IWD 2025 Accelerate Action Interview with Anne McCall, Director, RSPB Scotland

In celebration of International Women's Day, we are thrilled to catch up with Anne McCall, the Director of RSPB Scotland, to discuss her inspiring journey in conservation, leadership, and the ongoing work to protect Scotland's natural environment. As a trailblazer in both the environmental and non-profit sectors, Anne's perspective offers valuable insight into the challenges and triumphs of leading an organisation dedicated to safeguarding our planet’s biodiversity. In this interview, we dive into her personal experiences, the importance of gender equality in conservation, and why women are key to shaping a sustainable future for all.

On this IWD, can you tell us which women in your field or in history have inspired you the most, and why?

It’s a pretty busy field! Most of the women I work with inspire me in some way, and I think that’s partly because people who choose to work in conservation generally do it because they’re passionate about making the world a better place – which also tends to make them inspiring to be around. Last year in an article I wrote for the National newspaper I was reflecting that in Scotland we’re lucky to have so many women in CEO and Director positions for many of our key environmental organisations and that remains true today.

On a personal note the person who probably had the most significant effect on me from a professional perspective was Rachel Carson, the American conservationist who wrote the groundbreaking ‘Silent Spring’ which described the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment. It had an incredibly profound impact on me, so much so that I managed to secure an environmental internship in the State of Maine shortly after graduating – getting to experience a place where she spent so much of her time. I was also lucky enough a few years ago to visit the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge which protects ten important estuaries for migrating waterfowl along Maine’s southern coast – a hugely inspiring place to visit. She is often cited as having started the modern environmental movement and it’s sad that she died when she was not much older than I am now, before ever being able to see the impact of her legacy. We have a lot to thank her for.

The theme of IWD this year is #AccelerateAction, underlining the need to increase the momentum in addressing the systemic barriers to gender equality. What (if anything) do you believe needs to be prioritised within your industry?

Since I started my career in conservation in the early 1990s so much has changed for the better – but that’s taken over 30 years. As I look across my own organisation I see women in every aspect and every level of the organisation and amongst our volunteers, indeed the gender balance of the Executive Board which I sit on has changed completely in recent years. However, things we still have to address reflect some of the wider issues women face everywhere - specifically how to ensure women’s safety in the countryside and I’m very pleased to say we’re taking specific action to try and address this.

Research tells us that implementing EDI practices leads to better decision making and better outcomes and in the conservation world we need everyone to care for, and take action for nature if we’re to halt the loss of biodiversity. To that end the need to accelerate action is probably, for me, best seen in that wider context of improving the equality, diversity and inclusion of the conservation world overall.

There are parallels between the need to speed up the rate of progress on achieving gender parity, and the need to increase the urgency of our action on climate and biodiversity loss. Do you see any parallels in how these issues can be addressed? Can any lessons learned from one be applied to the other?

Absolutely – the landmark agreement at CoP15, or the ‘Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’ saw governments commit to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, which means we’ve got 5 years to make an enormous amount of progress and it can, on occasion feel like we’re moving backwards. What’s missing from much of the decision and policy making seems to be a real sense of urgency, and that what we’re seeking to protect and restore is critical for everyone. The RSPB was founded by campaigning women, and evolved alongside the emerging Suffragette movement. There is a fantastic book – called ‘Etta Lemon – The Woman Who Saved the Birds’ by Tessa Boase which explores the history and interplay of the conservation and women’s fight for suffrage and it’s clear that for all movements struggling to drive change in the face of opposition there is always much that can be learned. Perhaps most importantly I think dogged determination in the face of what feels like systemic intransigence – never giving up has probably been the most valuable lesson I’ve learned!

‘Given their position on the frontlines of the climate crisis, women are uniquely situated to be agents of change’ – un.org

What do you see as the role that women leaders play in the fight against the climate and biodiversity emergencies?

The incredible Christiana Figueres is probably the person you’d think of first when thinking of women on the front line of the climate crisis – and having heard her speak a couple of times she is extraordinary. She is also a great example of someone in a position of great influence who uses her power to support others to achieve their own impacts. There are lots of amazing individuals who can and should play a role in tackling the climate and nature crisis but recognising that different cohorts will bring different experiences and solutions is a key part of that. For example we know that gender diverse firms tend to have better environmental reporting and environmental governance, we also know that globally men and women use and view natural resources differently so ensuring women are part of developing and delivering solutions is critical.

What are your priorities for climate action in your role as Director RSPB Scotland, and do you think your gender plays a role in your outlook?

My role allows me the luxury of engaging with the RSPB’s work not just in Scotland but across the UK and Internationally, which includes our work protecting the Golan rainforest in Sierra Leone and the Harapan rainforest in Indonesia. In Scotland we work on a range of relevant policy areas and also deliver a lot of practical work on the ground both on our nature reserves and in partnership with others. In the policy world we hold the government to account on its action to address climate change and at the moment perhaps the area of greatest concern is the emerging funding framework for agriculture which seems unlikely to enable Scottish Government to deliver on either its climate or biodiversity goals. One of my other priorities is to deliver our ambitious programme of peatland restoration, something we’ve been doing for decades but have expanded significantly in recent years including at our fantastic Forsinard reserve in the Flow Country which was recently awarded World Heritage Status. The priorities question is easy, whether my gender plays a role in my outlook is probably harder, I think it must as it’s part of who I am, whether that’s an asset or not is probably for others to decide….