Women for Independence
| Formation | 2012 |
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| Purpose | Gender equality activism |
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Key people
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| Mission | To improve the representation of women in public and political life throughout Scotland |
| Website | womenforindependence |
Women for Independence is a grass-roots political organisation which seeks to improve the representation of women in public and political life throughout Scotland. Founded in 2012, the movement promotes the causes of Scottish independence and other constitutional changes they consider likely to contribute to greater democracy, gender equality and social justice.
The group was established in August 2012, with the aim of ensuring women's voices and interests were given fair consideration leading up to the Scottish independence referendum. It was formed with the support of Jeane Freeman, who was a key member of the team of former First Minister, Jack McConnell, while he was leading the Scottish Parliament on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party. Former Scottish Socialist Party MSPs Carolyn Leckie and Rosie Kane were also founder members.
The group's creation was welcomed by Yes Scotland and by the Scottish Government's Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. Women were a particularly important demographic in the referendum due to an increasingly large gender gap in opinion polling. In March 2013, a poll showed that while 47% of men supported independence, only 25% of women did; this gap had grown by seven points on the January beforehand. Ivor Knox, the director of Panelbase, said at the time that the poll showed a gender gap that "appears to be greater than ever, particularly among younger voters". By September 2014 there are more than forty local groups.
Women for Independence have continued campaigning since the referendum, hosting a conference in Perth on 4 October 2014 to discuss the future of the organisation. The conference venue had to be changed several times to accommodate a larger crowd, and was eventually attended by 1,000 delegates.
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