WOMEN voters are more likely than men to say they are undecided when asked which way they will vote in the Independence Referendum in September.

In this month’s ‘conversation’, two local women discuss the topic of whether independence would empower women. Do they persuade you one way or the other if you are on the fence?

On the Yes side is Susan Knox from Brodick. Susan, 49, was born in Irvine and grew up on Arran. On leaving college she spent two years in Whitehall serving in the Royal Navy. She later raised four children mainly in Shetland and Wales, returning to Ayrshire and ultimately to Arran where she currently works part time in the NHS as a Team Secretary in addition to running her own therapy business.

Sinead Browne, 22, from Dalry, is fourth year student at the University of the West of Scotland studying Politics and Sociology and is a Labour Party activist.

Susan: When do I feel empowered? When I know I have choices. I have needed this most when I have been looking after others. In common with other women – who make up the majority of carers – I needed to know that those I cared for would be OK before I ‘stepped out’ myself. The important things are flexibility – in workplace and education – good affordable childcare, quality respite placements, access to training and business advice, and fairness – especially in benefits. With independence such values can be established and safeguarded, affording women across the nation a greater opportunity to participate and contribute. I believe independence will lead to a more balanced, democratic and compassionate society. I’d like to build a society which puts childcare before nuclear weapons and education before foreign wars.

Sinead: Erecting a border between Scotland and England will not provide the women – or men – of Scotland with more choice. It will seek to divide and separate us from those south of the border with whom we share so many goals and aspirations with. The Scottish Government are using women in this debate in the same way they used students in 2007, with promises of abolishing student debt (their record is the opposite, record debt due to bursary cuts), as nothing more than a pawn in their plan for electoral success. The SNP have had the power to deliver better education, more jobs and training opportunities and increased childcare for women for seven years – why wait another two?

SK: I have worked with many women who, gaining self confidence, turn things around when they realise that they are capable and can make their own decisions. Fear subsides and reality dawns. ‘Erect a border’? In 2014? Good for a chuckle but no-one buys that now. Right across Europe borders don’t matter any more. We know from experience that once on an equal footing we’ll get on fine with our neighbours. We need not choose austerity, the bedroom tax, food banks and child poverty. We don’t have to sell off the NHS. An independent Scotland will be the world’s fourteenth richest country. Creating real democracy, empowering women, will allow us to share our abundant resources fairly across society.

SB: If borders don’t matter and everyone works together in Europe then why should we vote for independence – to me that seems a contradiction in terms? Vote for independence but it won’t matter because borders are irrelevant? To keep us on topic – if we are to believe that the SNP really care about empowering women and delivering equality and opportunities for work it must be exceptionally worrying that today the Scottish Parliament’s own information centre published a document that shows the SNP Government doesn’t even know how many women are economically inactive in Scotland. The SNP announced their flagship childcare policy after polls indicated women were the most uncertain group as to whether to vote for independence or not and now today’s news shows that not only was the policy a knee jerk reaction to a ‘problem’ for the SNP – women – that the policy was not even modelled and we lack not only the women to pay for it but the staff to support it. How can we trust the SNP to provide employment or educational opportunities for women when they can’t even seem to do simple Maths and policy analysis prior to announcements.

SK: There are women in Ayrshire working three days in five to pay for childcare. This keeps them stuck, disempowered, unable to move forward. The Jimmy Reid Foundation’s research reminds us that Britain has the biggest gap between male and female earnings in Europe and Britain has the most expensive childcare in Europe. A big contribution to empowering women would obviously be getting childcare right. The ‘Yes’ campaign imagines this happening in a fairer, more prosperous Scotland. Getting childcare right will be a big contribution to empowering women. Women in work pay tax and national insurance, use less benefits, spend their wages and drive economic growth. And please don’t assume the SNP will always be in power – with independence we’ll get the governments we vote for.

SB: If childcare is a political priority then we can improve it now, that’s why Labour has pledged 25 free hours of ‘wrap-around’ (ie covering before and after normal working hours) childcare per week. This pledge is fully funded and will be delivered if we vote Labour in 2015 – the Scottish Parliament will get additional funding as a result and Scottish Labour would meet the UK party’s pledge. This debate is about empowering women and it is only Labour that has a record in this field. Our positive action has led to a real increase in the number of Labour women entering politics and both Ed Miliband and Johann Lamont are committed to having gender balance in their front bench teams. It is also Labour that has fought for and delivered real change for women in the work place through the Equal Pay Act, The Equality Act etc. You use the ‘a vote for independence isn’t a vote for the SNP line’ but the reality is Alex Salmond has already admitted that the White Paper – funded by ordinary tax payers – is a draft SNP manifesto and therefore it isn’t a collective ‘Yes Scotland’ vision for the future. They are also the party which is writing the constitution in the coming months so if people do choose to separate whether the SNP as a party win the next election or not it certainly will be their principles which will have shaped the start of an independent Scotland!

SK: The referendum isn’t about party politics. I acknowledge the progressive legislation historically passed by Labour. Scotland will use savings from ditching Trident, for example, rather than taxing small businesses – Labour’s ‘wraparound’ proposal – to pay for childcare. We should aspire to Scandinavian style gender equality. Sadly passed away last Friday, Margo MacDonald had a strong record of empowering women. Fearless and compassionate in equal measure, she transcended party politics and embodied independence. She inspired the nation’s women reminding us we are neither too small, too poor nor too stupid. The Government has made clear that after a Yes vote, everyone will get a say in writing our constitution. Labour and its ‘Better Together’ partners, should commit to being involved. A Yes vote brings the transfer of sovereignty from Westminster to the people of Scotland. We are a privileged generation. Few women previously have had the opportunity to exercise such influence in making our country fairer, greener and more prosperous. Think about independence, talk about it, seek information from friends – on-line and in social media. Challenge people who close down the debate. Trust your own judgement.

SB: On the back of my Labour Party membership card it says: “By the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more together than we achieve alone”. It’s this founding principle that not only encourages me to campaign for a Labour Government in every level of British politics but also why I want to see Scotland remain in the UK. Labour has the track record of providing the empowerment of women as well as ensuring a voice for Scotland in the wider British context – we are the party who delivered devolution with plans to see an increased capacity for a Scottish voice in future. Unlike the Nationalists, I want to live in a Scotland who cares about those who still need help having their voice heard – regardless of their address.