Publication
Where Inequality Lives: The State of Gendered Poverty and Financial Resilience
Commissioned by the Smallwood Trust and produced by WBG and Central England Law Centre, this report highlights the scale of gendered poverty in the UK
Gender inequality is deeply rooted in multiple areas of society, making it harder for women to stay out of poverty. Women tend to take on more caring responsibilities, often preventing them from participating in the paid labour market. Even when employed, they are more likely than men to be in low-paid jobs, work part-time, and be in insecure employment. As a result, women, on average, have lower earnings and savings, reducing their financial resilience and making them more vulnerable to economic shocks. This is why targeted interventions that address the specific challenges different groups of women face are essential.
Women’s experience of poverty may differ from that of men, both in terms of the causes and the impact. Certain groups face an exceptionally high risk of poverty, including single mothers, Disabled women, women from certain ethnic minority backgrounds, carers, women in large families, and victims-survivors of violence against women.
Routes out of poverty: Recommendations
Women face diverse challenges in trying to stay out of poverty, influenced by factors such as caring responsibilities and barriers to equal participation in the labour market. Paid employment is a key pathway out of poverty for most women. Still, gender inequalities, compounded by disability, ethnicity, and family circumstances, can limit the extent to which women can participate in the labour market.
- For women unable to access paid work, a robust social security system is critical to provide financial stability. Punitive sanctions like the two-child limit and benefit cap must be scrapped.
- Ensure accessible and affordable early education, childcare and social care to support families, especially women, with caring responsibilities.
- Policies that address the gender pay gap, support flexible working, and enhance parental leave would help improve work-life balance for all and reduce low-paid, insecure jobs for women.
- Embed gender equality into economic policy making.