This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-48458441

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Western Isles bid to increase women in public office The islands with no female politicians
(about 3 hours later)
Women across the Western Isles are being encouraged to enter politics. A project is trying to convince more women to run for office in Scottish islands where all the elected politicians are male.
At present, all councillors in the islands are men and the region is represented by men both at Holyrood and at Westminster. Only seven women stood as candidates in the 2017 council elections in the Western Isles - and none of them won a seat on Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.
The Parliament Project will hold workshops in Stornoway in Lewis, on Thursday and Balivanich in Benbecula, on Friday. The area is also represented by men in both the Scottish and UK parliaments.
The aim of the events is to "inspire and empower" women to run for public office. Now The Parliament Project, which aims to inspire more women to stand for election, is targeting the islands.
Western Isles Council - Comhairle nan Eilean Siar - is supporting the events. It is holding two workshops in the Western Isles, supported by the comhairle, one of which will be addressed by Mairi Bremner, who was a councillor for 25 years in the area.
In 2017's local authority elections, only seven female candidates came forward in the Western Isles out of a total of 60. She said she was saddened by the absence of women on the comhairle.
None of the female candidates was successful in being elected and for the first time in its history the comhairle had only male councillors. "It grieves me because I think women have a better understanding of people's needs and wishes," she said.
The most women the comhairle had was between 2007 and 2012 when there were five. "I also think women are more approachable.
In the mid 1960s, Stornoway elected its first female provost, Ann Urquhart, "I felt that I was approached more, and by people from outwith my own area for a lot of things because they felt like they could talk to a woman."
In her acceptance speech in Stornoway Town Hall in 1965, she said: "I hope that in taking this role - I may blaze the trail for women in this burgh to come forward into public life". The Western Isles do have a history of female political representation.
Mairi Bremner was a councillor for 25 years in the islands and will be one of the speakers at the Benbecula workshop. In the mid 1960s, Stornoway elected Ann Urquhart as its first female provost.
She told BBC Scotland she was saddened by the lack of female representation on the comhairle. In her acceptance speech in Stornoway Town Hall, she said: "I hope that in taking this role - I may blaze the trail for women in this burgh to come forward into public life."
She said: "It grieves me because I think women have a better understanding of people's needs and wishes. Representation on Comhairle nan Eilean Siar reached its peak between 2007 and 2012, when there were five women councillors.
"I also think women are more approachable. I felt that I was approached more, and by people from outwith my own area for a lot of things because they felt like they could talk to a woman." However, in the 2017 elections the comhairle only returned male councillors for the first time in its history.
The Parliament Project is a non-partisan initiative that seeks to "inspire, empower and encourage" women to run for political office in the UK.The Parliament Project is a non-partisan initiative that seeks to "inspire, empower and encourage" women to run for political office in the UK.
It runs information and skills-building events and offers peer networking to support women to get elected.It runs information and skills-building events and offers peer networking to support women to get elected.
Since 2016, it has delivered workshops to more 3,000 women in Scotland and England, many of whom have gone on to stand for election.Since 2016, it has delivered workshops to more 3,000 women in Scotland and England, many of whom have gone on to stand for election.
Edinburgh-based co-director Lee Chalmers said: "We are delighted to be coming to the Western Isles.Edinburgh-based co-director Lee Chalmers said: "We are delighted to be coming to the Western Isles.
'More representative'
"There are huge numbers of women out there who could be getting ready to run for office - we meet them every day - yet women make up only 36% of the members of the Scottish Parliament and 24% of the councillors.""There are huge numbers of women out there who could be getting ready to run for office - we meet them every day - yet women make up only 36% of the members of the Scottish Parliament and 24% of the councillors."
Derek Mackay, democratic services manager at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar , said: "I would encourage women interested in politics or representing their communities to go along to one of these workshops. It is holding workshops in Stornoway on Thursday and at Balivanich, in Benbecula, on Friday.
"We would like to see a more representative local authority and indeed across the public sector." Derek Mackay, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar's democratic services manager, encouraged any women who are interested in politics, or representing their communities, to attend.
"We would like to see a more representative local authority and public sector," he said.