/news/blog/wh...

Investing in Women, Transforming Communities: Our Manifesto for Holyrood 2026

See our full manifesto & support our work to help build a future Scotland where all women & girls thrive here: www.engender.org.uk/holyrood-2026/

Graphic with an image of stacked coins and a box containing text that reads: Create a ‘Women’s Equality Fund’ designed to provide targeted crisis financial support for marginalised women, with a focus on unpaid carers, women with experience of domestic abuse, women with No Recourse to Public Funds, & disabled women.

Unpaid carers, women who experience domestic abuse, women with no recourse to public funds, & disabled women are all hit harder, with too many falling through the cracks. We're calling on the next Scottish Govt to invest in meeting the immediate needs of the most marginalised women & their families.

Graphic with an illustration of a woman sitting on a penny looking at a tower of costs including health, housing, safety & security above a box containing text that reads: Holyrood 2026 Scotland is a place where women live free from poverty & financial inequality.

The evidence is clear that investing in women’s equality & improving the lives of marginalised people reaps huge benefits for our communities.

Scotland’s cost of living crisis is causing profound harm to women & increasing their risk of living in poverty. ⬇

Illustration with panels showing women undertaking care work, work, childcare and engaging with the economy, alongside elements including basic essential groceries, a kintsugi bowl, a pile of pound coins.

Help us help build a Scotland where women & girls thrive this IWD.

To mark #IWD2026, we've commissioned illustrator Heedayah Lockman to create this artwork inspired by our manifesto for the May election.

See our manifesto & support our work for women's equality: www.engender.org.uk/holyrood-2026/

Investing in Women, Transforming Communities: Our Manifesto for Holyrood 2026

See our full manifesto & support our work to create a Scotland where the needs of marginalised & minoritised women are met by government & public bodies here: www.engender.org.uk/holyrood-2026/

Graphic with an image of a pencil in the background and a box containing text that reads: Reform the Scottish Specific Duties of the Public Sector Equality Duty in co-production with equalities organisations, delivering new regulations in place within the next parliamentary term.

Changing the way our public sector designs & delivers services to better serve women’s needs is crucial, alongside pushing for the investment needed. Our equality duties should ensure that everyday public services, such as education, health & transport, provide what women really need to thrive.

Graphic with an illustration women using various public services above a box containing text that reads: Holyrood 2026 Scotland has public services and policies that create a more equal society.

We need the next Scottish Govt to commit to investing in our public services to improve women’s lives.

Women rely more on public services & make up the majority of the public sector workforce. Women are disproportionately impacted by how public services function & are hardest hit by cutbacks ⬇

The graphic shows a purple with bright pink and white teal left-aligned text that reads "Sign up now to get our 2026 International Women's Day Print" alongside images of previous IWD postcards and a blank card with a question mark on it..

This International Women's Day, we've got a wee treat for Engender members & supporters.

We’re giving away limited edition free feminist prints to mark IWD - we've got 250 to give away to Engender members, & another 100 up for grabs 👇

Claim your free print here: www.engender.org.uk/news/blog/fr...

Investing in Women, Transforming Communities: Our Manifesto for Holyrood 2026

See our full manifesto & support our work to help build a future Scotland where all women & girls thrive here: www.engender.org.uk/holyrood-2026/

Graphic with an image of a ballot box in the background and a box containing text that reads: Create a new fund targeted towards women & underrepresented groups in politics to overcome barriers to political participation.

By prioritising support for the most underrepresented groups of women, including women of colour, disabled women, & single parents to stand for political office, we can work to transform Scotland's political landscape into one that truly reflects our communities.

Graphic with an illustration of three podiums, with two men on nearly equal size podiums and a woman on a shorter one above a box containing text that reads: Holyrood 2026 Scotland is a place where women have an equal seat at the table.

We're continuing our series exploring 10 vital areas from our manifesto for the upcoming Scottish Parliament election, highlighting how women's unequal access to power remains a fundamental obstacle to gender equality with women comprising just 35% of local councillors & 45% of MSPs in Scotland ⬇

Graphic with a photo of the Scottish Parliament overlaid with a salmon coloured filter and white text that reads Hustings for Women's Equality: Holyrood 2026 30th March 7pm Online above a banner featuring the logos of national women's organisations and campaign groups

What does the 2026 Holyrood election mean for women's equality? Join national women's orgs & campaign groups on 30th March at 7pm for a hustings with representatives from political parties answering your questions on issues impacting women in Scotland.

Book now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hustings-f...

Investing in Women, Transforming Communities: Our Manifesto for Holyrood 2026

See our full manifesto & support our work to help build a future Scotland where women & girls thrive here: www.engender.org.uk/holyrood-2026/

Graphic with an image of a thistle in the background and a box containing text that reads: Increase the value of the Carers Support Payment, & extend access for young carers, older carers, those in education & employment, & those with multiple caring roles, & introduce multi-year pilots of the ‘Minimum Income Guarantee’ by 2029, with a focus on unpaid carers.

Unpaid care props up Scotland's economy, at an estimated value of £15.9 billion annually.

We need to ensure our social security system works for all unpaid carers. The meagre financial support currently available to carers is incredibly limited & forces many into hardship.

Graphic with an illustration of a woman carrying shopping next to someone walking on crutches above a box containing text that reads: Holyrood 2026 Scotland values the unpaid care women provide in our communities.

We can create a Scotland where women's enormous contribution to our communities is valued both socially & economically.

Our manifesto highlights how the disproportionate burden of caring responsibilities women carry continues to be unrecognised & undervalued xx

Investing in Women, Transforming Communities: Our Manifesto for Holyrood 2026

See our full manifesto & support our work to transform women’s lives for the better here: www.engender.org.uk/holyrood-2026/

Graphic with an image of a hand holding a ballot paper in the background and a box containing text that reads: Safeguard reproductive rights in Scotland through the modernisation of abortion law by removing it from the criminal justice system & replacing the Abortion Act 1967 with a health & human rights-based framework.

We deserve an abortion framework that reflects the realities of modern healthcare, upholds human rights for all who need abortion & prevents harmful police investigations & prosecutions. We're part of the Let's change the Act campaign to call for modern abortion law that works for women in Scotland.

Graphic with an illustration of a woman searching for abortion care in Scotland on a computer screen and two doctors in white coats above a box containing text that reads: Holyrood 2026 Scotland has modern abortion laws that ensure quality abortion care for all.

Our manifesto for the upcoming May election contains 10 vital areas where action would improve the lives of the most marginalised in our communities.

For too long, women in Scotland have had to settle for a system of abortion law that doesn’t put their needs, health & rights first. ⬇

A creative CEDAW workshop today with @engenderscot.bsky.social & @scottishtuc.bsky.social women’s committee.

Working collaboratively with trade union women to help shape Engender’s report to the UN and hold the UK to account for gender inequality ✊