Pass The Mic Scotland

Thanks to everyone who came to the @passthemic.bsky.social national gathering - an amazing, powerful day. Which is desperately needed in the current political and social landscape.

Group of women of colour in three rows, with 2 tables in front.

An amazing day at our national gathering - thanks to the brilliant keynote speakers, workshop presenters, and all attendees who made it such a success!

Ramatu, a member of our writing group, has published her first article! Read below:

Check out our speakers for the National Gathering 2025: made by and for women of colour- only a few tickets remaining; passthemic2025gathering.eventbrite.co.uk

Blue background with white writing saying national gathering 2025 get your tickets now - Saturday 21st June 2025

Our National Gathering is back for 2025! A space of solidarity and sisterhood for women of colour - get your tickets quick, we sold out in just a few weeks last time! passthemic2025gathering.eventbrite.co.uk

Screenshot of zoom meeting with pass the mic women of colour participants

Today we kicked off the 2025 opinion writers programme with our first meeting! Look out for articles published by our members this year. Thank you to all who are part of our work 💜

We’re at STV News today to get a behind the scenes look and discuss under and misrepresentation.

I've not had to leave the house for 3 whole days which I have totally loved! Just working away, snug. But I am very much looking forward to meeting my STV buddies and @passthemic.bsky.social group to speak to the new cohort about getting involved in the media as a woman of colour!

Thanks to all who have applied for our 2025 opinion writers programme - applications are now closed and we’ve had almost triple the number of applications than spaces we have available! We will be in touch with everyone within 7 days.

This is a great programme to be a part of.

Photo of women talking in background. Front square in blue and white with writing that says “last week for applications to be part of the 2025 opinion writers programme”

LAST WEEK FOR APPLICATIONS. If you’re a woman of colour in Scotland who wants to share their expertise and experience in an opinion piece with a national news platform - this is for you. Get support to write and edit, and get published. Apply now: passthemicscotland.org/2025/01/21/a...

Teal coloured background with stv news logo. With writing in white: behind the scenes at stv Thursday 6th March 2025 2-5pm. Only a few tickets left. Register now.

We’re working with STV to host a behind the scenes workshop for women of colour in their Glasgow studios. Hear from journalists and producers and try your hand at an on camera interview! Get your ticket here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/behind-the...

Applications for the 2025 opinion writers’ cohort are OPEN. This year’s women of colour writers group is now open for applications. The programme runs from March 2025 – November 2025 for 20 participants. As part of the programme you can expect: Alloca…

Applications for the 2025 opinion writers’ cohort are open to all women of colour in Scotland to share their expertise and the stories they feel should be read in national publications. only 20 places available: passthemicscotland.org/2025/01/21/a...

This year’s partners include: @thescotsmanpaper.bsky.social @scottishbeacon.bsky.social @scotnational.bsky.social @pressandjournal.co.uk and @heraldscotland.bsky.social

Applications for the 2025 opinion writers’ cohort are OPEN. This year’s women of colour writers group is now open for applications. The programme runs from March 2025 – November 2025 for 20 participants. As part of the programme you can expect: Alloca…

Applications for the 2025 opinion writers’ cohort are open to all women of colour in Scotland to share their expertise and the stories they feel should be read in national publications. only 20 places available: passthemicscotland.org/2025/01/21/a...

@danielsohege.bsky.social - for compassion on immigration and asylum in the UK.
@severincarrell.bsky.social who convinced me to join and explained starter packs to me, Guardian Scotland Editor
@assasr.bsky.social - commentator, columnist, and wise one.
And obvs follow @passthemic.bsky.social

Teal background with writing at front saying “news experts add on law, human rights, ai and data, fashion and arts, nursing, poetry and literature, small businesses” be part of pass the mic and add your expertise today”

Lots of enthusiastic women of colour joined our expert directory over the festive period - make sure you join too.
And if you work in news media, policy influencing, or are organising a speaker event - make sure you use the directory! passthemicscotland.org/find-experts/

Background photos of 3 women of colour talking on a purple sofa with a camera on the frontline. Banner on front reads “watch this space for even more in 2025”

2024 has been our biggest year - with our national gathering for women of colour, groundbreaking research on media monitoring and 22 articles published by our writers’ group. We will be back after the festive break with even more. Thank you to everyone who has supported us this year.

Media Monitoring Part of the Pass the Mic funded project Pass the mic: Researching women of colour in Scottish news As part of our work to amplify the expertise of women of colour in Scotland, we work with academic…

The research can be read here in full. One big finding - only 1.3% of those quoted in Scottish news media were women of colour: passthemicscotland.org/media-monito...

Screenshot of a webinar with a blue slide show and four small photos of Katie Goh, Talat Yaqoob, Karen Boyle and Melody House.

We’re online now with Equal Media and Culture Centre and @profkarenboyle.bsky.social taking about why our campaign and programmes exist and the general election media monitoring research

Get your tickets and hear about our groundbreaking research which reveals the extent of under representation of women of colour in Scottish media/commentary.

Where were the women of colour? An analysis of Scottish media coverage Join us online on December 11 to learn about research from Pass the Mic, University of Strathclyde and the Equal Media and Culture Centre.

🌟 Excited to share that I’ll be speaking at an upcoming webinar on Wednesday, Dec 11 about the representation of women of colour in Scottish media! @passthemic.bsky.social @profkarenboyle.bsky.social @talatyaqoob.bsky.social @engenderscot.bsky.social
Register: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/where-were...

Scotland says it welcomes migrants, but it's a different story when we try to get a job The friendly and welcoming attitude towards migrants in Scotland almost seems like an act when it comes to inclusion in the workplace

Today’s article from our writer’s group. Ana Tagliati writes about the experience of finding work as a migrant and the lack of understanding/inclusion of expertise from outside the UK: www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

FIZA OWAIS: Our arts are in crisis – and one key factor has had very little public discussion 'With less support, the arts risk becoming more exclusive, side-lining vital voices and perspectives.'

Latest article from our writers’ cohort. Fiza Owais discusses cuts to arts funding and why that means the creativity of marginalised communities will be even more ignored: www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/opinion/5...

Social media in schools: the pros and cons in a changing landscape With many schools reassessing their use of social media platforms, Nuzhat Uthmani weighs up the benefits and the potential challenges of having an online presence

What are the pros and cons of schools venturing into the changing social media landscape? @nuthmani.bsky.social weighs them up: tes.com/magazine/tea... @tesmagazine.bsky.social

Thank you Nuzhat!

Founder @talatyaqoob.bsky.social gave evidence this morning to the Scottish Parliament on women’s representation in elected politics and included our research on women of colour’s visibility and representation in media when asked about role models and equal platforms:

Blue background with white writing which says “only 0.9% of all people quoted in Scottish newspapers election coverage were women of colour that’s just 20 in 1079 stories. Only nine women of colour have popular opinion in media stories and 3 of those women appeared in just one story on stv news”

You can now also follow @passthemic.bsky.social on here - the national programme to amplify the voices of women of colour experts in media, commentary and policy making. Recently we did general election media monitoring and the findings revealed just why this work is needed:

And I'm part of it 👇🏽👇🏽😀