subscribe: Posts | Comments

Spending cuts are restoring the old role of male breadwinner

2 comments
Women policy makers and academics have attacked the UK coalition government, claiming that its economic policies are putting the sex equality fight into reverse.

Cuts to public services are pushing the fight for gender equality into reverse, a group of almost 100 female academics and policymakers has found.

The Women’s Budget Group, which includes professors of economics and social policy at a number of prestigious universities, makes the comments in a report published today that attempts to model how swingeing cuts to public services will affect different groups.

It finds that lone parents, the vast majority of whom are women, and single female pensioners are hardest hit, losing services equivalent to 18.5% and 12% of their respective incomes.

Overall, single women lose 60% more than single men, it adds. “Viewed as a whole, together with the measures announced in the June 2010 emergency budget, the cuts represent an immense reduction in the standard of living and financial independence of millions of women,” the report concludes.

“It seems the coalition is happy to restore an outdated ‘male breadwinner, dependent female carer’ model of family life that fits neither with women’s aspirations nor today’s financial necessities.”

Ceri Goddard, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, described the judgment as a “damning indictment” of the coalition government’s economic decisions.

It comes just one day before the organisation learns if it has been granted a judicial review on the emergency budget.

Fawcett launched the groundbreaking legal challenge after reports suggested that women would bear almost three-quarters of the pain inflicted by the measures.

Goddard said today’s report was proof that women would be worst hit: “I think there is now insurmountable independent evidence that the budget and the spending taken as a whole have a disproportionate impact on women.”

Read the full report at the Observer.

  1. This morning Women’s Hour on Radio 4 had a very very informative discussion on the lack of investment/investors for female entrepreneurs, although there are more female millionaires in the UK (I think under the age of 44) than men. So begs the question why don’t women invest in women? Mainly because the financial sector is male dominated, no? And so is the coalition government and is more likely (in my view) at the heart of the lack of understanding and care on how the cuts will effect women.

    If the every expanding gender pay gap is not enough to deal with, now this. I cannot help but feel really let down by ‘single women lose 60% more than single men’ but very thankful the FS and WBG are doing amazing work to tackle the ConDem Gov decisions, whilst keeping me informed in a way I understand without all the ‘politician speak’ that at times holds no substance.

  2. Hi Cecillia

    I heard the Woman’s Hour programme too and thought it was really interesting. It’s available to listeners in the UK at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wdf46 to listen again.

    Unfortunately, I don’t think it is always men that fail to invest in women – quite often women don’t find other women to be a good ‘risk’ either.

    Although I have met many women who like to support women in business I have also met a number of women who feel that women are not always a good bet. Let’s face it small ‘c’ conservatism often goes hand in hand with the small business set-up and this is a natural environment for traditional ideas about gender roles so it’s not a big surprise.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *