International Women's Day: Newspaper to be produced by all-woman team

Now, on the day of our 50th anniversary McCrone Report edition, I'm excited to announce that we have a very special project coming shortly.

Next Friday is International Women's Day, and to mark it we'll be putting together a newspaper produced entirely by women reporters, contributors and columnists.

Throughout the newspaper, all of our writing, subbing, page design and editing will be done by our brilliant women staff and freelancers. And yes, that includes the sport section.

The idea has been heavily inspired by Lesley Riddoch's legendary Scotswoman special edition of 1995, in which all editorial decisions were taken by women and elements parodied the tokenistic "women's pages" of the era with "men's pages".

While we've come a long way in Scotland since then, no newspaper has been produced exclusively by women here in my lifetime. 

In this particular industry, white men represent 80% of political editors, 76% of editors-in-chief, 67% of broadcaster board positions, and 57% of director and CEO roles in publishing. 

With such a male-dominated landscape, important women's stories risk not being told, and perspectives risk not being understood.

The most vulnerable women experience the cost-of-living crisis differently to men. They are affected by austerity in ways men may not consider. The experience of a female refugee may differ substantially from her male counterparts. Women's stories exist across the justice system, the healthcare service, in education, in the trade union movement, in activist circles, in Scotland's energy sector, in football, in rugby ... I could go on.

The point is: How many of these stories aren't heard when we don't give women the same space to make decisions about what our media focuses on? 

In Scotland we are used to male-dominated newsrooms and reporting huddles. We see the same male journalists sent out to represent the country's media time and time again. So, we're responding to that tired situation with something fresh and desperately needed.

And as Scotland's pro-independence newspaper, of course we'll be looking at the stories of the iconic women of the Yes movement over the decades, as well as the prolific campaigners pounding the streets today. Plus, how an independent Scotland could change things for women.

The National's editor Laura Webster is excited to announce the project (Image: Gordon Terris)

Our special edition will be packed with content. We'll have our regular news coverage plus lots of features showcasing amazing women in Scotland, and highlighting the challenges women face in 2024.

We'll have commentary from writers like Lesley Riddoch (to whom I am very grateful for supporting this project almost 30 years on from the Scotswoman's publication), Assa Samake-Roman, Mhairi Black, Ash Regan, Layla Roxanne-Hill and many more. 

This is a project I feel incredibly strongly about and I am thrilled that The National already has such a strong female presence in our newsroom. Without planning it, we already have more women working with us full-time than men, and more women columnists too.

A few tweaks to the usual rota meant we were ready to go with a full team on March 7, ready for publication on March 8. 

Keep up to date with us over the next week for updates on this exciting project, and make sure you pick up a copy on March 8.