AFTER every election we go through a ritual wringing of hands because there aren’t enough women.

I’m writing this before

results are in, but it’s an easy prediction that men will be over-represented in the new Parliament.

It’s also predictable that nobody will be talking about this when it really matters – when parties choose who their next candidates will be.

Why aren’t there more women activists? Well, for starters, when political meetings take place over small children’s bedtime, in pubs, church halls, up stairs, they’re inaccessible not just for parents, but also for Muslims, people with histories of addiction, disabled people.

People wail about women needing confidence – but let’s be clear. It’s about power. This election was a battle of men in suits, and contained a plethora of panel discussions with no women whatsoever. You can’t be what you can’t see, and as long as rich white boys stride out of Eton and into government, it’s hard for people who don’t fit that mould to see themselves as worthy.

This context creates a phenomenon I call the Fear of the Parapet, which appeared the first time I ran for election and reappears every time there’s a choice between staying quiet and standing my ground. Fear of the Parapet looms whenever you act outwith how women are supposed to be – quiet, small, docile. It takes tremendous effort to break through that conditioning. You put your head over the ramparts and it feels like everyone, everywhere is looking at you, thinking ‘who does she think she is?’

There’s another undiscussed barrier, one I can only see at a distance – the weight of being the First One of any minority group. There has never been a woman of colour elected to the Scottish Parliament. When there is, she will be expected to represent all women of colour; perhaps all Muslims, or all Black women. She will also be expected to be perfect, and will be held to a far higher standard than her white counterparts. This is an absurd burden to put on one individual.

There are very clear things to be done. The media should abolish manels and ensure gender balance. All political parties need zero tolerance for sexism – the Tory campaign rhetoric of ‘get her telt’ is dangerous, creating fertile ground for violence – but must do lots more inner work too.

Active anti-racism work, challenging misogyny and transphobia, ensuring accessibility standards. And structural change too – quotas, mentoring ladders, bursaries so that women are financially able to stand. Women’s equal representation cannot be the sole duty of already too-busy women activists – party men with experience, contacts and spare money should be stepping up.

All parties are failing to look like the people we seek to represent. Bemoaning this after the fact is too late – we need real change, now, to get more women into office. This week Finland appointed a coalition government with all five parties led by women, four of whom are under 35. That’s the kind of empowerment Scotland needs.