There is something significant about the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland standing before the Scottish Parliament and speaking about gender equality. It is a reminder that the Church is not a bystander in the public square — it is a participant, with a voice and a perspective that the political world needs to hear.

Rt Rev Rosie Frew, the current Moderator, was clear in her message to Holyrood: much work remains to be done. The gender pay gap persists. Gender-based violence remains a crisis. And in too many contexts — in workplaces, in communities, in families — girls and women are still not shown the basic respect that is their due as human beings made in the image of God.

The Church of Scotland's engagement with gender equality is not a recent development. The denomination has had women ministers since 1968, and has been a consistent advocate for women's rights both in Scotland and globally. But the Moderator's address to Holyrood is a reminder that advocacy is not simply about what happens inside the Church — it is about what the Church says to the world.

The phrase that stands out is the simplest one: "basic respect must always be shown to girls and women." It is not a complicated demand. It is not a radical one. It is, in fact, the minimum — and the fact that it still needs to be said, in a parliament in 2026, is itself a measure of how much work remains.