Young Women Lead
Young Women Lead
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.
Young women lead 2024 is a delivered in collaboration with the Scottish Parliament.
Young Women Lead 2024
Young women’s democratic wellbeing
For young women aged 16–30 living anywhere in Scotland to take part in Young Women Lead 2024, a six-month programme delivered in collaboration with the Scottish Parliament which offers the chance to make real change in the lives of young women and girls across Scotland.
Young Women Lead 2024 will support young women to co-design a short report on democratic wellbeing (the extent to which we have a voice in decisions that affect us) for young women. No previous knowledge or experience of this topic is required or expected.
This topic highlights the importance of young women’s voices being both heard and valued, supporting a process where policies and decisions reflect the diverse experiences and perspectives of young women. Developing young women’s democratic wellbeing involves dismantling the barriers that limit their engagement, amplifying their political agency, and creating inclusive spaces where their concerns and aspirations can shape the democratic landscape.
The Young Women Lead 2024 cohort will engage in a series of nine interactive workshops and training sessions focused on learning, developing skills, and networking with relevant professionals and guest speakers. These sessions will take place in-person and online, and travel costs will be covered for the in-person sessions.
Applications are now closed for Young Women Lead 2024.
Previous editions of young women lead
Young Women Lead 2023/2024
Young Women Lead Highland
The Young Women Lead Highland cohort, who are young women based in the Highlands, identified gaps in conversations on social isolation as they tend to focus on urban areas and factors related to ageing. We decided to explore social isolation and loneliness in the Highland Council region from young women’s perspective instead.
Participants from Young Women Lead Highland collated an illustrated Zine with submissions from the wider community, exploring young women’s experiences of social isolation in the Highlands.
Young Women Lead 2022/2023
Young Women Lead Fife
Young Women Lead Fife are a group of 16-30 year old women and non-binary people who work and live in the Kingdom of Fife. Over the course of a year the young women researched and created their safe spaces toolkit.
Their resource came together through the varied lived experiences of what it is like to be a young woman in Fife and their passion for building a more inclusive, accessible and welcoming Fife for all. The toolkit is intended to inspire small changes that contribute to creating spaces where everyone can feel safe, included, and welcomed.
Young Women Lead 2022
Young Women Lead Renfrewshire & East Renfrewshire
Community Places Community Spaces is a campaign and resource developed by the young people of the Young Women Lead Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire programme.
The group identified a need for safe community places and spaces so created a website and interactive map that details the wonderful places and spaces already existing in Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire.
Young Women Lead 2021/2022
Young Women Lead Dundee
Young Women Lead Dundee, a group of young women from Dundee and Tayside, developed and published ‘Step Up Sex Ed’, a report that explores the provision of Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood education within Scotland.
The YWL Dundee cohort hope that this report will act as a catalyst for wider discussion and exploration into ways to address the identified gaps in the curriculum.
Young Women Lead 2021
Young Women Lead Glasgow
Over several months beginning in January 2021, young women from all across Glasgow came together virtually to conduct social research on the subject of feminist town planning.
This Young Women Lead cohort undertook a study into Glasgow’s urban infrastructure and whether it reflects and supports the diverse needs of women and non-binary people living in the city. Their report presents findings through a lens of feminist town planning and since it’s launch Glasgow has become the first city in the UK to pass a motion to adopt a ‘feminist town planning’ strategy.
Young Women Lead 2017 – 2020
From 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, working alongside then Deputy Presiding Officer Linda Fabiani, committee clerks and the Scottish Parliament outreach team to write recommendations to the Scottish Government.
Young Women Lead 2019/2020
Over several months, young women aged 16-30 from a range of ethnic minority backgrounds came together in the Scottish Parliament to run their own committee inquiry, focusing on the transition from education to employment for young women from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Their report investigates and provides recommendations on the measures needed to increase employment opportunities for women from ethnic minorities including recruitment, retention and development policies and practices.
Young Women Lead 2018/2019
Over several months beginning in November 2018, 30 young women from a range of diverse communities came together in the Scottish Parliament to run their own committee inquiry.
Their topic explored the relationship that young women have with sport and physical activity. The report paid particular regard to the issues and barriers that might prevent young women’s participation in sport and made reccomendations to improve their access from increased resources in schools to positive role models and codes of practice on social media.
Young Women Lead 2017/2018
Made up of 32 women under 30, the Young Women Lead Committee is a partnership between The Young Women’s Movement and the Scottish Parliament.
The aim is to empower young women living in Scotland to engage with politics. This first young women lead cohort chose to run an inquiry into sexual harassment in schools and produced a committee report with finding and recommendations.