#IWD2016: Caring Responsibilities Should Be Valued Equally To Paid Work

On International Women's Day 2016, Veronika Tudhope, MSP Candidate for the West of Scotland, shares her thoughts on the Scottish Green Party and equality for women.

The Scottish green party clearly performs better than average than other parties where gender balance is concerned. This is aided by the current climate in Scotland where there are more women than ever visible in politics. However it can still be hard to make yourself heard in a group, women need to overcome their natural reticence and believe their views are important and have value.

The greatest change I would like to see is for caring responsibilities to be valued equally to paid work. This would not just benefit women but also men and paid as well as unpaid carers.
The current state of affairs not only disadvantages women, it disadvantages men who may be missing out on parenting and caring they wish to be part of because they are pressured to compete in the work environment.