Emma Guthrie works with a leading Edinburgh-based legal firm and specialises in commercial property.
She devotes her spare time to Girlguiding and recently was in New York as a delegate at the 61st United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), attending on behalf of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).
Emma has been in guiding for over 20 years and sees WAGGGS as an important organisation for the advancement of young women in the world.
It is the leading charity in the UK for girls and young women with over half a million members and it now operates in 146 countries.
Her role at the summit was to provide legal expertise in reviewing the agreed conclusions document, and drafting reaction statements.
She said, “My legal background equipped me to analyse and review the policy documents. This was an especially complex task as member states could be pretty particular about the inclusion or exclusion of certain words and phrases.
“As a solicitor I am aware of how important using one word over another can be in completely changing the intention and application of a legal document.”
Emma, who works for leading law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn, added: “The experience helped me to develop my understanding of the issues facing gender equality in a number of different contexts.
“The knowledge gained in New York has been rich and rewarding, greatly benefiting my professional and philanthropic development and providing me with new ideas that will help me to drive gender equality forward.”
Experienced news, business, arts, sport and travel journalist. Food critic and managing editor of a well-established food and travel website. Also a magazine editor of publications with circulations of up to 200,000 and managing director of a long-established PR/marketing company with a string of blue-chip clients in its CV. Former communications lecturer at a Scottish university and social media specialist for a string of successful and busy SMEs.
