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Women over 50 hit hardest by government spending cuts

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Older women are being hit hardest by the government’s austerity measures, according to research carried out by the Labour Party.

Women as a whole have suffered most from government spending cuts, but unemployment among women over 50 in particular has risen by a staggering 31% since the coalition government came to power.

Cuts to local authority budgets and the pressure to deal with the increasing life expectancy of their parents is said to be to blame for this rise.

In an interview with the Guardian Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said the generation of women who fought for equal pay, improvements in childcare and maternity leave were caught having to care for elderly family members whilst at the same time suffering from outdated workplace practices.

She stated that, “a toxic combination of sexism is causing problems for this generation”.

Cooper said the Labour Party will announce the launch of a new social care information service for older women ‘who don’t know where to go for help’.

“They may have a mum in Bolton who increasingly needs help and support and they may live somewhere else and have no idea what to do. Whether it’s the council, a voluntary organisation or just a neighbour, this information service will help” she claimed.

David Cameron has been criticised for disregarding women’s issues in government policies, and in the latest government reshuffle he failed to increase the representation of female MPs in the Cabinet above the previous five.

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