Women’s equality in the UK – A health check

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temporary jobs. 45 Therefore there is a risk that BME women will suffer disproportionately as a
result of public sector job cuts.
Employers also need to do more to support lesbian and bisexual women who continue to face
harassment, discrimination and negative stereotypes in the workplace and are excluded from
employee networks. 46
Disabled women are already less likely to be in employment and suffer widespread
discrimination in the jobs market. 47 With unemployment increasing, there is a danger that this
problem will get worse. For example, disabled women are four times more likely to report being
bullied than other employees. 48 Despite the Government’s claim to have introduced “reforms
to remove barriers to work”; 49 disabled women report experiencing extreme levels of exclusion
from colleagues and employers. As is the case with many other areas, in theory disabled women
are said to have equal opportunities in the labour market but in practise the situation is often
very different: for instance, a tenth of disabled women have incomes below £31 per week
compared with a tenth of disabled men, who have incomes below £59 per week. 50 At the same
time as the Government claims to be helping disabled people back into work, the Access to
Work 51 funding scheme, which meets the costs to employers of any reasonable adjustments
needed in a workplace, has been slashed. 52 (See Appendix: 36 for more information)
Additionally, public sector job losses could disproportionately affect disabled women and this is
where many disabled women work because of the focus on equality and anti-discrimination in
the sector.
Recommendation:
Take steps to address the gender pay gap and high unemployment rates of women
with disabilities, such as creating accessible employment opportunities and
providing appropriate support and adaptation
Benefits and workfare/volunteering
The Government has introduced a number of policies that make entitlement to benefits
more conditional on looking for work. This approach has a detrimental effect on women in
several ways:
Cuts to tax credits for part-time workers will hit women hardest as nearly three times as many
women as men work part-time in the UK. From April 2012 couples with children earning less
than £17,000 a year will have to increase their working hours from a minimum of 16 to 24 hours
45. The Fawcett Society (2009) Poverty Pathways: Ethnic minority women’s livelihoods. Fawcett and Oxfam: London http://www.womens.
cusu.cam.ac.uk/campaigns/bem/fawcett_ethnicminoritywomen.pdf
46. Women’s Resource Centre (2010) In All Our Colours: Lesbian, bisexual and trans women’s services in the UK. Briefing 10: LBT women and
health. WRC: London
47. Equality and Human Rights Commission (2010) How fair is Britain? The report of our first Triennial Review. http://www.equalityhumanrights.
com/key-projects/how-fair-is-britain
48. Equality and Human Rights Commission (2011) Hidden in Plain Sight: Inquiry into disability-related harassment. http://www.
equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/inquiries-and-assessments/inquiry-into-disability-related-harassment/hidden-in-plain-sightthe-inquiry-final-report/
49. Government Equalities Office (2011) CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women) report. United
Kingdom’s Seventh Periodic Report. GEO: London http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/international-equality/7thcedaw-report?view=Binary
50. Disabled People Against Cuts (2010) ‘Disabled people fight back in protest – UK disability news’, Disabled World website, 15th December
2010 http://www.disabled-world.com/news/uk/fighting-back.php#ixzz19LVQRNp3
51. Department for Work and Pensions, Access to Work https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/overview Accessed: 13/04/13
52. Bott, S. (2011) ‘Speech to Independent Living Festival’, DPAC website 27th February 2011 http://www.dpac.uk.net/2011/02/sue-bott-onindependent-living/
Accessed on: 13/04/2013
102 Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013