THE PLEDGE PROCESS: NOT JUST A GRAND DAY OUT

Leaving a Legacy
In the run up to the Accountability Event in February 2024, we thought about what we wanted Scottish Government officials to take away from the day. We were keen that it wasn’t just a ‘nice day out’, a break from sitting in front of a computer or back-to-back meetings.

Many of us shared personal stories about how the cost-of-living crisis had affected us and our families. It was important to us that the officials in the room didn’t forget what we had told them. We wanted them to think about how they could use what they had heard back at the office.
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One way we tried this was to ask the attendees to make a pledge. This could be a personal pledge – “I will…” or a group pledge – “We will…” We provided a template with our branding in delegate packs.

The Response
After the event, we sent a follow-up email to ask attendees for photos of their completed pledges.  
We had seven responses. They were a mix of personal and departmental pledges and we were heartened by the willingness to make a difference using what had been learned:

• That our housing policy teams and analysts will work together to review available data and insights on gender intersectionality and draw out implications for our housing policy and programmes.
• To better include the voices of marginalised women and girls within our engagement and co-design work of the School Age Childcare Programme.
• To actively participate in the Scottish Government Leadership Equalities Group and ensure that our work is grounded not just in sound policy but also in lived experience of delivery too.
• To share stories to influence faster, bolder, positive change to tackle systemic intersectional inequality in every community across Scotland.

The Follow-Up
A few months later, we got in touch with them again to ask what difference making the pledge had made. Six people responded to us.

Overall, it was a positive experience from the individuals and teams who did this. They said that it helped them think about how to use what they’d heard at the Accountability Event in their day-to-day work and to stay personally involved in the work. The act of making a pledge also helped keep them accountable.

“The pledge process is a good way to challenge senior leadership to think about how we can best ensure women and girls’ considerations are embedded across policy. This public commitment is also helpful in setting the strategic direction, expectation and creating an environment that encourages the exploration of new ideas.”

They reported that progress had been made within their work. It was good for the Panel to hear this that people were working behind the scenes because we usually can’t see the difference our work has made.

Officials said that they were thinking about intersectionality more and about how to include the experiences of marginalised women in the work that they do. And they were including gender and intersectionality in their analysis of policy. This all helped them talk to colleagues about doing the same. They felt that it gave them a broader understanding of barriers experienced by marginalised women better and it encouraged them to work in partnership with colleagues in different areas of government and in different public bodies to make change.

When we asked them about what had got in the way of their progress, they talked about the lack of understanding about intersectionality across policy areas and a lack of a shared definition. They were also aware of some gaps in evidence. Other barriers included competing priorities and crises within government, lack of continuity in leadership and a general lack of resources. They were also aware of the limited capacity of the Empowering Women Panel to do work outside the scope of the existing project.

We asked for examples of what had helped make progress and suggestions for what might help in future.

Engaging with people with lived experience, along with guidance on how to use this in developing policy was mentioned. The importance of working with the organisations that already have trusted relationships with the individuals was also highlighted.

Officials also wanted the opportunity to build their knowledge of intersectionality and, again, sought guidance on how to translate this into building policy.

Partnership working with other areas of government, for example, analytical colleagues had worked well for some and there was an appetite for more of this approach.

It was suggested that strong leadership making it clear that an intersectional approach was a priority was vital.
We asked those who had returned a pledge to tell us what would happen next. It was heartening to hear that people were already considering this.

There was a willingness to work more in partnership, whether that was with other Scottish Government colleagues or other organisations, such as local authorities. They wanted to explore more opportunities to use lived experience to develop policy.

They wanted to build their knowledge of marginalised groups and the barriers they face and to think of other ways of gathering relevant information and evidence, such as seeking out existing data. There was also an acknowledgement of the importance of Equality Impact Assessments earlier in the policy development process.
 
Our Learning
We were disappointed that we didn’t receive more pledges from a conference room full of officials. However, we understand that people were returning to a busy inbox after a day away from their desks.

So, it means we have to think differently about how we cement learning and influence change in the future. At this year’s Accountability event, we reminded officials that we are more than just lived experience stories and reported on the learning conversations we had had with policy makers, delivery organisations and support organisations. We asked them remember that policy work is ultimately about making a difference to people and to keep focused on solutions and supporting colleagues to do the same.

We have a unique part of the jigsaw to help policy makers think about who will be most impacted by the decisions they make. Embedding lived experience into the process will help make policy better for women and girls across Scotland, which can only be a win for everyone involved.

We pledge to keep sharing our stories and expecting change. What about you?