Gender inequality means that women are being hardest hit by the cost of living crisis.

In the context of the ongoing cost of living crisis, Challenge Poverty Week feels particularly important this year. We are already seeing a rising tide of poverty in Scotland, with far-reaching implications for people’s health and wellbeing. The Poverty and Inequality Commission have highlighted that those who were already making difficult choices around heating and eating are now struggling to do either.

As a result of their pre-existing inequality, women are being disproportionately impacted by the current crisis. Women who were already struggling are now under enormous financial pressure as costs continue to rise. This is particularly true for groups of women who were already more likely to be living in poverty including disabled women, Black and racialised women, single mothers and unpaid carers, the majority of whom are women.

There are a number of key reasons why women are being hardest hit by the crisis:

• Women are more likely to be in low-paid work and are already more likely to be experiencing poverty.
• Women’s engagement with the labour market continues to be restricted by their caring responsibilities. This creates gendered barriers to women being able to increase their working hours and earnings.
• Women have lower levels of savings and wealth than men, and are more likely to be in debt. This lowers women’s financial resilience during periods of economic crisis.
• Women are more reliant on social security and have been disproportionately impacted by cuts to social security entitlements.
• Women are often “poverty managers” in the home and go without food and other necessities themselves in order to provide for their children. The cost of living crisis is likely to have a damaging effect on women’s physical health and wellbeing as they try to make household budgets stretch.

A survey by One Parent Families Scotland found that 56% of single parents in paid work said they were finding it extremely difficult to afford, or could no longer afford, electricity. In line with the fact women account for the vast majority of single parents, 96% of the respondents to the survey were women.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Poverty in Scotland report highlighted the far-reaching consequences that the cost of living crisis is already having on families in Scotland, with this only expected to get worse as we reach the winter. One in four low-income households reported skipping or reducing the size of their meals and 69% of single parents reporting that the crisis was having a negative impact on their mental health. As women are the majority of those on low incomes and account for 90% of single parents, these findings are particularly pertinent for women in Scotland.

There is a growing evidence base that highlights women are being hardest hit by the cost of living crisis. This underscores the importance of a gendered response. We need urgent action to get cash into women’s pockets to prevent them falling into further and deeper poverty. But we also need longer-term action to dismantle those structural inequalities which make women more vulnerable to poverty and financial insecurity in the first place.

This aligns with one of the key messages of this year’s Challenge Poverty Week - that we can redesign our economy to make sure it works for everyone. This requires action to extend coverage of the real living wage to female-dominated sectors; improve access to affordable and flexible childcare; recognise care as a key growth sector; deliver fair work for women; tackle the undervaluation of women’s work; and improve access to high-quality flexible working.

During Covid-19, we saw the implications of the failure to take a gender-sensitive approach to policymaking during a period of crisis. The de-prioritisation of gender equality during the pandemic meant Scotland’s crisis response did not meet women’s needs, cementing their social, economic and labour market inequality.

The impacts of Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis have not been felt equally. The evidence shows that women and their families are falling into further and deeper poverty. This means we need to learn the lessons of Scotland’s Covid-19 response, and fast. If we are to turn the tide on women’s poverty and meet Scotland’s child poverty targets, a gender-sensitive response to the cost of living crisis is critical.

Why do we need a gendered approach when tackling rising economic inactivity?

Unemployment did not reach the unprecedented highs that were predicted during Covid-19. However, an unanticipated labour market trend emerging from the pandemic has been rising economic inactivity. Since the beginning of the crisis, there have been sharp increases in the numbers of people who are economically inactive due to retirement and ill-health, particularly among older workers.

Women continue to account for the majority of economically inactive people. Data released in July 2022 shows that there were 1,544,000 more economically inactive women than men in the UK. This is largely a reflection of the fact women’s engagement with the labour market continues to be constrained by their caring responsibilities.

Looking after home or family remains the most prominent reason for women’s inactivity. Women’s unpaid work is worth an estimated £1.1 trillion to the UK economy, or around 56% of GDP. Despite women’s unpaid work being critical to the functioning of the economy, the system of national accounts does not identify it as “productive”. Instead, women doing unpaid work are counted as being economically inactive.

The inactivity challenge is a key focus of the Covid-19 Recovery Committee’s inquiry into the impact of the pandemic on the labour market. Our response to the Committee’s call for evidence highlights the importance of gender analysis in understanding and responding to this trend. Labour market data highlights that there are different rates of inactivity for women and men, alongside different reasons for leaving employment.

Increasing numbers of women are inactive due to ill-health and early retirement. Female-dominated sectors such as care and retail have higher rates of outflow into inactivity due to ill-health. This reflects the physically demanding nature of these roles and means that occupational segregation makes it more likely that women will leave the labour market because of their health. Higher rates of long-Covid among women is also likely to have contributed to this trend, particularly as employer responses to the condition have been inadequate.

Women are entering retirement due to a range of factors including changes to working practices in response to Covid-19; the fear of the virus and ill-health; and the lack of high-quality part-time and flexible work. There are important questions for what this means for older women’s financial security, particularly during the current cost of living crisis. As a result of the gender pay gap and women’s caring responsibilities, older women are already more likely than their male counterparts to be experiencing pensioner poverty.

Research by the ONS found that men are more likely than women to state that they left the labour market because they no longer needed the money from their job. While higher numbers of men use savings and investments to fund their retirement, women are more likely to receive financial support from a partner or family. This is concerning as financial dependence and poverty are both primary risk factors that diminish women’s resilience and can prevent women from leaving an abusive partner. We have urged the Committee to consider the potential implications of rising economic inactivity for women’s financial precarity during their inquiry.

A key question asked by the Committee relates to the policies that may encourage people to re-enter the labour market. Given the higher rates of inactivity among women, it is important that gender mainstreaming approaches are adopted when designing policy responses. If women are to be enabled to re-enter the labour market, there is need for action to improve access to high-quality flexible working; provide support with caring responsibilities, including greater access to affordable and flexible childcare; develop gender sensitive upskilling and reskilling initiatives; and provide better support for those experiencing long Covid.

It should also be noted that economic inactivity rates may decline in the coming months as people return to paid work in order to prevent their household falling into poverty during the cost of living crisis. This trend is already visible, with recent data releases pointing to “unretirement” among older workers. This is likely to be particularly acute for those who are already at greater risk of poverty, including older women, single mothers, Black and racialised women, and families with a disabled member.

While the cost of living crisis may lead to a reduction in economic inactivity, this would not be a trend to celebrate. Recent research commissioned by the Fair Work Convention noted that older women cited a number of reasons for their wish to retire or reduce their hours, including pursuing leisure and personal interests while they were still in good health; improving their own health; and to spend time with family, particularly their spouses. The necessity of returning to work during the cost of living crisis may therefore deprive women of choice over their lives and when they leave the labour market, with implications for older women’s health and wellbeing.

The experiences and implications of economic inactivity are not universal, with particular impacts for women due to occupational segregation, women’s caring responsibilities and women’s pre-existing financial insecurity. This, once again, underscores the need for a gendered approach to labour market policymaking in Covid recovery. The Covid-19 Recovery Committee’s inquiry is an important opportunity to prioritise policymaking that promotes women’s economic and labour market equality.

You can read Close the Gap’s full response to the Covid-19 Recovery Committee’s inquiry into the impact of the pandemic on the labour market here.

We're hiring!

We’re looking for an enthusiastic person to work on the expansion of Equally Safe at Work, Close the Gap’s employer accreditation programme, in NHS boards, and the third sector. Committed to women’s labour market equality, you’ll be working within our small, busy team to influence improved gender-sensitive employment practice, and supporting employers to gain accreditation. You’ll also be designing shared learning opportunities, developing materials, writing reports, delivering events and building relationships with stakeholders.

Purpose

To deliver the expansion of the Equally Safe at Work employer accreditation programme in NHS boards and the third sector, building on the success of the pilot in local government. Equally Safe at Work enables employers to develop improved gender-sensitive employment practice to advance gender equality at work and prevent violence against women.

Hours: 34 hours per week
Salary: £29,646
Pension: 10% employer contribution
Location: 166 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, G1 2LW

Close the Gap is operating a hybrid working model, with the option to work from the Buchanan Street office or from desk space in Edinburgh.

Responsible to: Programme Manager

The post is fixed term, funded until 30 September 2023 with a potential extension, depending on funding.

Close the Gap values diversity in our workforce, and encourage applications from all sectors of the community. Flexible working options are available for this role.

Read the job description, person specification and other information here.

Application notes

Electronic applications must be submitted using our online application form which you can find on our website at https://www.closethegap.org.uk/jobs/. If you are unable to use an online application process please contact us at info@closethegap.org.uk

The deadline for applications is 11 September 2022.

You will be notified by 29 September 2022 if you have been selected for interview.

It is anticipated that the interviews will take place remotely during the week commencing 10 October 2022.

Close the Gap (SCIO) (known as Close the Gap) is a Scottish charity, no SC046842.

Equally Safe at Work launches in NHS boards, and the third sector

Following the success of Close the Gap’s employer accreditation programme, Equally Safe at Work, with local authorities, we are pleased to be launching a new pilot of the programme with the NHS and the third sector. The evaluation of the pilot with local authorities highlighted that Equally Safe at Work was an important lever for enabling employers to take substantive action on gender equality and demonstrate leadership in violence against women.

This expansion of Equally Safe at Work with the NHS and third sector will provide the new group of employers with a framework to guide work on developing gender-sensitive employment policies and practice. The NHS boards participating in the pilot are Ayrshire & Arran, Dumfries & Galloway, Public Health Scotland, and Healthcare Improvement Scotland. The third sector employers are ACOSVO, Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland, Enable Scotland, PKVAS and Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire. Through participating in the pilot, these organisations are taking steps to address the causes of gender inequality in the workplace which is essential for preventing violence against women. Addressing women’s inequality in the workplace and in the wider labour market requires targeted action from employers, including those in the public and third sector.

Women experience significant barriers to equality in the workplace. Recent data highlights a 18% gender pay gap in the third sector in Scotland. This is caused by a number of interconnected factors including women’s concentration in low-paid, undervalued work, a lack of good quality flexible work, women’s greater propensity to have caring roles, and a lack of women at senior levels. Women’s experiences of men’s violence also makes it difficult for women to do their job to the best of their ability, and in some cases, women are forced out of work entirely, creating additional barriers to gender equality at work.

In the health and social care sector, women make up the vast majority of the NHS workforce, yet they are largely absent from senior management and leadership roles. While 54% of health service chief executives are women, only 39% of health board chairs are women and only 42% are consultants. The Women’s Health Plan highlights the importance of addressing workplace inequalities in order to reduce inequalities in outcomes for women’s general health.

Equally Safe at Work will support third sector and NHS employers to review current and develop practice that takes account of women’s experience of employment.

What happens next

Over the next 12 months, early adopter employers across health and social care and the third sector will be supported by Close the Gap to work towards the development tier of the programme. To achieve development accreditation, employers will have to meet criteria across six themes key to advancing women’s labour market equality:

• Leadership
• Data
• Flexible working
• Occupational segregation
• Workplace culture
• Violence against women

This will be achieved through undertaking a range of activities, which will improve awareness of the causes and consequences of women’s inequality and increase understanding of employers’ critical role in supporting victim-survivors and preventing violence against women. Activities include building capacity in senior leaders; publishing gender pay gap information; reviewing flexible working practice; distributing awareness-raising material on violence against women; and ensuring support mechanisms are in place for victim-survivors.

A shadow group will also be formed for employers in these sectors who will be able to benefit from shared learning and expertise from the early adopters’ group, with a view to undertaking the accreditation programme in the future.

The evaluation of the programme will be key to the future development of Equally Safe at Work and completed throughout the pilot. Qualitative and quantitative data will be collected during the accreditation period. This will include capturing employee attitudes and behaviours through an employee survey, as well as holding focus groups with women working in lower paid roles.

We look forward to working with our new groups of employers to make real changes for women working in Scotland. To find out more about the programme, visit Equally Safe at Work.