The new depute leader of Renfrewshire Council hopes she can be a role model for young women who are considering pursuing a career in politics.
Councillor Jacqueline Cameron, an SNP rep for Johnstone South and Elderslie, was elected to the position after May's local government election, replacing predecessor Councillor Jim Paterson.
The elected member is the first female to have taken on the role since retired Liberal-Democrat councillor Eileen McCartin did the job from 2007 to 2012.
However, Councillor Cameron concedes she had to overcome "imposter syndrome" and trust in her own ability and experience before putting herself forward.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service : "The motivation for going for depute leader was that I don't think there's been a female depute leader for some time.
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"I also thought it would be good to have Renfrewshire South represented, so, for that reason I thought, I'm going to push myself forward.
"I think sometimes, not every woman, but sometimes as women we can be a wee bit self-effacing and have imposter syndrome, and think, 'oh I can't do that', whereas men can be more confident.
"I thought, no, I'm going to push myself forward and go for this."
Councillor Cameron is eager to use her platform to encourage other women, who may lack confidence but not the skills to either go for that workplace promotion or potentially get involved in politics.
She said: "It's about encouraging people and saying, you can do this, you're good at what you do and you've got these skills."
Councillor Cameron recalls one moment from an event she attended as an elected member, which had a profound impact on her.
She said: "I'd been at Johnstone Town Hall for an event and there was a young woman there who said she wanted to be a politician and when she told somebody that, they laughed at her.
"She was a young, working class woman and the provost was there, so was I, and some other councillors, and we talked to her at the end and said, 'don't let anyone ever tell you that because you're a young woman or because you're working class you can't be a politician.'
"She was exactly the type of person that we want to represent people."
Councillor Cameron, who cited First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Mhairi Black as role models of her own, was open about the challenges she expects to face going forward as depute leader of the council.
Just over three months into the role, soaring energy prices and rising inflation are creating severe financial pressure for residents in Renfrewshire as the area tries to recover from the Covid pandemic.
Last month, she became chair of the Fairer Renfrewshire sub-committee — a task force formed to focus support for those affected by the cost-of-living crisis.
Councillor Cameron, who has a background in mental health advocacy, said: "It's a horrible but perfect storm at the moment. It's not going to be easy.
"For local authorities, there's not a lot of money out there in general and, as I say, because we've not got all the levers in our power at local authority level, we're having to do the best we can with what we've got.
"That's going to be a challenge.
"I was aware when I stepped up to be depute leader that that's what I was going to have to face, but I'm ready for that challenge.
"It's just about looking at what we've got and doing the best we can with it."
She feels her experience chairing both the Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board and Alcohol and Drugs Commission and being a COSLA-nominated non-executive board member of Public Health Scotland will stand her in good stead going forward as the council aims to navigate the aforementioned pressures.
Councillor Cameron said: "I think all three of those forums took me up to another level, where I was dealing with people on a national level.
"I was dealing with politicians, I was dealing with people who are experts in the field, doctors and consultants, so having that experience gave me more confidence.
"I think dealing with all those three forums made me think, no actually, you can do this.
"Now, moving on, it'll be different forums again."
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