Media Round-Up: September 2023

In response to the Bank of England’s latest decision to keep the interest rate steady at 5.25%, WBG’s Ignacia Pinto commented live on BBC’s newschannel on what this decision means for women:

“It’s a small relief but interest rates are still high… The impact of any economic decisions is different for women and men…And high interest rates might increase gender inequality.”

She also talked to Jim Diamond on LBC, stressing that “The Bank of England’s decision today has different impacts on men and women because of their different positions in the economy. Women have less savings than men for example, so men benefit more from high interest rates… Insolvency rates have also increased for women. This is not only a Cost of living crisis but also a cost of debt crisis.”

Other Coverage:

• For a piece on how  women are bearing the brunt of the cost of living crisis  and its impacts on women’s savings, Female Invest interviewed our Deputy Director Dr Sara Reis. She explained that “Women tend to have less savings and levels of wealth than men, so they have less of a cushion to fall back on when the cost of essentials rises,”.
• Our director Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson was on Woman’s Hour discussing what women want and need from public transport. She made the important point that “Women and men have different public transport uses. Women make a third more bus journeys whereas men make 40% more train journeys than women. We know that our public transport system is largely based on the needs of male commuters…It’s not meeting women’s needs.” You can listen back here.

• In episode two of the new podcast series Childcare Voices, Ruth Talbot from Single Parent Rights explores the challenges facing single parents – and talks to our director Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson. Listen to it here.  
• WBG’s Research and Policy Officer, Igancia Pinto wrote a piece for Chartist Magazine emphasizing that “The outcomes of the UK’s monetary policy are anything but neutral. The sole reliance on the Bank of England to curb inflation deepens existing inequalities and will continue to do so.”