Abigail Taylor

Having moved to the islands at the beginning of the year it did not take long for me to realise that on the ground, women run this place. Between them all, running businesses, working as managers and acting as leaders, the women that live here are determined and hard working.

I have produced articles that profiled young women who were juggling a family, a croft and a full-time job. I met others through conversation about the organisations they run or events they were involved in running.

It was therefore a shock to find out that Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is the only council without female representation in Scotland. I had met so many women who would, in my opinion, be perfect for the job.

So many people who have met with me during my time here have spoken highly of the Hebridean businesswoman. I struggled to see how the headline that described ‘Scotland’s only all-male council’ came to be.

I set out, at the beginning of this process to understand the reasons for make-up of our council, to explore the thought processes of the women here in order to uncover what was stopping them from becoming decision-makers in their own community.

I want to thank the dozens of women who came forward and spoke to me over the past few weeks, for being so open and honest over how they feel about the current council and sharing what they think the future holds.

I asked what the most important matters were for the interviewees and time and time again the same issues came up – childcare, transport, education, healthcare and equal access to services across the islands were popular topics. I should note, all things that can be changed with strong voices in the council.

It is not that women are not engaged – they are listening and watching, understanding what is being done and the decisions that are being made. However, they do believe that there are barriers from it being themselves making the decisions that matter so much.

Many women spoke of travel and distance issues, childcare and how they feel Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has no drive to recruit women representatives.

In the aftermath of the 2017 election, the council promised that more would be done to encourage women to run for election, but it seems that to date, some seven months before the next election, this has not materialised.

Most agreed that traditional views on family life would be a reason not to run for election as time and commitment issues would be difficult to navigate. All agreed that as women make up half the population and use services in the community, they need a seat at the table.

In a notable exchange, a previous candidate spoke to me about sexism in questions pitched to her, asking how she could balance her children and being a councillor, something she bet a male candidate would not be asked.

Being a woman in a typically male dominated world is not the easiest thing to do, but someone has to break the mould that was created here in 2017. It is important to note that this has not always been the case and there have been many brilliant female councillors. But the current setting cannot become the norm. It is important for a government to reflect its electorate and that is not to say that the current councillors are not doing a good job. But it does mean that in order to have a wide range of opinions, a diverse setting is required.

In order to be a good representative you must bring perspective and different life experiences to the job and that does not stop at gender. It is clear there is a gap in the age range of our councillors and in order for that to change, reform is needed to create an incentive for the younger generation to step up to the mark.

I recently attended an event hosted by Women in Journalism. I sat in a room with some of the best journalists in the nation who have broken through the ceiling and made a name for themselves despite their gender. It is inspirational to have such role models.

Look at what the women in our community are saying. Read their thoughts and opinions and, more importantly, their advice to someone thinking about taking the leap and putting themselves forward in the upcoming election in 2022.

Talk to your representatives, your family and your friends. In order to see real change that matters, we must encourage those who put their head above the parapet and make sure that they are given the support that they need to succeed.