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Older Women in the Workplace seminar
Women in the UK aged between 50 and 59 earn on average 20.5% less than their male counterparts, facing a gender pay gap significantly larger than the UK-wide gap of 14.2%, therefore it is clear that the impact of women’s labour market inequality is compounded over a working lifetime.
Older women face a particular set of barriers to equality in the labour market. Having primary responsibility for caring limits women’s choices and opportunities in the workplace, impacts their earnings and places pressure on both their careers and their health. Older women in particular are impacted as they often balance work whilst being ‘sandwiched’ between caring for older people as well as for children and grandchildren. Older women are also the group least likely to receive training in the workplace. Many women identify confidence as a barrier to accessing learning opportunities in the workplace. However, it is not women’s lack of confidence in their own capabilities, but confidence in the fairness of the system or processes by which training opportunities are accessed. Historically, women have also faced disadvantage in occupational pensions schemes compared with men. Women are less likely to be in work and have access to occupational pension schemes and, when they are in work, they experience lower rates of pay and so are less able to contribute to a pension. As women on average earn less than men, any salary-related pension will also tend to be less. The result of this is that, despite a slight reduction since 1994/95, over two-thirds of pensioners living in poverty are women.
In partnership with One Workplace Equal Rights and the STUC Women’s Committee, last week we held a seminar to explore how trade unions could better support older women in the workplace. During the seminar we heard from three speakers on a range of issues which disproportionately impact older women. Kathleen Bolt from Support@Work Legal spoke about the legal protections and remedies available to support older women in the workplace, and highlighted some useful resources[1] which delegates could use to inform any action they might take. Roshini Sharma Joshi of Trust Housing Association discussed examples of negative assumptions often made about older women, and asked why employers are so quick to focus on perceived negatives of an aging workforce, and ignore the benefits of the experience which comes with it. Delegates also received an insight into how health issues associated with older women might be better dealt with through proactive preventative strategies and simple adjustments in the workplace.
During the round table session, delegates discussed issues they had encountered in their own workplaces. It was agreed that, although a lack of confidence is an issue often highlighted by older women in relation to accessing training, it is not confidence in their own capabilities, but confidence in the fairness of the system or processes by which training opportunities are accessed. Delegates also spoke of the need to raise awareness of the issues faced by older women among the wider trade union movement by including a focus on gender discrimination as part of trade union reps’ training programmes. It was agreed by all delegates that it is essential that women’s equality is at the forefront of the trade union bargaining agenda, as it has long been shown that by tackling women’s inequality we also tackle broader social inequality.
At the seminar we launched a suite of publications containing information and suggested actions which trade union reps can take to tackle the particular barriers faced by older women. The publications cover balancing work with care, access to skills development and training, health and safety issues, and women’s inequality in retirement. You can download a copy of these publications here.
Close the Gap newsround (48)
This edition for July and August captures articles related to the gender pay gap and its causes, including pay discrimination and occupational segregation.
Close the Gap newsround (46)
This edition for May captures articles related to the gender pay gap and its causes, including pay discrimination and occupational segregation.
Close the Gap newsround (44)
This edition for March captures articles related to the gender pay gap and its causes, including pay discrimination and occupational segregation.
New flat-rate pension will have mixed effect on women
The UK Government has announced that a new, simpler, flat-rate pension will be introduced from April 2017. Women are being held up as one of the main beneficiaries by the government but it is far from clear whether this is actually the case.
Currently, the basic state pension in £107.45 per week but this can be topped up to £142.70 with means-tested pension credit and state second pension (which is based on national insurance contributions). The new changes will see people have to work for 35 years (five years longer than at present) to get the equivalent of £144.
Figures suggest that at least half of all people reaching state pension age before 2050 are likely to be better off, the majority of these people by at least £2 per week. However, by 2060, more than half of those reaching state pension age would be worse off than in the current system. The government's plans would add £9 a week for 750,000 women, with increases expected to be introduced from 2017.
The changes mean that people will have to work for longer to qualify for a full state pension in that they will have to build up 35 years’ national insurance contributions rather than the current 30 years’ contributions. Currently, people begin to build up their contributions after working for one year. Under the new plans, this will increase to 10 years. Those who have less than 10 years’ contributions will not be entitled to a state pension. The pension credit system will continue but only to provide those ineligible for the new pension with a safety net. The second state pension will be abolished although contributions already made will be honoured.
Currently, women who take time off to look after children often do not build up enough national insurance contributions to qualify for a state pension. Under the new system, anyone who works, has been claiming benefits for being unemployed, has been looking after children aged 12 or under, or caring for sick or disabled adults for 35 years will receive a fixed pension of £144 a week when they reach state pension age.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has published an assessment of the plans which concludes that ‘the main effect in the long run will be to reduce pensions for the vast majority of people, while increasing rights for some particular groups (most notably the self-employed)’. The IFS highlights that many more people would be worse off because ministers plan to cut the amount individuals can accrue every year which means that in the long run, the reform will not increase pension accrual for part-time workers, the majority of whom are women, and women who take time out to care for children.
The government’s plans have also been criticised because women born between April 6 1952 and July 6 1953 will stay on £107 per week while men of the same age will get the higher payment of £144. This will affect 39,000 women in Scotland, and 430,000 women across the UK. These women have already lost out in the equalisation of the pension age changes.
There will also be changes to the six million workers who are in final salary pension schemes, five of whom work in the public sector. Two-thirds of public sector workers are women. The abolition of the separate state second pension, and its incorporation into the new flat-rate pension, will end the system of "contracting out", whereby members pay reduced national insurance contributions but pay no state second pension. From 2017, workers in those schemes will have to pay more national insurance, amounting to a further 1.4% of the relevant earnings on which national insurance is levied. To reflect their lower previous NI contributions, they will only be eligible to receive a reduced version of the single-tier pension when they eventually retire.
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Government pushes ahead with plans to raise state pension age for women
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