Nicola Sturgeon voted in as First Minister NICOLA Sturgeon she would be First Minister for the whole country regardless of people's views on independence when she was elected to Scotland's highest political office. Ms Sturgeon struck a conciliatory note and promised to work tirelessly for gender equality when she became Scotland's first ever female First Minister. "My pledge today to every citizen of our country is simple but it is heartfelt," Ms Sturgeon told MSPs. I will be First Minister for all of Scotland. Regardless of your politics or your point of view, my job is to serve you. And I promise that I will do so to the best of my ability. The Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson stood against Ms Sturgeon for the position left open by Alex Salmond following his defeat in the referendum. Ms Sturgeon's election, however, was a formality with the SNP majority ensuring that she received 66 votes - comfortably defeating the 15 votes secured by Ms Davidson. The vacancy at the top of the Labour party following Johann Lamont's resignation meant that the main opposition party did not field a candidate against Ms Sturgeon. So Labour MSPs accounted for the 39 abstentions recorded in the parliamentary vote. Google Hangout: live discussion on Alex Salmond's legacy at 1pm on Thursday As the first ever woman to lead both the SNP and the country, Ms Sturgeon's acceptance speech made great play of her desire to widen opportunities for females. "I hope that my election as First Minister does indeed help to open the gate to greater opportunity for all women," Ms Sturgeon said. I hope that it sends a strong, positive message to girls and young women - indeed, to all women - across our land. There should be no limit to your ambition or what you can achieve. If you are good enough and if you work hard enough, the sky is the limit - and no glass ceiling should ever stop you from achieving your dreams. Leading by example on equal representation, and encouraging others to follow, addressing low pay, improving childcare - these are the obligations I now carry and I am determined to discharge them on behalf of women across our country. My niece, who is in the public gallery today, with her brother and her cousins, is 8 years old. She doesn't yet know about the gender pay gap or under-representation or the barriers, like high childcare costs, that make it so hard for so many women to work and pursue careers. Ms Sturgeon added: "My fervent hope is that she never will - that by the time she is a young woman, she will have no need to know about any of these issues because they will have been consigned to history."