What Meaningful Participation Looks LikE: Lessons from the Empowering Women Panel

Introduction
Part of our learning from Year 2 of the Empowering Women Panel is our knowledge of when participation has felt powerful and when it’s hasn’t. It has made us reflect on what needs to change – and what we, and others, can do to make that happen.

When participation has felt most meaningful for the Empowering Women Panel
It felt most meaningful when we were treated as equals, when our voices were genuinely heard, and when there was space for real connection and creativity.

One of the best examples of this was a childcare workshop with officials from the School Age Childcare team. We weren’t just talking at officials, we were problem-solving with them.

The whole day was just for us so it wasn’t rushed or squeezed in; we had space, time, and full attention.

They didn’t argue with us, or try to manage our answers. They just said, ‘You tell us.’ That felt genuine.
They even came back to tell us how they’d used what we said. That hardly ever happens.

The workshop wasn’t just about listening – it was co-designed, interactive and led by a drama group, which helped shift the power dynamics.

What has helped Panel members take part and have their voices heard?
Lots of things have made a difference: support from Sleeping Giants, flexibility in how we take part, and ways to contribute that don’t rely only on speaking out loud.

Different formats suit different people. Not everyone wants to speak in a big group. Being able to draw or write something down matters as much as speaking. There’s never any judgement or pressure. Some people only had the capacity to listen at certain times – and that’s still participating.

Mentoring and Monday nights online catch-ups are really important to a lot of us, especially Panel members with different access needs or health conditions, for example. Sometimes just turning up takes all of your energy for that day.

What has got in the way of participation, for example, at face-to-face events with government officials
Time, power dynamics and lack of preparation are the biggest barriers.

We don’t give government officials time to arrive, chat to people and settle before we launch in. It becomes really rushed and everything else suffers. There’s not enough time for everyone to speak and for us to connect. It can feel like we’re on the back foot all day.

As one Panel member said, “I’d never met the First Minister. How can I share something personal and meaningful with someone I’ve never even said hello to?

The times that participation has felt less meaningful
Let’s be honest, there have been times when it hasn’t felt equal or meaningful. We’ve shared our stories time and again – which takes an emotional toll – but we haven’t always seen what’s changing as a result.

Sometimes it feels like we’re a box to be ticked or a big photo opportunity instead of a real conversation. And the power dynamics show up in everything from who’s on the top table, who speaks, and who actually gets listened to. We go back to being the least powerful as soon as the officials arrive, like the annoying younger sibling of the National Advisory Council, as one Panel member put it.

What the National Advisory Council said about participation and the Panel’s thoughts on that feedback
The National Advisory Council said our voices have shaped their work: that we’ve raised the tone; asked good questions; and helped them think differently.

But they also said they haven’t heard from all voices. And they’re right. Some of us are louder than others, and that’s something we’re aware of and want to keep working on.

We know we need to create safe spaces for everyone, including quieter voices. Just because someone’s quiet, doesn’t mean they aren’t influencing things. They often are, just in a different way.

We love that the Council and Panel work in such harmony and that it feels like a level playing field. This has improved a lot over the project but there’s still room for it to be more equal, less formal and shaped by everyone in the room.

What we need from others – Sleeping Giants, The National Advisory Council and Scottish Government – to help make participation more meaningful
We need them to meet us halfway – or better yet, step aside and let us lead.

This means things like:

• Involving us from the planning stage, not just on the day
• Giving us enough time to prepare – and enough time on the day to contribute
• Making events accessible in every way – physically, emotionally, and through the language that’s used
• Reducing hierarchy and sharing power
• Coming as individuals, not just job titles
• Just having a conversation instead of preparing answers in advance
• Letting us know how you’ve used what we’ve told you
• And letting us contact people directly – so that we can act like the serious contributors that we are

Why the childcare event felt so much more positive
The session was instigated by the childcare team. They really wanted to learn, which made a huge difference. They came with open minds and didn’t just listen. They joined in and no one walked in with a title, we were just a group of people together.

Some of us didn’t even realise the team from the Scottish Government was there. That’s how equal it felt.

The format was informal, interactive and let us be creative.

It just showed us that if officials wanted to, they could – and that’s what the School Age Childcare team did.

What we can do as a Panel to make our participation as meaningful as possible.
We need to claim our power, not just wait to be invited in. Sometimes we give government too much power just by the way we wait for them, instead of them joining in with whatever we’re already doing. We can change that.

And we need to play to our strengths and create space for quieter voices. Some of us are better at talking, others at writing. All of us matter.

We can also support each other through buddy systems, flexible sessions and raising each other up in the best way for all of us.

One of the Panel members said, “We’ve grown. We can lead more now. We just need the space.”

Last thoughts about meaningful participation
We’d like to see:

• Direct contact with government, without having to go through intermediaries
• Creative formats and real conversations
• Officials spending more time with us – not just flying in and flying out again
• Time, trust and an equal footing
• True co-design, not tokenistic consultation
• And most of all - respect

We are not just here to share stories. We are people with skills, ideas, and expertise.
Participation is not a tick box. It’s about connection, creativity, respect and power. We know what good participation looks like – because we’ve seen it. We’re asking for more of that. And more opportunities to show what meaningful participation looks like.