Gender Pay Gap - Inspire

It is sad, but perhaps expected, that across the world women are far more likely to live in poverty than men. Cultural, historical, and in many areas practical reasons provide an explanation for the fact that 70% of people living in extreme poverty are female – although it is in no way a justification. The fact that women constitute a significant proportion of those living in Scotland, this is absolutely unacceptable.

According to figures researched by the Equal Opportunities Commission women are 14% more likely than men to live in households below the poverty line. Government statistics also show that almost half of all women, that’s around 50% of all women, have a total individual income of less than £100 per week. For men the figure is 20%. We cannot let this go on.

One of the problems with the official figures is that they generally calculate income for an overall household rather than individuals. The wider problem with this is that it is symptomatic of a society that doesn’t treat women’s poverty seriously enough because of the underlying assumption that if they have a male partner then the man can look after her.

These antediluvian attitudes must be challenged. Many organisations have done an enormous amount of research and campaigning on this issue. An organisation I particularly admire is Oxfam which works with people living in poverty both in the UK and overseas, and seeks to address the gender inequality by integrating gender issues into all aspects of their work; through programmes aimed at reducing gender-based violence; and by promoting women's rights. Men and women experience aspects of poverty differently and ignoring these differences risks further entrenching poverty and the subordination of women.

However, while charities have a huge role to play in highlighting the issues of poverty, we also need to accept that Government has a role to play as well. Sadly Labour have failed in their efforts to deal with poverty. Measures such as abolishing the 10p tax rate and their disastrous economic policies have made things much harder for everyone trapped on the fringes of society.

One of the most effective ways out of poverty is through work. Firstly of course that involves there being jobs – which is why the work that the Conservative Party has done in Scotland to support business and their election pledges to create a tax break for new companies hiring staff are to be welcomed. Similarly Conservative proposals to introduce flexible parental leave for both parents and their desire to extend the right to request flexible working are steps in the right direction.

Most of all we need to change attitudes. I want people to recognise that women’s poverty is a serious issue, and one that we are doing nothing about. We need more flexible models of employment and leave, and we need to do more to close the gender pay gap. Only then can we start to seriously deal with the problem of women’s poverty.