Media Round-Up: June 2023

Disability News Service reported on our letter to the Information Commissioner that we wrote together with the Runnymede Trust and Disability Rights UK following his decision that the Treasury will not be required to publish an equality impact assessment (EIA) of the 2022 Spring Budget: ‘Deep concern’ over decision to allow Treasury to hide budget equality impact

Following new analysis by the TUC revealing that one in five fathers do not take paternity leave, mostly because they cannot afford it, WBG’s director Mary-Ann Stephenson commented in the Independent:

“The problem is we have a system that sets up mothers as the default carers by giving appallingly low sums for fathers and second parents. This pattern, where women are responsible for unpaid care, is at the heart of women’s economic inequality.”

Other Coverage:

• In the article “Britain’s eocnomic turmoil is hitting women the hardest” published in Bloomberg UK, our Deputy Director and Head of Policy and Research Dr Sara Reis explained that “A big gendered difference when it comes to the cost of living crisis is women’s ability to increase their hours of work. They have less flexibility than men because they’re usually the ones with caring responsibilities and also because of the high cost of childcare.”
• After the Guardian reported that Labour considers making the funded childcare hours means-tested, not universal,  Nursery World picked up our response, quoting our director Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson who emphasized that “Labour must not lose its ambition for transformative changes that could provide the bedrock of a healthier and more equal country and economy.’
• Also discussing the reports that Labour has ruled out universal childcare, economist James Meadway referenced our costings on a universal early education and childcare system on Novara Live. Watch the episode here.