Police appointment an inspiration to Scottish women
I was delighted to learn that Lothian and Borders Police have appointed Chief Superintendent Gill Imery to lead policing in Edinburgh.
Ms Imery will take charge of 1,300 staff as Territorial Commander of Lothian and Borders’ A Division which covers all of the Edinburgh area.
In taking up this post Ms Imery becomes the first female officer to take charge of policing in the capital and I would like to take this opportunity to wish her the very best of luck.
As the first woman to fill the role Ms Imery’s appointment has obviously received a lot of attention in the press. There are still few women earning high level positions in Scotland and it was only two years ago that Scotland had its first female chief constable.
Entering the role Ms Imery has acknowledged her position as the first female in the role but I echo her sentiment of looking forward to a time when this sort of appointment is no longer considered newsworthy on the grounds of gender.
At the end of last week I lodged a Parliamentary Motion welcoming the appointment and I am not surprised that it has gathered a considerable level of cross party support.
I hope that this appointment acts as further inspiration to women across Scotland that it is possible to break through the so called glass ceiling to reach high level positions and I wish Ms Imery well in her new post.