Susan Dalgety: Female leaders should help their sisters

There has been a lot of progress since women won the right to vote, 100 years ago.

Theresa May is our second female prime minister. Picture: PA

We have our second woman Prime Minister. Poor Theresa May may seem out of her depth at times, but no more so than the hapless John Major and Gordon Brown, who both struggled at Number 10.

Our First Minister’s work ethic, attention to detail and dogged determination marks her out from her mediocre backbenchers.

The Scottish Tories are led by a woman, as is the Scottish civil service and the Institute of Directors.

And only last week the Scottish Parliament passed a new law that sets an objective for at least 50 per cent of non-executive members on all public boards, such as colleges and health boards to be women by 2022.

Yes, there has been progress.

But there is still a long way to go, particularly in pay. Men still earn more than women. And women who work part-time after having children are the worst hit.

Research out this week shows that by the time a first child reaches 20, mothers will have earned almost a third less than fathers in a similar situation.

As childcare costs continue to soar, there will be more parents working part-time, and most of them will be women.

The women in charge of our public policy should make the plight of their part-time sisters a priority.

Affordable, accessible childcare would be a good start.