That's all from Holyrood Live on Thursday 7 March 2018, a day girls and women dominated proceedings at the Scottish Parliament.

The Public Petitions Committee heard from Ellie Meek and Millie Robinson, pupils from Parkhead Primary School, West Calder, external, who called for first aid to be taught in primary schools as part of the curriculum.

The girls had wowed the MSPs with their first aid skills at a demonstration before the committee began.

The afternoon saw the chamber mark International Women's Day, external, which is tomorrow, with the theme #BalanceforBetter.

Have a lovely weekend.

MSPs approve the Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2019 [draft], external.

58 MSPs backed it and 21 voted against, with 27 abstentions.

Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee convener Jenny Marra highlights a new inquiry to look at the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

A consultation is open until Friday 10 May., external

Image source, bbc

Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie says International Women's Day holds a very significant place for her, as in the past it was on opportunity to focus on equalities.

The debate for equalities is now for everyone, every day, the minister says.

Ms McKelvie praises the period poverty campaign and says she is determined now to see more done for women going through the menopause.

She cites Equally Safe, external, the joint Scottish government and COSLA strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls in Scotland.

Image source, bbc

The minister welcomes Maruice Corry's commitment to female quotas, but is corrected slightly by Mr Corry who says the focus is on skill.

Ms McKelvie jokes: "Oh Maurice Corry has just wiped the smile of my face as I thought we'd made real progress with the Conservatives this afternoon."

Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton begins by wishing everyone a happy International Women's Day.

A good balance benefits our economy and enriches every aspect of our society, she stated.

Ms Hamilton says while her party does not support mandatory quotas, we recognise the need to increase the number of women going forward for election.

Empowering women and girls through education can improve the statistics on women in STEM, the Tory MSP states.

She also says we should be looking at returner programmes to help women get back into employment after a career break, for example for childcare.

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Elaine Smith agrees with Anas Sarwar that men should be supporting women to achieve equality.

Ms Smith says: "We are not getting it right yet."

She cites too many disabled women being out of work in Scotland.

The Labour MSP is pleased with the government's commitment to take more action to try an attain equality.

"Collectively I think we can do better for women."

Plenty of discussion today has focused on women's under-representation in politics.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire having a newborn baby works "beautifully" with her role.

She is only the second world leader to have given birth in office.

Ms Ardern said she was also"ready and willing" to sign a post-Brexit trade dealwith the UK.

Image source, International Women's Day 2019

IWD provides an important moment to showcase commitment to women's equality, launch new initiatives and action, celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness, highlight gender parity gains and more.

The day is celebrated and supported globally by industry, governments, educational institutions, community groups, professional associations, women's networks, charities and non-profit bodies, the media and more.

Collectively every person and all groups can make a difference within their sphere of influence by taking concrete action to help build a more gender-balanced world. From small powerful grassroots gatherings to large-scale conference and events - International Women's Day is celebrated everywhere. It's a big day for inspiration and change.

Read more about its herstory here, external.

Image source, Getty Images

A Lib Dem MP wants to stop items such as razors or deodorants from being priced differently based on whether they are marketed at men or women.

On Tuesday Christine Jardine introduced a bill to Parliament banning what she calls "a sexist tax".

She says higher-priced products coupled with the gender pay gap mean women are being hit by a "double whammy".

In recent years shops such as Boots and Tesco have been pressured into cutting the prices of razors and eye cream.

Read more here.

Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton reflects on the hearing of Brett Kavanaugh before being appointed to the Supreme Court of the US.

The highest law officers on the planet, like the highest politicians on the planet, must be held to the highest standards he argues.

If any of the qualities exhibited by Kavanaugh had been exhibited by a women, would she have got that job, asks the Lib Dem MSP.

He goes on to highlight the Gender-Based Pricing (Prohibition) Bill, legislation to tackle different pricing for products aimed at men and women brought forward by his colleague Christine Jardine MP.

The struggle against sexism still exists today which we see in hearings like Brett Kavanaugh's, he states.

This year's International Women's Day campaign has chosen the theme #BalanceforBetter, external, which encourages people around the world to take action towards accelerating gender balance.

Image source, Getty Images

The past 18 months have seen the women's movement reach an unprecedented scale. In October 2017, millions began using the hashtag #MeToo on social media to speak out against experiences of harassment and sexual assault, and to denounce their widespread prevalence.

In 2018, the #MeToo conversation grew to a global scale, with countries such as India, France, China, and South Korea joining in the conversation to demand change. In the US a record number of women were elected in the midterm elections. In Ireland, citizens voted to repeal the eighth amendment of the constitution, paving the way for legalised abortion.

Image source, bbc

Green MSP Andy Wightman says the continuing need for International Women's Day, calling for equality, is disappointing indeed.

Mr Wightman says women nowhere in the world can claim to have the same rights as men and violence against women and girls persists.

He points out women and girls remain among the most discriminated against human beings.

The struggle for true equality between the sexes is the biggest social struggle and men have a part to play in addressing the issues he says.

Ms Grant says to get equality, there must be equality at home as well as work.

Women make up the majority of single parent households and they have been particularly badly hit by welfare changes made by the UK government, she notes.

"Is sexism so entrenched in our society that even our welfare system reflects this?"

Ms Grant says we need to teach boys to respect and we need to regulate online pornography.

When a parent abuses their partner, they also abuse their child so they must be prevented from having access, the Labour MSP insists.

Image source, AFP

International Women's Day grew out of the labour movement to become a UN-recognised annual event.

The seeds of it were planted in 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. It was the Socialist Party of America who declared the first National Woman's Day, a year later.

The idea to make the day international came from a woman called Clara Zetkin. She suggested the idea in 1910 at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. There were 100 women there, from 17 countries, and they agreed on her suggestion unanimously.

It was first celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The centenary was celebrated in 2011, so this year we're technically celebrating the 108th International Women's Day.

Read more here.

Image source, Topical Press Agency

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant says if you are a man you are far more likely to be selected or elected, simply because you are a man.

Ms Grant argues that people who say merit works now are really saying women have less merit.

People with this view are sexist and they must change, she says.

"We all lose out if we don't hear women's voices."

Tory MSP Annie Wells highlights the girls are less likely to go into apprenticeships, and women still earn less than men.

Systemic change is still needed, she says.

Childcare is imperative to this as women are still faced with the societal expectation that they should lead on care giving, explains Ms Wells.

I wholeheartedly support the purpose of International Women's Day and I hope we can inspire women and men to make the changes needed, the Tory MSP concludes.

Image source, Other

Friday 8 March is International Women's Day, an annual celebration of women's achievement socially, economically, politically and culturally.

The first International Women's Day was honoured in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Denmark on 19 March 1911.

One hundred and seven years on, the day is marked in hundreds of countries.

Here are the stories of eight young and successful women from across Scotland.