Young Women Lead gives young women from across Scotland an opportunity to make real change in the lives of young women and girls, while developing their leadership skills, knowledge and confidence.
In 2017–2020, Young Women Lead was delivered in partnership with the Scottish Parliament, focusing on increasing political participation. This was created from a need to address the underrepresentation of young women in politics. Participants created a committee to conduct an inquiry into a topic of their choosing. They worked alongside then Deputy Presiding Officer Linda Fabiani, committee clerks and the Scottish Parliament outreach team to write recommendations to the Scottish Government.
In 2021–2023, Young Women Lead ran in specific regions of Scotland to investigate and campaign on local issues.
In 2024, Young Women Lead ran in collaboration with Scottish Parliament, looking at young women’s democratic wellbeing in Scotland. In 2025, the new cohort will be focusing on AI and its impact on young women and girls in Scotland.
You can find the outputs from every iteration of Young Women Lead to date below.
Young Women Lead 2024 explored topics around the ‘voice’ we have in public life and decisions that affect us. This research builds upon that of Carnegie UK, who coined the term ‘democratic wellbeing’, and in this new report we look at the topic specifically through the lens of young women. It includes a number of recommendations for improving young women’s democratic wellbeing in Scotland.
