Media round-up: July 2018

Our work on Brexit and our latest report looking at the causes and consequences of women’s poverty get notable mentions in the press this month.

Prospect, Introducing Dominic Raab’s anti-women, anti-worker Brexit?, Sian Norris, 9 July 2018

Attempts to weaken regulations that hit low paid, part-time and precarious (i.e. agency) workers would therefore hit women first, and hit them hardest … This is supported by research by the Women’s Budget Group into the impact of Brexit on gender equality. Their report argued that Brexit “will hit women hard, leading to lost jobs, cuts to services and a squeeze on family budgets.”

Huffington Post, Women Are More Likely To Live In Poverty Than Men – It Doesn’t Have to Be Like This, Sian Norris, 18 July 2018

Poverty levels are rising – the number of children living in poverty has increased from 27% in 2012/13 to 30% last year. Even pensioner poverty, which fell significantly from 28% in 1994/95 to 13% in 2012/13, has now started to rise – 16% of pensioners are now living in poverty, the majority of them women …

A new report by the Women’s Budget Group explores why this is happening – showing that the traditional division of labour, with men still seen as the main breadwinner and women as the main carer, and a lack of adequate state support means that women are more likely to fall into poverty and to remain poor.