21.11.16
Does austerity have a greater impact on women?
Women have been left particularly financially vulnerable as a result of tax and benefits changes since 2010, new research shows.
Analysis by the Women’s Budget Group (WBG) revealed that women in the lowest 20% of households stand to lose up to 15% of their individual income by 2020.
A man in the top 10% of households, for example, will gain £329 a year, while even the most well-off women will lose money. A woman in one of the second poorest 10% of households can expect to lose £2,000 a year.
Dr Eva Neitzert, director of the WBG, said: “The evidence is clear: women, especially those on low incomes, have shouldered the largest burden of austerity measures.”
The WBG argued the fall in income was because women are more likely to be affected by cuts and freezes in benefits and the introduction of Universal Credit. Measures such as the National Living Wage and the raising of personal tax allowance are not enough to offset the loss in income.
This isn’t the first time the government has been accused of discriminating against marginalised groups through its austerity policies. The United Nations (UN) has recently called for a review of the impact of its austerity measures on human rights.
The UN is also investigating a proposed clause where the cap on tax credits to families with two children will not apply to women who can prove their third child was conceived as a result of rape, following a campaign by SNP MP Alison Thewliss.
The WBG figures also come just after Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee called for an independent evaluation of the Treasury’s compliance with the requirement to provide an equality impact assessment of the 2015 Autumn Statement and Spending Review.
It found that the analysis only mentioned policies which could have a positive impact on protected groups, not a negative impact, and accused the analysis of being “insubstantial and lacking in detail”.
Dr Neitzert called on the government to be “more forthcoming” about the impact of this year’s Autumn Statement, due on Wednesday.
She noted that the WBG would analyse the impact of the statement. For the first time, it will work in partnership with race equality think tank the Runnymede Trust, allowing it to analyse the impact of spending decisions by income, ethnicity and race, gender and disability.
If Theresa May – an advocate for women’s rights in her time as home secretary – is serious about her government building “a Britain that works for everyone”, a good first step would be ensuring that all new policies are implemented with full regard for women and other marginalised groups, instead of leaving those who are already struggling even worse off.
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