Elizabeth Ewan, Sue Innes, Sipn Reynolds, and Rose Pipes, eds. The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006. - William Knox. Lives of Scottish Women: Women and Scottish Society, 1800–1980. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006.

Feminist institutionalism and women’s political leadership in devolution era Scotland

“…Late-twentieth century second-wave feminism provided important inheritances when it came to concern over women’s representation in the new Scottish Parliament which was founded in 1999. Women activists mobilised to shape a parliament imbued with the ‘feminine’ values of consensus, representation and participation (Breitenbach and MacKay 2001 ).…”

“…Devolution campaigning embodied the culture and politics its participants promoted for the new parliament. Alongside consensus and participation, women’s campaigning coalesced around a push for equal gender representation in the Scottish Parliament (Breitenbach and MacKay 2001 ). As with A Woman’s Claim of Right , the 50:50 campaign aimed to build consensus among women across all the political parties which culminated in the ‘gender coup’ of the 1999 elections which saw a record 37.2 per cent women among the MPs of the first Scottish parliament (Breitenbach and MacKay 2001 ).…”

“…Alongside consensus and participation, women’s campaigning coalesced around a push for equal gender representation in the Scottish Parliament (Breitenbach and MacKay 2001 ). As with A Woman’s Claim of Right , the 50:50 campaign aimed to build consensus among women across all the political parties which culminated in the ‘gender coup’ of the 1999 elections which saw a record 37.2 per cent women among the MPs of the first Scottish parliament (Breitenbach and MacKay 2001 ). Yet, this success also illustrates the limitations of such activism: it encouraged the professionalisation of formerly grassroots women’s organisations that eroded their accountability to a broader movement.…”

“…The documents also incorporate the voices of feminist activists who have since died. We draw on key contemporary feminist writings including A Woman’s Claim of Right (1991), the document written in response to the male-dominated Scottish Constitutional Convention and which formed the basis of much women’s devolution campaigning, two anthologies Grit and Diamonds ( 1990 ), edited by Shirley Henderson and Alison McKay and Women and Contemporary Scottish Politics ( 2001 ), edited by Esther Breitenbach and Fiona Mackay as well as a range of contemporary feminist articles exploring the impact of feminist campaigning on the institutions of devolution. Taken together, these documents represent key high-profile feminist texts of the devolution period.…”