Challenge Poverty Week: Better jobs, pay, hours, conditions & worker voice for all women

Today’s Challenge Poverty Week theme is calling for better jobs for everyone who needs one with fair conditions and wages that pay the bills. Low paid and undervalued work is a key contributor to people’s experiences of poverty and in-work poverty levels. Women are disproportionately more likely to be in poverty, with disabled women, racially-minoritised women, young mothers and migrant women facing intersecting inequalities which compound their risk of poverty. Given the current political climate, Close the Gap wants to draw attention to the experiences of migrant women, many of whom work in jobs that are essential to society. Yet the growing anti-migrant sentiment in public discourse fails to acknowledge this, and instead is further marginalising migrant women and their families.  

Why women’s work matters 

Women have a distinctive experience of the Scottish labour market as they continue to be the majority of low-paid workers, and are more likely to be underemployed and in insecure work than men. This results in women’s higher levels of poverty than men, higher rates of in-work poverty and being more likely to experience persistent poverty than men.  There are divergent experiences within this as women are not a homogenous group, and disabled women, racially-minoritised women, young mothers, migrant women as well as refugee and asylum-seeking women experience additional intersecting inequalities. This all contributes to the gender pay gap and perpetuates persistent inequalities in the world of work and beyond.  

Women’s experience of poverty is driven by their concentration in low-paid, undervalued work. This is a result of the systemic undervaluation of ‘women’s work’, such as cleaning, care, and retail, which is undervalued because it’s done by women. Although the extension of the Real Living Wage in undervalued female-dominated jobs is a welcome start to addressing women’s low pay it doesn’t equate to revaluing the skills and status of these jobs – which is sorely needed.  

Investment in undervalued sectors must go beyond wage rises — it must recognise and reward the essential skills and economic value of women’s work. To date, mainstream economic policy takes a homogenous, gender-blind approach that continues to fail women – especially racially-minoritised women, migrant women, disabled women, and young mothers.  

The care sector is a clear example. Despite being increasingly skilled work that is essential to the economy, care jobs are still treated as low value, with widespread poor pay, insecure contracts and long hours. This is unjust for the overwhelmingly female workforce, and it undermines the quality and sustainability of services as demand for social care increases.  

Creating good working conditions for women goes beyond simply hours and wages. It is about security, flexibility, fairness, and representation. Women in undervalued sectors and in precarious roles have less trade union representation and less access to bargaining power – or none at all. Access to collective bargaining strengthens workers voices and allows them to better advocate for their rights and positive change. Close the Gap is a supporter of sectoral bargaining and urges the Scottish Government to commit to use sectoral bargaining to improve and set pay, terms and conditions in key sectors, such as the social care sector.  

The importance of migrant women’s work 

There has been a deeply concerning rise in far-right activism and anti-migrant rhetoric in Scotland and across the UK. Migrant communities are being scapegoated for systemic failures in our economy and public services. As we set out in our recent statement, these narratives are dangerous and inaccurate.  

Migrant women play an indispensable role in Scotland’s economy. Evidence shows that migrant women are over-represented in low-paid, insecure work, particularly in social care, compared to other groups of women. Their skills and contributions are chronically undervalued, leaving many trapped in poverty despite working in essential jobs. Migrant women in particular are more likely to be underemployed, despite being highly skilled, due to non-recognition of qualifications, language barriers, and discrimination.  

Migrant women are also more likely to work in roles with little or no trade union representation, leaving them with less bargaining power and fewer opportunities to improve pay and conditions. This results is migrant women being taken advantage of and exploited, including: withholding of salary, insecure hours and pay, no access to holiday leave or breaks, and being threatened and abused at work. Even when migrant women are aware of their rights, the power differentials, insecure contracts, exploitative employers, and the threat of dismissal make it extremely difficult to challenge. Structural racism is central to migrant women’s experiences, depleting their ability to challenge employers and access good quality work elsewhere.  

For women on visas tied to specific employers, or those with no recourse to public funds, the risks of raising concerns are greater. Many endure exploitative conditions because the consequences of losing a job could mean destitution, deportation, or being unable to support their families.  

These barriers mean that legal rights are often not rights in practice for migrant women. A fairer economy must not only legislate for better jobs and conditions but also ensure women have the knowledge, security, and support to claim them. Challenging poverty requires us to reject divisive rhetoric and build an economy rooted in dignity, equality and fairness for all. 

How do we make sure all women have adequate incomes? 

Scottish Government must take substantive to address the underlying causes of women’s labour market inequality including better jobs, pay, hours, conditions and representation. Better jobs goes beyond more than pay. Women need secure hours, flexible working, safer conditions and a real voice in the workplace. To achieve this, Scotland must: 

• Value “women’s work” by raising pay and conditions in care and other female-dominated sectors 
• Strengthen worker voice and collective bargaining across female dominated sectors, including the recognition of sectoral bargaining across the care sector  
• Collect and publish intersectional labour market data to drive accountability 
• Implement mandatory gender pay gap action plans as a part of reform of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)  
• Invest in affordable, flexible childcare that works for all. 

Equally important is challenging the spread of far-right disinformation and hate. Urgent action is needed from Scottish and UK Governments to address the increasing poverty and inequality that is fuelling the power of the far-right activism. Years of austerity policies and public sector cuts have shredded the social security safety net and created a scarcity of public services. We need urgent investment to create good-quality jobs, improvements to social infrastructure, such as childcare and social care, social security, education and housing. Until women’s work – both paid and unpaid – is properly valued, Scotland cannot claim to have an economy that works for all.