AT May’s Scottish Parliament elections my party – Scottish Labour – will be the first party in Scotland to field a majority (53 per cent) of female candidates at a major election. 

Our attention is now turning to how we increase the number of female candidates at next year’s council elections.

It is disappointing that in the current council there is just one female member.

Indeed Labour was the only party to stand a female candidate at the last elections in 2012. We would have stood more but we couldn’t persuade any of our other excellent female members to put themselves forward.

The lack of female councillors is not a new one. In 2003 there was one female councillor elected and in 2007 there were none.

When I was first elected to the former District Council in 1992 I served with three formidable ladies — Helen Pyper, Margaret Morrison and Cathie Allan — in a group of 11 Labour councillors. The Labour group and the council were all the better for their presence and the life experiences they brought to the role.

In those days council meetings were mainly at night so it was easier to combine work and family commitments with your role as a councillor. Today most council meetings are in the afternoon, with councillors also attending a range of community meetings in the evenings.

The first elections to the new Inverclyde Council in 1995 saw four women elected — again all Labour councillors — out of 20. This reduced to two at the 1999 election, increasing to three following a by-election.

Although the Scottish Government and Parliament do not view the role of a councillor as being full-time — apart maybe from senior positions in the larger councils — it is difficult to balance work, education and family and caring commitments around the role. This may be reflected in the number of women seeking to be councillors.

Men face similar barriers. 

I was fortunate when I first became a councillor that I was in a job and I did not require too much time off due to evening meetings. I also did not have any significant family responsibilities.

I was equally fortunate when I returned to elected politics in 1999 that I was settled in a new job, had an understanding employer who allowed me to work flexibly and an equally understanding wife who carried the bulk of the responsibility for looking after our children. 

As many councillors have found over the years, it’s not that easy to change jobs when you hold elected office. Employers are not that keen on taking on people who regularly need time off to undertake council duties.

The Scottish Government’s view of a councillor as a part-time role is reflected in the basic salary of around £17,000 a year. MSPs by comparison receive £60,000 and MPs £75,000.

Of course there are plenty of people who think councillors get paid too much. Every time we are consulting on ways to save money cutting councillors’ allowances and the number of councillors are popular suggestions.

Personally I believe most councillors I’ve worked with over the years have more than earned their allowances. I can assure you few of us are in it for the money or for the ‘lavish’ civic receptions.

Being a councillor can be a hard shift at times. It can also be hugely satisfying. 

I’ve said to a number of would be MSPs and MPs over the years that if you really want to make a tangible difference then maybe you should stand for the council instead. 

I know when my time as a councillor comes to an end — possibly sooner rather than later — I will be able to look back with some pride on the contribution I have made to making my community a better place.