Women’s equality in the UK – A health check

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13.15 13.16 who earn too little to pay tax, 73% of whom are women; 20 many of them are also heads of households and with ‘protected characteristics’, such as ethnic minorities, disabled women, older women, etc. The cut to the childcare element of WTC will hit parents in paid work. Currently 493,000 families benefit, receiving an average of £69 per week. In April 2011, a 10% cut was made to the level of childcare costs that the WTC covers. Evidence is emerging that this change is having a marked impact on the ability of mothers to combine work and childcare and a survey has found that 24% of mothers have had to give up work as a result of the changes. 21 (See Appendix: 18) Given that they are the majority of recipients, this change will hit single parents - the vast majority of whom are women – harder, which has been acknowledged by the Treasury. Although childcare should be seen as an issue for all working parents, in practice women are more likely to be second earners in couples and the cost and availability of childcare has a much bigger impact on their ability to stay in work. 22 Research by workingmums.co.uk suggested that a quarter of women had left work because of the rising cost of childcare. 23 (See Article 11) Case Study: 24 Beatriz is from Colombia and is also a British citizen. She is a single mother and lives with her two children. She earns the minimum wage and struggles to cover her bills. As a result of the cuts in the level of childcare cost, Beatriz has been forced to reduce her working hours. She has often been forced to leave her young child being cared for by her eldest child as she has no other option if they want to survive. It is still the case that the poorest pay more of their incomes in tax than the richest 25 and despite pleading necessity for cuts to social welfare, the Government felt able to give away potential tax revenue by reducing corporation tax to 25%, extending rate relief for businesses until April 2013 and granting 50% tax relief on business start ups. 26 The Chancellor’s fuel tax giveaway, which cost the Government £1,900m in 2011/12, benefitted childless couples and single men the most, and lone mothers and single female pensioners the least. 27 Recommendations: • Protect the social safety-net, by giving Local Authorities in England and Wales sufficient resources to maintain existing levels of Council Tax Benefit; monitoring the effect of the Housing Benefit and overall benefit caps; reversing the switch from RPI to CPI inflation for benefit uprating; maintaining real Child Benefit levels; and reversing cuts to childcare support • Move towards a fairer tax system by clamping down on tax avoidance 20. Women’s Budget Group (2012) The Impact on Women of the Autumn Financial Statement 2011. WBG: London http://wbg.org.uk/pdfs/The- Impact-on-Women-of-the-AFS-2011.pdf 21. Working Mums 2011) ‘Mums forced to quit work due to tax credit cuts – survey’, Working Mums website, 18th May 2011 http://www. workingmums.co.uk/working-mums-magazine/news/2574511/mums-forced-to-quit-work-due-to-tax-credit-cuts-survey.thtml 22. Work and Pensions Committee (2010) White Paper on Universal Credit, written evidence submitted by Women’s Budget Group http:// www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmworpen/743/743we43.htm 23. Beattie, J. (2011) ‘One in four women forced to give up work as childcare cuts bite’, The Daily Mirror Online, 16th August 2011 http://www. mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2011/08/16/one-in-four-women-forced-to-give-up-work-as-childcare-cuts-bite-115875-23347671/ 24. Latin American Women’s Rights Service http://www.lawrs.org.uk/ Accessed: 22/03/13 25. Office for National Statistics (2011) The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income 2009/10. ONS: London http://www.ons.gov.uk/ ons/rel/household-income/the-effects-of-taxes-and-benefits-on-household-income/2009-2010/index.html 26. Women’s Budget Group (2012) The Impact on Women of the Autumn Financial Statement 2011. WBG: London http://wbg.org.uk/pdfs/The- Impact-on-Women-of-the-AFS-2011.pdf 27. Women’s Budget Group (2012) The Impact on Women of the Autumn Financial Statement 2011. WBG: London http://wbg.org.uk/pdfs/The- Impact-on-Women-of-the-AFS-2011.pdf 132 Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013
13.17 13.18 13.19 13.20 Welfare reform and Universal Credit The Government believes that the benefits system has “trapped too many families and children in welfare dependency” 28 however, for many women this system is a lifeline that enables them to support themselves and their families. Welfare reform will result in a negative impact on gender equality as twice as many women (30%) as men (15%) rely on state support for at least three quarters of their income. 29 Welfare entitlements are crucial in helping women cope with the costs of pregnancy and a new child, a time when many families are under considerable financial pressure. However, two key grants to support the costs of pregnancy and maternity have been cut: The Health in Pregnancy Grant was abolished in January 2011 - this was a universal grant of £190 available to all mothers to promote child and maternal health and engagement with health services. The Sure Start Maternity Grant was paid to low-income women from the 29th week of pregnancy but is now only payable to women pregnant with their first child thus penalising families who have any subsequent children. The grant is a one-off payment available to low-income households receiving an out-of-work benefit, to help towards the cost of maternity and baby items. This cut amounts to a loss of £500 for low-income mothers and will affect 150,000 families. 30 Families with female heads of household will be disproportionately affected and also BME women who are more likely to live in poverty. (See more below) Controversial reforms are also being made to the way disability payments are paid, with all Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants currently being reassessed. (See Appendix: 36 for further information) Case study: 31 “[On benefits] you don’t get enough to live on. £65 or £67 a week, for an adult, is not enough. Sometimes I think, “I am a single person and I struggle, what about families of six kids?”’ Jo, unemployed, Bradford The Welfare Reform Act 32 became law in March 2012. Large-scale changes within the Act to how people in the UK receive their benefits will be introduced from October 2013. Universal Credit will replace all the different benefits that people can currently claim (non-contributory Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), Working and Child Tax Credits, ESA, Housing Benefit, Income Support and Council Tax Benefit), consolidating them into one monthly payment, which will be mainly managed online. It will mean a single system of support for people moving in and out of work without needing to make separate claims paid out as a single monthly payment, and the Government is proposing that for couples, one person should claim Universal Credit on behalf of the family. Concerns have been raised about the potential impact on gender equality of the way in which Universal Credit will be paid 33 as second earners in couples (usually the woman) will be worse off under this system. Paying benefits to only one member 28. Government Equalities Office (2010) The Equality Strategy – Building a Fairer Britain. GEO: London http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ publications/equalities/equality-strategy-publications/equality-strategy/equality-strategy?view=Binary 29. The Fawcett Society (2006) Who Benefits?: A gender analysis of the UK benefits and tax credits system. Fawcett: London 30. Family Action (2011) Born broke: The impact of welfare measures announced by the Government on parents with new children. http:// www.family-action.org.uk/uploads/documents/parents%20with%20new%20children.pdf 31. Oxfam (2012) The Perfect Storm: Economic stagnation, the rising cost of living, public spending cuts, and the impact on UK poverty. Oxfam: Oxford http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/the-perfect-storm-economic-stagnation-the-rising-cost-of-livingpublic-spending-228591 32. Welfare Reform Act 2012 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/5/contents/enacted 33. Women’s Budget Group (2011) Welfare Reform Bill, Women’s Budget Group evidence to Public Bill Committee 22.03.11 http://wbg.org.uk/ RRB_Reports_6_3769269156.pdf Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013 133
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Women’s equality in the UK - A he
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Women’s equality in the UK - A he
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Appendices (online only) Appendix 1
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• the continued discrimination ag
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• Develop a common model of analy
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Article 9 - Nationality: One third
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investment in social infrastructure
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and increase the marginalisation of
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have been no prosecutions in Englan
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1 2 3 4 5 Introduction This is a Un
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10 11 12 13 housing crisis, a ‘lo
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1.1 1.2 1.3 Article 1 - Overarching
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1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 Women’
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1.17 1.18 1.19 Young women We are a
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2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 consult to “remov
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2.12 2.13 discrimination”. Howeve
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2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 worsen gen
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2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 CEDAW and the l
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3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 would “increase
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3.15 3.16 3.17 and accountable EHRC
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3.22 3.23 3.24 report is was partic
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classes, migrants, and Gypsy, Trave
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the institutional discrimination an
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5.5 5.6 5.7 Case study: 8 Sandra li
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5.12 5.13 5.14 issue. A more approp
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6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Article 6 - Exploit
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6.9 6.10 6.11 to the protection and
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6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 Office’s own
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6.24 6.25 6.26 women and increase t
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6.31 6.32 6.33 6.34 infrequent lap
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7.1 7.2 Article 7 - Political and p
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7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10 The House of Lords
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7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 Recommenda
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7.21 7.22 7.23 Political representa
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9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Article
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9.9 9.10 Mainstreaming gender in th
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9.15 9.16 9.17 biased views towards
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9.21 9.22 9.23 9.24 women. 47 (See
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9.28 9.29 9.30 9.31 New family migr
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9.35 9.36 UKBA, where men and women
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Page 107 and 108: 11.37 11.38 Case study: 83 Jasmine
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19.49 19.50 19.51 19.52 Recommendat
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19.57 19.58 19.59 19.60 BMER VAWG p
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19.62 19.63 19.64 19.65 VAWG in hea
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19.70 19.71 19.72 Invisibility of s
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19.77 19.78 19.79 A number of repor
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19.85 19.86 means more provision. T
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Annex 1: The Devolved Administratio
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to 41.8% of rural men. 16 Rural are
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Annex 2: The UK’s relationship wi
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Annex 3: UK reservations and declar
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ESA - Employment and Support Allowa
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Annex 5: Acknowledgements Many than
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Women’s Resource Centre is suppor
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