THIS week has certainly been a historical one.

It is a remarkable moment in our country’s history that the new First Minister is someone from an ethnic minority background. Now, Scotland’s two largest political parties – the SNP and the Scottish Labour Party – are led by men of colour.

Humza Yousaf now joins Anas Sarwar, Sadiq Khan and Rishi Sunak – four of the most powerful politicians in the United Kingdom, and all of them from an ethnic minority background. We should take a moment to reflect on this, how far we have come, while recognising that we still have much further to go.

But, besides being from an ethnic minority, there is one other thing that unites all of those I mentioned above. They’re all men. Where have all the women gone?

It will be a historic moment watching Rishi Sunak shake hands with Humza Yousaf on the steps of Bute House. It was an equally historic moment watching Nicola Sturgeon shake hands with Theresa May in the same spot – while Kezia Dugdale and Ruth Davidson led the opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament.

Looking behind those in charge, we can see a strong generation of BAME women. In the Labour Party, we have women like Shabana Mahmood, Rosena Allin-Khan and Sarah Owen leading the fight. In the Tories, even though their politics are abhorrent, there is Suella Braverman, Priti Patel and Kim Badenoch. And the SNP have seen their first female BAME MSP elected at the last election in Kaukab Stewart, and on the same day, Anum Qaisar was elected to Westminster.

My point is that there are plenty of powerful and influential women who are ready for the challenge of leadership. But who is supporting them, and who will help them take that leap when the time comes?

Fundamentally, it is about equality. Equality of outcome and equality of opportunity.

Which will be, I am glad to say, my main takeaway from this week’s council meeting. The first motion to be debated – and likely agreed – is a joint motion between Labour, the SNP and Greens. We’ve come together to write-off school meal debt for children and families right across the city.

I want to pay tribute to my colleague, new councillor Thomas Rannachan, for his work in driving this forward.

No-one in this city during a cost-of-living crisis should worry about having to feed the kids that they care for. This step doesn’t solve all of the problems – not even close – but it is a small step in the right direction and will be a massive help.

And my motion to council is also about recognising the small steps that we as a council can take to become more ethical. It’s often easier to simply complain about human rights abuses than to take action against them. You have to do both. And so I will be calling on the council to adopt an ethical procurement framework, and to ensure that the council’s procurement strategy specifically eliminates any traces of forced Uyghur labour. I hope that all colleagues will support the motion.