Jill Wood says women shouldn't have to bear the brunt of the burden of welfare reform any longer
Since 2010, £26 billion worth of cuts have been made to benefits, tax credits, pay and pensions. A staggering 85% of this has been taken from women’s incomes. Despite quoting this fact repeatedly since it was released after last year’s Autumn Statement, I still find this almost impossible to believe. Why hasn’t it created more of an uproar?
We address this in our new report on women and welfare reform, produced along with Close the Gap, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Scottish Refugee Council and Scottish Women’s Aid. It sets out women’s experiences of welfare reforms, explains why women are being so egregiously and disproportionately penalised, and recommends actions the Scottish Government could take to address the discrimination.
In short, women are paying for 85% of cuts to social security because of gender inequality
Jill Wood
There are a number of current opportunities to do so. Whilst there are fundamental problems with the partial devolution of welfare to the Scottish Parliament, there are also opportunities to learn from and address the gender discrimination at the heart of the UK system. Human rights, dignity and gender equality could be established as principles that shape any new legislation and policies. Different groups of women, including disabled women, unpaid carers and lone parents could be involved in designing services that actually work for them.
In short, women are paying for 85% of cuts to social security because of gender inequality. Government policy should not push women into sustained poverty or destitution, financial dependency, abusive relationships, deteriorated mental and physical health, or reliance on food banks on account of their gender. If politicians accept this, they need to holistically address the underlying causes, including women’s low-paid and insecure employment, lack of financial and practical support for unpaid carers and lone parents, expensive childcare, multiple discrimination against disabled, BME, older and refugee women, and violence against women.
Once powers are devolved, social security policy could be linked to other devolved areas of government related to women’s equality, including violence against women, employability, social care and delivery of childcare. The power to create new benefits could ultimately be used to reinstate entitlements for parents and carers, the loss of which have pushed women into desperate circumstances across Scotland.
There are also opportunities within the current programme for government and First Minister’s pledge to prioritise gender equality and social justice. The report sets out thoughts and recommendations on how the Scottish Government’s work on welfare reform can support that ambition.
Engender and our partners on this project will be pushing for our recommendations to be taken forward, throughout the ongoing process of devolution and as the parties in Scotland gear up for Holyrood elections next year. Check our website, to read the full report, join Engender and the campaign for women’s equality, or sign up to our annual conference.
