Scottish Parliament removes gender search function for MSPs

The Scottish Parliament has removed the option to search for MSPs by their gender on its website.

It follows the election of Holyrood's first two trans MSPs - Greens Iris Duane and Q Manivannan - earlier this month.

The parliament is understood to have initially changed the gender filter on its website by adding a non-binary category in addition to male and female - but has now removed the function completely.

After some MSPs raised concerns about women being "erased" from the website, a parliament spokesperson said the filter was a "legacy system" that had been removed as part of an ongoing Inclusive Parliament Review.

Before the election, visitors to the Scottish Parliament website were able to filter a search of MSPs by gender, with male and female listed as options.

Within a few days of the Holyrood vote on 7 May this was updated to include a non-binary option - with Manivannan the only MSP in this category. Duane was listed in the female section.

However, by Monday the gender search function had been removed entirely.

Conservative MSPs Rachael Hamilton and Meghan Gallacher, in a letter to Presiding Officer Kenneth Gibson, said the change "risks undermining the visibility of women's representation in public life".

They also said it would make it more difficult to "accurately assess progress relating to female participation within Scottish politics".

"At a time when there is ongoing public discussion around the importance of sex-based data and representation, we believe the Scottish Parliament should lead by example in ensuring that women are not erased or obscured within official systems and reporting mechanisms," the MSPs said.

The pair asked for clarification about why the decision was made and if there were plans to reinstate the search function.

Labour MSP Carol Mochan has also asked the presiding officer why the website feature was removed, posting on social media: "Erasing women doesn't mean we will shut up and go away."

A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said that its systems and processes were being reconsidered as part of the Inclusive Parliament Review

They added: "The online filter function on our website is a legacy system and we have taken steps to remove it.

"The review will also consider what personal information on members we need to publish and in what format."