The founder of a newly-launched mentorship scheme for women in the UK parliament has called on Holyrood to ‘follow suit’ in order to encourage more women to stay in politics. 

The call comes as a scheme has been introduced today to support women working in the UK Parliament. 

Directed at staff working across the House of Commons and House of Lords, it aims to provide career development, leadership skills, networking opportunities, and confidence building.

The lead organiser, Sally Donald, who works for an SNP MP has pointed out politics can be a tough place “particularly for women” and a scheme like this aims to address issues women face.

Ms Donald hopes Holyrood will follow suit with a similar scheme. 

Speaking to The Herald, the parliamentary staffer who works for SNP MP Graham Leadbitter said: “I’m delighted to be launching this mentorship scheme. Politics can be a tough space to work in, particularly for women, and they deserve every possible opportunity to thrive and succeed in their careers. 

“I have been lucky to have a number of incredible mentors across the last almost decade of my career, and so much of my success has been down to having other women championing me and supporting me along the way.”

Ms Donald added: “However, I know that not everyone has the same opportunities or experiences, and that politics can be a very difficult space for women to succeed in. I hope this scheme will go some way in addressing the needs of women at every stage of their career, and that devolved parliaments, including Holyrood, will follow suit in offering these opportunities for women”. 

Talat Yaqoob, a campaigner and researcher based in Scotland has welcomed the call for Holyrood to follow suit. 

Ms Yaqoob told The Herald: “Programmes of this kind are welcome, especially given the low rate of retention of women within politics compared to men, it is long overdue that support mechanisms of this kind were engaged with."

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However, the campaigner said this scheme is only one part of the solution to ensure more women stay working in politics. 

Ms Yaqoob said: "The rest requires tackling the root causes which are historic and institutionalised sexism, racism and wider inequality that is rife within the behaviours and cultures inside politics. Where is the programme of transparency, reporting and accountability to tackle that? Until we see the problem through that lens, we are only doing half of the job. We need our parliaments, at Westminster and Holyrood, to pursue this at all levels.”

 Women taking part in the UK Parliament scheme will be partnered with a mentor, based on their goals and professional backgrounds. 

Organisers hope this will create a “mutually beneficial relationship for both the mentor and mentee”. 

The scheme has been developed with the support of the ParliGender committee, the UK Parliament’s Workplace Equality Network for gender equality. 

Natasha Large, co-chair of the ParliGender committee said: “I’m really excited that we’re launching this scheme, with many thanks to Sally for getting it set up. One of our priorities as ParliGender this year has been female career progression, looking at the progression of women into leadership roles across Parliament, and this scheme is a really great opportunity to meet and learn from the experiences of others across Parliament.

"In my role as a co-chair of ParliGender I really appreciate the opportunity to meet and work with colleagues I wouldn’t usually get the opportunity to meet, and I hope this scheme will similarly provide opportunities for people to connect with others in a positive space.”

Elly Ferguson, Co-chair of ParliGender said: “Female career progression has been a key priority for ParliGender which is why I am delighted that we are able to announce the launch our first Mentorship Scheme.

"Through this scheme it is our hope that we can promote and develop opportunities for female career progression throughout Parliament. By pairing women working in parliamentary roles with more experienced colleagues, creating a supportive environment that encourages career growth, leadership development, and professional networking.

"The world of politics and policy has come a long way over the last few years but there is still much more to do."

The Scottish Parliament has worked on initiatives to support women in politics. These include a leadership programme developed in partnership with the Young Women’s Movement called Young Women Lead, the Presiding Officer’s work on how women are represented and participate in the Scottish Parliament and wider work on women’s participation in politics in partnership with Elect Her.

Since 2017, the Parliament has been working with The Young Women’s Movement to increase political participation and address the underrepresentation of young women in politics through a leadership programme called Young Women Lead. The programme has allowed women to spend time in the Parliament, share their experiences and work together. 

The Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer, Alison Johnstone MSP, has overseen a report investigating how women are represented and participate in the Scottish Parliament.

Elect Her has provided training resources to around 3,000 women and supported 11 of them to stand in the last Scottish Parliament election - and 2 of them got elected. Last year, the debating chamber was a location for Scotland's Women GatHER, a celebration of the collective power of women across society, politics and culture.