It’s all been a bit grim recently, hasn’t it? Let’s lift the mood. I’m not having it all be doom and gloom. It’s almost spring. The dark nights are behind us and the days are getting brighter.

We do have reasons to be cheerful. Saturday was International Women’s Day. The well trotted lines about IWD are that it’s a time for reflection, celebration and rededication to the fight for equality.

Whilst, of course, all of that is true just saying it doesn’t achieve it. We also must be wary; there are forces out there – political, social and those lurking in the online sphere – that wish to see women’s rights cast back to the stone age. We won’t let them.

Across Scotland and beyond, women have been at the forefront of transformational change, winning campaigns that enhance rights, protect freedoms and improve the lives of working-class people. The trade union movement, once typecast as male, pale and stale, is now led predominantly by women. For the first time ever, our two largest unions, UNISON and Unite, are led by female General Secretaries and in Scotland, women lead four of our six largest unions.

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